Derek Wryan Wilson v. State , 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 8984 ( 2014 )


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  •                         COURT OF APPEALS
    SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS
    FORT WORTH
    NO. 02-13-00218-CR
    DEREK WRYAN WILSON                                                  APPELLANT
    V.
    THE STATE OF TEXAS                                                       STATE
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    FROM THE 372ND DISTRICT COURT OF TARRANT COUNTY
    TRIAL COURT NO. 1290837D
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    OPINION
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    I. INTRODUCTION
    A jury found Appellant Derek Wryan Wilson guilty of aggravated sexual
    assault of a child under fourteen years of age and assessed his punishment at
    forty-five years’ imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. See 
    Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.021
    (a)(2)(B) (West Supp. 2014).            The trial court sentenced Wilson
    accordingly.   In a single issue, Wilson argues that the trial court erred by
    admitting a portion of his video-recorded statement taken after he was in custody
    and without Miranda warnings. We will affirm.
    II. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
    At the time of the offense, Wilson was living with his girlfriend Natalie,1
    Natalie’s mother and her boyfriend, and Natalie’s two daughters in Hurst, Texas.
    Natalie’s daughter Megan was two years old, and her other daughter Amy was
    two months old. Natalie and Wilson were watching TV on the couch one night
    after Wilson got home from work, and Natalie fell asleep. She awoke to an
    unusual cry from Amy and turned to find Wilson holding Amy in his arms. Natalie
    thought that Amy might need a diaper change, so she got up and, while changing
    Amy’s diaper, saw blood in Amy’s fecal matter. Natalie changed the diaper and
    went back to sleep.
    Natalie later got up and changed Amy’s diaper again. Natalie found more
    fresh blood in Amy’s diaper, so she told her mother. Natalie and her mother took
    Amy to the hospital, where Dr. Jayme Coffman found a significant tear in Amy’s
    vagina and some bruising to her hymen. Dr. Coffman testified at trial that the
    tear could not have been accidental.
    Detective Chad Woodside from the Hurst Police Department questioned
    Wilson at the hospital. Wilson did not have an explanation for Amy’s injuries.
    1
    To protect the anonymity of the children in this case, we will use aliases to
    refer to some of the individuals named herein. See Daggett v. State, 
    187 S.W.3d 444
    , 446 n.3 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005); McClendon v. State, 
    643 S.W.2d 936
    , 936
    n.1 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1982).
    2
    About a week later, Detective Woodside asked Wilson if he would come to the
    police department for an interview. Wilson agreed.
    Detective Woodside and Detective J. Eubanks interviewed Wilson for
    approximately one hour and forty minutes. The interview began at 2:40 in the
    morning. At the beginning of the interview, Detective Woodside told Wilson that
    he was not under arrest and was free to leave at any time. Wilson said that he
    understood.   Wilson first said that he did not know how Amy’s injuries had
    occurred. Forty-two minutes into the interview, Detective Woodside told Wilson
    that he was going to be charged with an offense. Wilson then said that he had
    accidentally inserted his finger into Amy’s vagina because she almost fell from
    his arms while he was checking her diaper. He said that he had inserted his
    finger into her diaper to see if she was dirty; she began to fall; and when he
    grabbed to catch her, his finger had entered her vagina. The detectives stepped
    outside of the room and returned several minutes later. Detective Woodside then
    told Wilson that Amy’s medical records showed that her injury could not have
    been caused accidentally. He told Wilson that “no jury would believe” it was an
    accident. Detective Woodside urged Wilson to “man up and tell . . . the truth.”
    One hour and ten minutes into the interview, Wilson admitted that he had
    inserted his finger into Amy’s vagina intentionally out of curiosity. Wilson became
    emotional and said that he was not a pervert. Detective Woodside told Wilson
    not to go around Amy and not to go over to Natalie’s house; Wilson said he
    3
    would not. Detective Woodside then left the room to “check with his sergeant,”
    and when he returned, he arrested Wilson.2
    Wilson filed a motion to suppress, alleging that his statements were taken
    in violation of the United States and Texas constitutions and Texas Code of
    Criminal Procedure article 38.22. After a hearing on his motion, the trial court
    denied it, finding that the interview became custodial when the detective placed
    Wilson under arrest approximately one hour and forty-three minutes after the
    interview began.3 The State agreed to stop the videotape just prior to that—
    when Detective Woodside left the room to talk to his sergeant.
    III. STANDARD OF REVIEW
    We review a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress evidence under a
    bifurcated standard of review.    Amador v. State, 
    221 S.W.3d 666
    , 673 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 2007); Guzman v. State, 
    955 S.W.2d 85
    , 89 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997).
    In reviewing the trial court’s decision, we do not engage in our own factual
    review. Romero v. State, 
    800 S.W.2d 539
    , 543 (Tex. Crim. App. 1990); Best v.
    2
    Detective Woodside testified that he had not intended to arrest Wilson that
    day but that due to Wilson’s emotional state and after speaking with his sergeant
    and the district attorney’s office, he arrested Wilson out of fear for the safety of
    Wilson, Amy, and Natalie.
    3
    The trial court stated on the record that Wilson was told he was free to
    leave; that there was no indication that Wilson could not leave; that it appeared
    from watching the videotape that Wilson thought he was going to be arrested the
    following day; and that probable cause, “if not existing prior to the interview,
    certainly developed” at some point after the detective told Wilson that he would
    be charged.
    4
    State, 
    118 S.W.3d 857
    , 861 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2003, no pet.). The trial
    judge is the sole trier of fact and judge of the credibility of the witnesses and the
    weight to be given their testimony. Wiede v. State, 
    214 S.W.3d 17
    , 24–25 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 2007); State v. Ross, 
    32 S.W.3d 853
    , 855 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000),
    modified on other grounds by State v. Cullen, 
    195 S.W.3d 696
     (Tex. Crim. App.
    2006). Therefore, we give almost total deference to the trial court’s rulings on
    (1) questions of historical fact, even if the trial court’s determination of those facts
    was not based on an evaluation of credibility and demeanor, and (2) application-
    of-law-to-fact questions that turn on an evaluation of credibility and demeanor.
    Amador, 
    221 S.W.3d at 673
    ; Montanez v. State, 
    195 S.W.3d 101
    , 108–09 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 2006); Johnson v. State, 
    68 S.W.3d 644
    , 652–53 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2002). But when application-of-law-to-fact questions do not turn on the credibility
    and demeanor of the witnesses, we review the trial court’s rulings on those
    questions de novo. Amador, 
    221 S.W.3d at 673
    ; Estrada v. State, 
    154 S.W.3d 604
    , 607 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005); Johnson, 
    68 S.W.3d at
    652–53.
    Stated another way, when reviewing the trial court’s ruling on a motion to
    suppress, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial
    court’s ruling. Wiede, 
    214 S.W.3d at 24
    ; State v. Kelly, 
    204 S.W.3d 808
    , 818
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2006). When the trial court makes explicit fact findings, we
    determine whether the evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the
    trial court’s ruling, supports those fact findings. Kelly, 
    204 S.W.3d at
    818–19.
    We then review the trial court’s legal ruling de novo unless its explicit fact
    5
    findings that are supported by the record are also dispositive of the legal ruling.
    
    Id. at 818
    .
    IV. CUSTODIAL INTERROGATION
    The State may not use a defendant’s statements stemming from a
    custodial interrogation unless it demonstrates the use of procedural safeguards
    effective to secure the privilege against self-incrimination. Miranda v. Arizona,
    
    384 U.S. 436
    , 444, 
    86 S. Ct. 1602
    , 1612 (1966). Article 38.22 of the code of
    criminal procedure also precludes the use of statements that result from a
    custodial interrogation without compliance with its procedural safeguards. See
    Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.22 (West Supp. 2014).                Before an
    investigation reaches the accusatorial or custodial stage, a person’s Fifth
    Amendment rights have not come into play, and the voluntariness in waiving
    those rights is not implicated. Melton v. State, 
    790 S.W.2d 322
    , 326 (Tex. Crim.
    App. 1990).
    Custodial interrogation is questioning by law enforcement officers after a
    person has been taken into custody or deprived of his freedom of action in any
    significant way. Miranda, 
    384 U.S. at 444
    , 
    86 S. Ct. at 1612
    ; Herrera v. State,
    
    241 S.W.3d 520
    , 525 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007).           To determine whether an
    individual was in custody, a court must examine all of the circumstances
    surrounding the interrogation, but the ultimate inquiry is simply whether there was
    a formal arrest or restraint on freedom of movement of the degree associated
    with a formal arrest. Stansbury v. California, 
    511 U.S. 318
    , 322, 
    114 S. Ct. 1526
    ,
    6
    1529 (1994); Estrada v. State, 
    313 S.W.3d 274
    , 294 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010), cert.
    denied, 
    131 S. Ct. 905
     (2011).       A person is in custody only if, under the
    circumstances, an objectively reasonable person would believe that his freedom
    of movement was restrained to the degree associated with a formal arrest.
    Dowthitt v. State, 
    931 S.W.2d 244
    , 254 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996).
    There are at least four general situations where a suspect’s detention may
    constitute custody: (1) when the suspect is physically deprived of his freedom of
    action in any significant way, (2) when a law enforcement officer tells the suspect
    that he cannot leave, (3) when law enforcement creates a situation that would
    lead a reasonable person to believe that his freedom of movement has been
    significantly restricted, and (4) when there is probable cause to arrest and law
    enforcement officers do not tell the suspect that he is free to leave. 
    Id. at 255
    ;
    McCulley v. State, 
    352 S.W.3d 107
    , 115–16 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2011, pet.
    ref’d). In the first three situations, the restriction on freedom of movement must
    amount to a degree associated with arrest rather than investigative detention.
    Dowthitt, 
    931 S.W.2d at 255
    ; McCulley, 
    352 S.W.3d at 116
    .
    Here, Wilson does not dispute that the interview began as a voluntary
    interview, not a custodial interrogation. Neither being the focus of a criminal
    investigation nor being questioned at a police station, without more, made the
    interview a custodial interrogation. See Oregon v. Mathiason, 
    429 U.S. 492
    ,
    495–96, 
    97 S. Ct. 711
    , 714 (1977); Martinez v. State, 
    131 S.W.3d 22
    , 33 (Tex.
    App.—San Antonio 2003, no pet.); see also Dancy v. State, 
    728 S.W.2d 772
    ,
    7
    778–79 (Tex. Crim. App.) (explaining that when circumstances show that person
    acted only upon request or even urging of law enforcement and without threat
    that he will be taken forcibly, such person is not in custody), cert. denied, 
    484 U.S. 975
     (1987). Wilson was not searched upon his arrival at the police station.
    Detective Woodside told Wilson that he “just wanted to talk to him about the
    case, what he knew, the timeline of events, and . . . made sure he understood
    he was not under arrest and he was free to leave at any time.” Wilson said that
    he understood. Although, as Wilson points out on appeal, the interview was
    conducted in a room with no windows, with the door shut, and in close quarters
    to two police officers, these circumstances do not rise to the degree associated
    with a formal arrest. See Dowthitt, 
    931 S.W.2d at 255
    ; McCulley, 
    352 S.W.3d at 116
    ; see also Long v. State, No. 05-05-01634-CR, 
    2006 WL 3218559
    , at *2, *6
    (Tex. App.—Dallas Nov. 8, 2006, pet. ref’d) (not designated for publication)
    (finding no custodial interrogation when appellant interviewed in room with one
    door and no windows). Wilson was not handcuffed during the interview, and he
    was not denied food, water, or the use of facilities. The door was not locked, and
    he was left alone in the room for several minutes at one point. Approximately
    fifty-one minutes into the interview, the detectives asked Wilson if he wanted any
    water before they stepped out of the room briefly. Wilson said that he did, and
    Detective Eubanks returned within a minute with a cup of water. Wilson’s phone
    rang twice during the interview, and he was free to answer it, although he chose
    not to.
    8
    Wilson argues that the interview became custodial when Detective
    Woodside told him approximately forty-two minutes into the interview, “You’re
    going to get charged with it; there’s no doubt about that.” Wilson argues that a
    reasonable person would think that he was under arrest at that point. Prior to
    this point in the video, Wilson agreed with Detective Woodside that one of the
    two males in the house—Wilson or Natalie’s mother’s boyfriend—had to have
    been the perpetrator of the crime and that the facts pointed to Wilson because he
    was holding Amy when she screamed and because no one had heard her
    scream or had seen blood in her diaper before that point. Detective Woodside
    informed Wilson that the videotape of the interview would be shown in court and
    that “if this goes to trial, and this goes in front of a jury, a jury’s gonna hang
    [him].” The detective then made the statement at issue—that Wilson would be
    charged with the offense. A review of the entirety of the videotape up until this
    point demonstrates that the detectives never suggested, verbally or otherwise,
    that Wilson was under arrest or even that he was going to be arrested that day.
    Instead, the detectives suggested that they were still building their case against
    Wilson. The trial court stated on the record at the suppression hearing that
    Detective Woodside’s statement was “a reference to a future action” and that the
    tone of the interview was no different after he told Wilson that he would be
    charged than before. The videotape, when viewed in the light most favorable to
    the trial court’s ruling, supports the trial court’s findings. See Kelly, 
    204 S.W.3d at
    818–19; Dowthitt, 
    931 S.W.2d at 255
    ; see also Estrada, 
    313 S.W.3d at 292
    ,
    9
    294 (holding defendant was not subject to custodial interrogation when detective
    accused defendant of killing victim during interview); Houston v. State, 
    185 S.W.3d 917
    , 921 (Tex. App.—Austin 2006, pet. ref’d) (holding defendant was not
    in custody during interview in which officer “conveyed the strength of the State’s
    case” to the defendant and told him not to commit any more robberies).
    Wilson also asserts that the detectives had probable cause to arrest him
    after he admitted that he had accidentally penetrated Amy’s female sexual organ.
    According to Wilson, his admission to penetrating Amy’s vagina, albeit
    accidentally, coupled with the medical records showing that it was not an
    accident, established probable cause to arrest him and converted the interview
    into a custodial interrogation. But probable cause alone does not automatically
    establish custody; other circumstances must also combine to lead a reasonable
    person to believe that he is not free to leave and is under arrest. See Dowthitt,
    
    931 S.W.2d at 255
    .       Assuming probable cause existed at this point, the
    detectives never suggested to Wilson, verbally or otherwise, that he was not free
    to leave. See 
    id.
     (stating that the fourth situation constituting custody requires
    probable cause to arrest and officers not telling the suspect he is free to leave).
    To the contrary, the detectives began the interview by telling Wilson that he was
    free to leave at any time, that he was not under arrest, and that they just wanted
    to talk with him about what he knew. As the interview progressed, Detective
    Woodside told Wilson several times that he thought Wilson did it, and Detective
    Woodside talked about what a jury would believe based on what Wilson had said
    10
    and the facts of the case. But at no point did either detective suggest that Wilson
    would be arrested that day or that their earlier statement that Wilson was free to
    leave at any time was no longer true. In fact, Wilson later said, “I leave here
    now, and I tell this story that yeah, I did this, [people who know me will say,] ‘No,
    you wouldn’t.’” Wilson lamented that he had to tell Natasha what he did, and
    Detective Woodside responded, “I’m just going to ask you not to go over there.”
    The detective also told him not to go around Amy, and Wilson said that he would
    not do either.
    A review of the entire videotape shows that Wilson himself thought he
    would be free to leave after the interview that day. See Estrada, 
    313 S.W.3d at 295
     (noting that appellant stated several times during five-hour interview that he
    wanted to go home and citing State v. Carroll, 
    645 A.2d 82
    , 88 (N.H. 1994), for
    proposition that “defendant’s statement that he ‘want[ed] to go home’ suggests
    ‘that the defendant himself believed that he could have left if he so chose’”).
    Although a reasonable person would have realized the incriminating nature of the
    admission, no other factors indicating police control over Wilson existed to lead a
    reasonable person to believe that he was under arrest. Compare Dowthitt, 
    931 S.W.2d at
    254–55, 57 (holding “custody” began when Dowthitt admitted to his
    presence during murders because “a reasonable person would have realized the
    incriminating nature of the admission,” and other factors were present that
    “involv[ed] the exercise of police control” over him—the lengthy interrogation
    lasting over twelve hours, officers accompanying him to restroom, and officers
    11
    ignoring his requests to see his wife), with Hodson v. State, 
    350 S.W.3d 169
    ,
    174–75 (Tex. App.—San Antonio 2011, pet. ref’d) (holding defendant not in
    custody during sixty-minute interview during which defendant admitted
    involvement in murder and noting that situations where the manifestation of
    probable cause triggers custody are unusual), Houston, 
    185 S.W.3d at 921
    (explaining that “[a]lthough there was probable cause to arrest and the strength
    of the State’s case was readily apparent to all,” detectives specifically told
    defendant that he was not under arrest and implied through their questioning that
    he could leave), and Scott v. State, 
    165 S.W.3d 27
    , 42 (Tex. App.—Austin 2005)
    (“Although probable cause to arrest arose early in the questioning, the officers
    never suggested by word or deed that Scott was not free to leave.”), rev’d on
    other grounds, 
    227 S.W.3d 670
     (Tex. Crim. App. 2007).
    The record as a whole does not clearly establish that Wilson was in
    custody until the detectives told Wilson that he was under arrest approximately
    one hour and forty-three minutes into the interview; thus, we hold that the trial
    court did not err by not suppressing the videotape prior to this point.      See
    Herrera, 
    241 S.W.3d at 526
    . We overrule Wilson’s sole issue.
    12
    V. CONCLUSION
    Having overruled Wilson’s sole issue, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.
    /s/ Sue Walker
    SUE WALKER
    JUSTICE
    PANEL: WALKER, MEIER, and GABRIEL, JJ.
    MEIER, J. filed a concurring opinion.
    PUBLISH
    DELIVERED: August 14, 2014
    13