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State v. Gaines4/11/1997
rris gave an account of the initial confrontation at the motel. He stated that after the confrontation, the men left and did not return. Investigator Walker told Harris that they knew he had gone back and that they just wanted Harris to tell the truth. Harris then stated that he did go back but that he did not shoot the victim. Harris then gave an account of the killing which implicated Gaines as the shooter. Harris signed a statement which included language that he had come to the Law Enforcement Center voluntarily, that he knew he was not under arrest, and that he had given the statement voluntarily. Harris was provided with soft drinks and breakfast during this time and was allowed to go to the rest room. Harris then accompanied several officers in an unmarked police van and pointed out the location where defendants had parked the automobile the second time they went to the Red Roof Inn, the location of the apartment where Gaines had obtained the shotgun, and the location where Harris alleged Gaines had hidden the shotgun. Harris and the officers then returned to the Law Enforcement Center. Investigator Boothe then advised Walker that Gaines contended that Harris had obtained the shotgun and that Harris had hidden it under his own house. Harris then stated that he had obtained the shotgun from Sandra Carrington and that he had not originally given this information in order to protect Carrington. Harris also stated that the shotgun was hidden under his house. Harris then made a second signed written statement regarding the shotgun that began, "I realize that I am still not under arrest and am giving Officers Walker and Boothe another statement to clarify and correct some parts of my earlier statement." After Harris made the second statement, Investigator Rock took Harris back to his home in an unmarked police vehicle. Harris was arrested later that night.
Both defendants assign error to the trial court's denial of pretrial motions to suppress evidence of statements and physical evidence. Defendants contend that the statements and physical evidence were obtained as a result of custodial interrogation and that defendants were not advised of their juvenile rights or given Miranda warnings. See N.C.G.S. § 7A-595 (1995); Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694, 706, 86 S. Ct. 1602 (1966).
This Court has consistently held that the rule of Miranda applies only where a defendant is subjected to custodial interrogation. See, e.g., State v. Phipps, 331 N.C. 427, 442, 418 S.E.2d 178, 185 (1992). Similarly, N.C.G.S. § 7A-595(d) pertains only to statements obtained from a juvenile defendant as the result of custodial interrogation. Custodial interrogation "'means questioning initiated by law enforcement officers after a person has been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant way.'" Phipps, 331 N.C. at 441, 418 S.E.2d at 185 (quoting Miranda, 384 U.S. 436 at 444, 16 L. Ed. 2d 694 at 706). To determine whether a person is in custody, the test is whether a reasonable person in the suspect's position would feel free to leave. State v. Rose, 335 N.C. 301, 334, 439 S.E.2d 518, 536, cert. denied, 512 U.S. 1246, 129 L. Ed. 2d 883, 114 S. Ct. 2770 (1994).
The United States Supreme Court has held that in determining whether a suspect was in custody, an appellate court must examine all the circumstances surrounding the interrogation; but the definitive inquiry is whether there was a formal arrest or a restraint on freedom of movement of the degree associated with a formal arrest. Stansbury v. California, 511 U.S. 318, 128 L. Ed. 2d 293, 114 S. Ct. 1526 (1994) (per curiam). The United States Supreme Court has recognized that any interview of a suspe
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