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Commonwealth v. Boczkowski3/23/2004
efrom are in error. Commonwealth v. Bomar, 826 A.2d 831, 842 (Pa. 2003) (citing Commonwealth v. Fletcher, 750 A.2d 261, 268 (Pa. 2000) and Commonwealth v. Hall, 701 A.2d 190, 197 (1997), cert. denied, 523 U.S. 1082, 118 S.Ct. 1534 (1998)).
Appellant first argues that the trial court erred by refusing to suppress the fruits of the police questioning of him on November 7, 1994, because he was interrogated during a custodial detention which was unsupported by probable cause. Appellant alleges that Ross Township detectives transported him to the Ross Township Police Station and kept him in a room in the basement from 4:20 a.m. until 11:30 p.m. without affording him a "specific option" to leave; during that time, he was photographed, a polygraph examination was arranged, and he was interviewed by detectives; and he claims he had no opportunity to sleep either before he was transported or while he was at the police station. Appellant argues that these circumstances gave rise to a reasonable belief that he was being detained and that detectives lacked probable cause to detain him because the autopsy on Maryann Boczkowski had not yet been completed. Because the detention was illegal, appellant argues, the trial court should have suppressed the evidence acquired as a result of the detention.
The Commonwealth responds that the suppression record plainly demonstrates, and the trial court properly found, that appellant was not in custody at the time he was questioned at the station house and, thus, the motion to suppress was properly denied. We agree.
A person is in custody for Miranda purposes only when he "is physically denied of his freedom of action in any significant way or is placed in a situation in which he reasonably believes that his freedom of action or movement is restricted by the interrogation." Commonwealth v. Johnson, 727 A.2d 1089, 1100 (Pa. 1999) (citation omitted). The U.S. Supreme Court has elaborated that, in determining whether an individual was in custody, "the ultimate inquiry is ... whether there 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, 1528-29 (1994) (citations omitted). The question of custody is an objective one, focusing on the totality of the circumstance, with due consideration given to the reasonable impression conveyed upon the person being questioned. Commonwealth v. Gwynn, 723 A.2d 143, 148 (Pa. 1998), cert. denied, 528 U.S. 969 (1999).
The suppression record reveals that Detective Gary Waters, the first detective responding to the scene, arrived at appellant's house at approximately 3:00 a.m. on November 7, 1994 and had a brief conversation with appellant, during which he noticed a scratch mark on appellant's neck. At approximately 3:45 a.m., Detectives Waters and James Cvetic spoke to appellant and noted that he had a small injury on his left thumb. After a further brief conversation, the detectives asked appellant if he would accompany them to the police station so that his sleeping children would not be disturbed. Appellant readily agreed, expressing his desire to cooperate in any way and agreeing to give to the detectives the clothes he had been wearing earlier that evening. Although appellant was transported to the police station in a police vehicle, he was not handcuffed or restrained in any way.
Appellant and the detectives arrived at the police station at 4:20 a.m. and appellant was interviewed until approximately 5:45 a.m. in Detective Waters' basement office. Appellant was at all times alert and responsive to the officers' questions. At 5:30 a.m., appellant signed a consent form allowing police to pho
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