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State v. Wallace7/22/2004
Plaintiff-appellant State of Hawai'i [hereinafter, the prosecution] appeals from the June 12, 2003 findings of fact (FOF), conclusions of law (COL) and order of the Circuit Court of the Second Circuit, the Honorable Shackley F. Raffetto presiding, granting defendant-appellee Terrence D. Wallace's motion to suppress statements. On appeal, the prosecution essentially contends that: (1) inasmuch as Wallace was not in custody, Miranda warnings, although given, were not required and statements made by Wallace were not obtained in violation of the privilege against self-incrimination or the right to counsel; and (2) even assuming that Wallace was in custody, Wallace knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily waived his Miranda rights, notwithstanding his refusal to execute a written waiver of rights. The prosecution argues, therefore, that the circuit court erred in granting Wallace's motion to suppress. For reasons discussed more fully infra, Section III, we find merit in the prosecution's contentions and vacate the circuit court's June 12, 2003 FOF, COL and order and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
I. BACKGROUND
On April 9, 2003, at approximately 6:01 p.m., Maui Police Department (MPD) Officer *1277 Leif Adachi and MPD Officer Greg Rowe received an assignment to look for "a possible reckless driver, DUI driver, driving a gray Nissan pickup truck in Wailuku[,]" with license plate number 4RTUTU. Suspecting that the vehicle was stolen "and due to past cases of stolen vehicles," Officers Adachi and Rowe "checked the address of 1718 Lehua Street."
Officers Adachi and Rowe parked their police vehicle on a private driveway running to the back of 1718 Lehua Street. Upon exiting their vehicle, the officers saw Wallace "coming from the back of the [1718 Lehua Street] residence walking toward the police car."
According to Officer Adachi, Wallace saw him and Officer Rowe and "looked like he was going to turn around because he turned his shoulders. And at that point I think he recognized my partner[, Officer Rowe]. They grew up together." Wallace then walked up to Officer Rowe, who asked Wallace what he was doing. Officer Adachi testified that Wallace replied that he was going to his uncle's house. "And at that point we said okay, and he left." According to Officer Adachi, he did not suspect Wallace of anything at that point.
After Wallace left, Officers Adachi and Rowe continued to look for the suspect vehicle, which they eventually located in an empty lot next to 1718 Lehua Street. Officer Adachi testified that "[t]he rear driver's side window [of the suspect vehicle] was shattered, and ... we found that the plates were fraudulent[ ]...." Officer Adachi confirmed with dispatch that the vehicle was stolen.
Soon thereafter, [FN1] Wallace returned to the area and walked up to the officers. According to Officer Adachi, "[Wallace] asked what was going on, what we were doing, what's up with the truck." When asked if Wallace was a suspect at that point, Officer Adachi responded in the negative.
FN1. Officer Adachi testified that about five minutes had passed since Wallace had initially departed the scene.
According to Officer Adachi, Wallace then walked around the vehicle, looked inside, and indicated that he wanted the cigarettes out of the vehicle, although he did not claim ownership of them. At that point, Officer Adachi considered Wallace to be a "person of information" with respect to the vehicle and asked him what he knew about it. Wallace "related he was there when the truck pulled up. This guy named--he knew as Jeff, called him haole Jeff was driving. Jeff parked the truck and then ran away." Officer Adachi observed that Wallace "appeared nervous, little bit jittery. He wasn't looking at us. He talked down
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