State v. Langlands

Steve Christopher Langlands was charged in a five-count indictment with 1 murder, 2 felony murder, 3 aggravated assault, 4 possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony and 5 possession of a firearm by a convicted felon arising out of the shooting death of Anthony Pelaez. The State appeals from the trial court’s grant of Langlands’ motion to suppress his custodial statement to police and also the sustaining of Langlands’ demurrer to Counts 2 and 5 of the indictment. Finding no error in the trial court’s rulings, we affirm. 1. The State contends the trial court erred by granting Langlands’ motion to suppress. On review, this Court will uphold a trial court’s findings as to disputed facts in a motion to suppress unless clearly erroneous, whereas the trial court’s application of the law to undisputed facts is subject to de novo appellate review. State v. Ray , 272 Ga. 450 2 531 SE2d 705 2000. At the hearing on the motion, Investigator Tim Jarrell testified that he questioned Langlands after his arrest. Jarrell read Langlands his Miranda rights and understood from Langlands’ response that he was invoking his right to counsel. Although the investigator ceased questioning Langlands about the criminal case, he nevertheless repeatedly questioned Langlands about his attorney1 and stressed that once Langlands obtained counsel, Jarrell “really needed” to talk to Langlands because he “really needed to know his side of the story.” Then, as Jarrell started to leave, Langlands said he would talk to the investigator without an attorney.

The trial court, after reviewing the audiotape of the interview and hearing Jarrell’s testimony, found that despite Langlands’ invocation of his right to counsel, the investigator encouraged him to speak and thus, under the totality of the circumstances, Langlands did not voluntarily initiate further talk with Jarrell. The trial court’s conclusion that Langlands did not validly waive his right to counsel was not clearly erroneous. Accordingly, the grant of the motion to suppress is affirmed. See generally State v. Ray , supra.