United States vs. Minard, No. 05-6089 (10th Cir. 2006)
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
F I L E D United States Court of Appeals Tenth Circuit UNITED STATES CO URT O F APPEALS December 12, 2006 TENTH CIRCUIT Elisabeth A. Shumaker Clerk of Court U N ITED STA TES O F A M ER ICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, No. 05-6089 (W .D. Oklahoma) (D.C. No. 04-CR-97-L) v. G REG O RY CA RL M IN A RD , Defendant-Appellant. OR D ER AND JUDGM ENT * Before L UC ER O, M cKA Y, and M U RPH Y, Circuit Judges. I. Introduction Following indictment on drug and firearm charges, Gregory Carl M inard moved to suppress inculpatory statements he made to police. The district court held an evidentiary hearing as required by Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368 (1964), to determine whether M inard s statements were made voluntarily. After considering evidence presented by both the Government and M inard, the court * This order and judgment is not binding precedent, except under the doctrines of law of the case, res judicata and collateral estoppel. It may be cited, however, for its persuasive value consistent with Fed. R. App. P. 32.1 (eff. Dec. 1, 2006) and 10th Cir. R. 32.1 (eff. Jan. 1, 2007). determined the Government carried its burden of showing, in each instance, the knowing and voluntary nature of M inard s Fifth Amendment waiver and incriminating statements. The court denied M inard s suppression motion and ruled the statements admissible at trial. M inard subsequently pleaded guilty to one count of knowingly manufacturing methamphetamine under 18 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1) and one count of being a felon in possession of firearms under 18 U.S.C. § 922(g)(1). 1 The court sentenced M inard to concurrent prison terms of 240 months on the methamphetamine charge and 120 months on the firearms charge. In his plea agreement, M inard retained the right to appeal the district court s denial of his suppression motion. Exercising jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291, this court affirms the district court s decision. II. Background M inard was shot in the chest by co-defendant Christopher Spindler on M arch 27, 2004, following an early morning argument and gun fight at M inard s home in Oklahoma City. M inard was taken to Oklahoma U niversity M edical Center. During his hospital stay, M inard was under arrest on state charges for 1 In exchange for his guilty plea, prosecutors moved to dismiss count 1 of the indictment. Count 1 accused M inard and three others of conspiracy to manufacture, possess with intent to distribute, and distribute 500 grams or more of methamphetamine in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 841(a)(1). -2- manufacturing methamphetamine. M inard did not have surgery to remove the bullet, but his condition improved during his hospitalization. A police search of M inard s house immediately after the shooting revealed chemicals and tools used in methamphetamine manufacturing. A .22 caliber pistol belonging to M inard was subsequently recovered inside the house; the .357 caliber revolver M inard used in the shootout w as recovered from a co-defendant. The police investigation revealed M inard routinely sold methamphetamine to Spindler and others. M inard ultimately admitted, for sentencing purposes, to manufacturing one kilogram of methamphetamine. W hile in the hospital in the days after the shooting, M inard was interviewed twice by police detectives, once on M arch 30 and again on April 2. In each interview , an Oklahoma City police detective advised M inard of his M iranda rights and, in response, M inard waived his rights and agreed to speak with the officers. In the course of these interview s, M inard admitted to manufacturing methamphetamine in his home as well as to owning two guns. M inard was interview ed again a month later, on April 29, at the Oklahoma City jail. In this third interview, after again w aiving his M iranda rights, he provided additional details about his role in manufacturing and selling methamphetamine and about the shooting incident. None of these conversations was recorded or transcribed. M inard does not, however, contest the substance of the conversations -3- Detectives Park and Chute recounted to the court. M inard only claims the waivers and statements he gave were unknowing and involuntary. At the hearing on M inard s motion to suppress, the district court heard testimony from Nurse Heather Ross, the nurse on duty during the first of the interviews, to establish M inard s medical condition at the time of that first interview. The court also received into evidence M inard s hospital records (G overnment Exhibits 3 5) and the waiver forms he signed (Government Exhibits 1 and 2). Detective Kenneth Park testified about M inard s demeanor and the substance of his statements during the hospital interviews. Attempting to counter Park s testimony, M inard s mother, Barbara Lynch, testified about M inard s confused mental state and dire physical condition during her visits to the hospital. Detective A llen Chute testified about the nature and substance of the jailhouse interview . Considering the evidence before it, the district court determined the government has carried its burden of showing by the preponderance of the evidence that M inard s waiver of rights and subsequent confessions were knowingly and voluntarily made. The court denied M inard s motion to suppress. The court found no evidence of police coercion at either the hospital or the jail, and, despite M inard s injury and receipt of pain m edication, rejected M inard s argument that pain or painkillers affected M inard s free will. -4- On appeal, M inard claims the district court incorrectly concluded his statements were voluntary and, therefore, erroneously failed to suppress the statements. This court concludes M inard s assertions on appeal are unavailing. III. Discussion M inard challenges both the validity of his M iranda waiver and the voluntariness of the statements he gave after providing a waiver. A M iranda waiver, to be valid, must be given voluntarily, knowingly, and intelligently. M iranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 444 (1966). An inculpatory statement, to be admissible, must be made voluntarily and of the defendant s free will. Colorado v. Connelly, 479 U.S. 157, 167 (1986). Involuntariness in the context of both M iranda waivers and confessions requires a finding of coercive police action. Id. ( [C]oercive police activity is a necessary predicate to the finding that a confession is not voluntary within the meaning of the Due Process Clause. ); M oran v. Burbine, 475 U.S. 412, 421 (1986) ( [T]he relinquishment of the [M iranda] right must have been voluntary in the sense that it was the product of a free and deliberate choice rather than intimidation, coercion, or deception. ). Thus, in the absence of police coercion, a court cannot conclude a defendant s waiver or inculpatory statements are involuntary. A valid waiver, however, requires more than just a finding of voluntariness. In addition to being voluntary, a waiver of M iranda rights must also be knowing -5- and intelligent. 384 U.S. at 444. In contrast to a voluntariness analysis, a court need not find coercion in order to find a defendant s waiver unknowing or unintelligent. See United States v. Cristobal, 293 F.3d 134, 142 (4th Cir. 2002). Instead, the totality of the circumstances must demonstrate a defendant waived his rights with a requisite level of comprehension. M oran, 475 U.S. at 421. A waiver is knowing and intelligent only if it was made with a full awareness of both the nature of the right being abandoned and the consequences of the decision to abandon it. Id. A defendant need not, however, understand all the consequences of the waiver. See Colorado v. Spring, 479 U.S. 564, 574 (1987). He need only understand his right to remain silent or have his statements used against him. Id. W hen a defendant challenges the validity of a M iranda waiver or the voluntariness of his inculpatory statements, this court independently reviews the entire record and decides de novo whether the defendant s actions and words w ere voluntary. United States v. Hernandez, 93 F.3d 1493, 1501 (10th Cir. 1996). This court accepts the district court s findings of fact, however, unless the findings are clearly erroneous. Id. Examples of factual findings in the voluntariness context include the district court s determinations about police intimidation of a suspect or the suspect s susceptibility to police coercion. United States v. Chalan, 812 F.2d 1302, 1308 (10th Cir. 1987). W ith these standards in -6- mind, we consider separately each of M inard s three interviews with law enforcement. A. M arch 30 ICU Interview M inard argues he was under the influence of painkillers and in great pain during the M arch 30 hospital interview . Although he listened to D etective Park read the waiver of rights form, read the form himself, and signed the form, he contends he was confused and did not understand the nature of the legal rights he was w aiving. M inard, therefore, argues his statements w ere involuntary and his waiver was invalid. Unless clearly erroneous, this court must accept the district court s factual findings. Based on a transcript of the district court s evidentiary hearing and the exhibits received by the district court, we conclude the district court properly found an absence of evidence of police coercion and properly determined M inard s waiver and inculpatory statements were voluntarily made. Park interviewed M inard in the surgical trauma ICU just after 1:00 p.m. on M arch 30, 2004, three and a half days after M inard was admitted to the hospital. Park asked N urse Ross for permission to interview M inard. Park also asked Ross whether M inard was under the influence of mind-altering drugs or painkillers and whether he would be able to answer Park s questions. Although she did not check M inard s chart before answering Park s questions, Ross indicated M inard was not under the influence of drugs and w ould be able to respond to Park s inquiries. -7- Once inside M inard s room, Park roused M inard from sleep and allowed M inard time to drink a sip of water and orient himself. Park said he read M inard a standard waiver of rights form word for word, made sure M inard could read English, and allowed M inard the thirty seconds to a minute he needed to read the form over for himself. Park estimated he was seated in a chair about a foot and a half to two feet from the side of M inard s bed during this time. M inard signed the document while lying down in bed. M inard also verbally stated his willingness to talk to Park. The entire interview lasted twenty minutes. Hospitalization and pain alone are not enough to create any sort of presumption of coercion or involuntariness. See United States v. M orris, 287 F.3d 985, 989 (10th Cir. 2002) (rejecting gunshot victim s claim of FBI coercion where FBI took care in determining whether victim s m edical condition would impair his ability to answ er questions); United States v. Hack, 782 F.2d 862, 866 (10th Cir. 1986) (concluding statements made two days after gunshot wound to defendant s mouth while defendant was still in pain were voluntary). Despite M inard s attempt to equate his situation with that in M incey v. Arizona, 437 U.S. 385, 389 402 (1978), his situation is easily distinguishable from M incey: M inard s interrogation took place three days after being shot; M inard signed a waiver and indicated great willingness to speak with Detective Park; M inard did not complain of pain to Park; M inard had a chest tube and IV inserted at the time of the interview but was not otherwise encumbered by medical apparatus; M inard -8- had not received painkillers or other mind-altering drugs in the eighteen hours prior to the interview; M inard did not indicate confusion about any subject on which Park questioned him. There are no indicia of police coercion in this encounter. Therefore, M inard s w aiver could not have been involuntary even if his decision to talk were influenced by pain medication or pain level. See Connelly, 479 U.S. at 167. Additionally, this court concludes, based on facts found by the district court, that M inard s mental state, pain medication level, and pain intensity level did not negate his ability to knowingly or intelligently waive his rights. The evidence presented to the district court shows that M inard, a thirty-seven year old man with an eleventh grade education and several prior felony convictions, had no difficulty understanding the waiver and its implications. Regarding M inard s mental state, Nurse Ross testified about the neurological assessment used to rate a patient s verbal, motor, and neurological responses. On M arch 30 Ross rated M inard s verbal response as five or oriented at 7:00 a.m. and again at 3:00 p.m., but rated M inard a four or confused at 11:00 a.m., two hours before Detective Park s visit. M inard s records also showed he had been rated a five or oriented at each other four hour interval on M arch 29 and 30 before and after the 11:00 a.m. confused rating. 2 2 Nurse Ross explained that confused means the patient is oriented to at least person, place, or time, but not all three; it can also mean the patient is -9- In addition to medical testimony from Nurse Ross, Detective Park testified about M inard s mental acuity and condition on M arch 30 by describing the substance of their conversation. Park estimated he had interviewed close to a thousand people during his career as a police officer and, based on his experience, M inard showed no signs of difficulty understanding Park s questions. In particular, Park said M inard was able to discuss manufacturing methamphetamine using the red phosphorous method, provided the name of the person who taught him to cook methamphetamine, and told Park where in M inard s house Park would find particular items used to manufacture methamphetamine. Park was able to corroborate both the location of the items M inard mentioned and information M inard provided about the two other people with whom M inard shared the house. Barbara Lynch, M inard s mother, attempted to demonstrate M inard s mental confusion on M arch 29 and 30, but the district court determined her testimony was insufficient to temper Ross and Park s testimony and the information contained in M inard s medical records. Lynch testified M inard drifted off during her visits to the hospital and, upon reawakening, was surprised to see her. She also said M inard did not remember from one day to the next that sleeping. Ross also noted M inard opened his eyes spontaneously and responded to her commands at 11:00 a.m. and that, at 1:00 p.m. when Park arrived, M inard s vital signs were stable. -10- she had visited him the day before and mistakenly thought his daughter had visited him in the hospital. On cross examination, however, Lynch admitted M inard was not incoherent, it w as just that he would be kind of dazed. Lynch also had difficulty remembering the dates of her visits and whether M inard exhibited confusion on M arch 29, the day before his interview with Detective Park, or on M arch 30. On the issue of pain medication, prior to Detective Park s visit, M inard had last received four milligrams of morphine intravenously at 8:48 p.m. on the evening of M arch 29, nearly eighteen hours before the interview with Detective Park. Nurse Ross testified every administration of morphine is noted on a patient s chart and confirmed M inard did not have the ability to administer morphine to himself. Nurse Ross testified that, although pain medication affects different patients differently, four milligrams of morphine usually lasts four to five hours. There was no evidence M inard received other mind-altering drugs on M arch 29 or 30. In terms of M inard s pain level, Nurse Ross testified about M inard s selfreports of pain. At 7:00 a.m. on M arch 30, before the interview, M inard had no com plaint of pain. When he complained of pain at 2:14 p.m., after the interview , he rated his pain as a seven on a one-to-ten scale. Detective Park testified M inard may have appeared to be in a bit of discomfort when he adjusted his position in bed, but there were no indications of extreme pain. -11- B ased on the evidence noted herein and other evidence in the record, we conclude M inard s mental and physical condition did not impair his ability to voluntarily, knowingly, or intelligently waive his Fifth Amendment rights. Additionally, because we conclude there was no police coercion at any point during the M arch 30 encounter, this court affirms the district court s determination that M inard s subsequent statements to police were voluntary and given freely. See United States v. Erving L., 147 F.3d 1240, 1249 (10th Cir. 1998) ( [I]t is clear after Connelly that a confession is only involuntary . . . if the police use coercive activity to undermine the suspect s ability to exercise his free will. ). The district court properly denied M inard s suppression motion as the m otion related to the M arch 30 interview. B. April 2 H ospital Room Interview According to Detective Park s uncontroverted testimony, Park returned to the hospital on April 2, 2004 with Detective Allen Chute to question M inard about the shooting. M inard had been moved to a standard hospital room. Park checked with a nurse prior to entering M inard s room. Unlike the earlier visit, M inard was awake when Park and Chute entered the room and was extremely cognizant and fully aw are from the beginning of the interview. Although Park did not have a waiver form for M inard to sign on this visit, Park read M inard his M iranda rights from a card; M inard said, Yeah, I ll talk with you. M inard then told the detectives about the shooting incident, including admitting his ownership of the -12- .357 caliber gun used to fire at Christopher Spindler. M inard also told Park about the .22 caliber pistol located under an ottoman in the living room. This interview lasted approximately ten to fifteen minutes. M inard does not seriously challenge the waiver or statements he made in this interview as involuntary. Rather, he alleges they should be suppressed as fruit of the allegedly illegal earlier interview. Because this court has determined the legality of the earlier interview , there is no constitutional problem with the April 2 interview. C. April 29 Jailhouse Interview M inard s challenge to his third police interview alleges Detective Chute and Special Agent W hitney created a coercive environment by discussing the possibility that M inard had cancer. M inard contends the conversation so unsettled him that his M iranda waiver w as invalid and his statements were involuntary. Upon a review of the evidence presented to the district court, this court agrees with the district court s assessment that the record is devoid of evidence to support M inard s position. Detective Chute testified he recalled hearing early in the investigation that M inard possibly had cancer. He remembered asking M inard about this at the beginning of the interview, but denied telling M inard he had cancer. Chute said M inard responded to the officers inquiry by saying he did not have cancer. Agent -13- W hitney then read M inard his M iranda rights from a standard ATF waiver form, 3 which M inard then read for himself and signed. Chute testified neither he nor W hitney made promises to M inard in exchange for his willingness to talk to them. Other than conclusory arguments in M inard s brief, there is no indication that M inard s decision to talk with Chute and Whitney on April 29 was influenced by the cancer discussion. Chute testified the entire interview lasted twenty-five to thirty minutes. He thought M inard seemed comfortable, aware, and cognizant of his surroundings during the interview. M inard told Chute and Whitney about the shooting and the chase and gun fight that preceded it, admitted again that he used a .357 caliber gun to fire at Christopher Spindler, and told Chute where to look for the .357 W esson if detectives couldn t find the gun in his house. M inard also told the officers about his methamphetamine use: he indicated he manufactured methamphetamine mostly for his own use but also sold it to pay his bills and rent. He estimated he manufactured approximately two to three ounces per week from Christmas 2003 to M arch 2004 and sold it at $900 per ounce. Although this court questions the officers rationale for mentioning cancer to M inard at all, the officers conduct does not am ount to coercive activity to undermine the suspect s ability to exercise his free will. United States v. Lugo, 3 Although it is unclear from the record whether this cancer discussion occurred prior to or after M inard signed a waiver form, M inard s counsel at oral argument said the discussion happened first. -14- 170 F.3d 996, 1004 (10th Cir. 1999). As the district court correctly determined, there is no evidence to suggest M inard s w ill was overborne or to indicate his inculpatory statements were made involuntarily. Additionally, there is no suggestion M inard s waiver was not knowing or intelligent. This court therefore concludes M inard s waiver was valid and his statements were voluntary. IV. Conclusion This court affirms the district court s denial of M inard s suppression motion. ENTERED FOR THE COURT M ichael R. M urphy Circuit Judge -15-
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
