California v. Perez
Annotate this CaseDuring a custodial interrogation of murder suspect Fabian Perez, a police sergeant told Perez that if he "[told] the truth" and was "honest," then, "we are not gonna charge you with anything." The sergeant continued, telling Perez that he was either a "suspect that we are gonna prosecute," or a "witness," and added that Perez had "witnessed something terrible that somebody did." The sergeant followed up this statement by telling Perez that if he was honest and told the truth during the interview, "[Y]ou'll have your life, maybe you'll go into the Marines . . . and you'll chalk this up to a very scary time in your life." Immediately thereafter, Perez stated that he had "some information" and, shortly after that, confessed his involvement in a robbery during which Perez's accomplice killed the victim. The People charged Perez with first degree murder and alleged that the murder had been committed in the course of a robbery. A jury found him guilty and sentenced Perez to life without the possibility of parole. On appeal, among other claims, Perez argued that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statements to law enforcement officers. After review, the Court of Appeal concluded that Perez's statements were clearly motivated by a promise of leniency, rendering the statements involuntary, and that the trial court thus erred in denying Perez's motion to suppress the statements.
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