A Syracuse man accused of fatally smashing a woman's head on a concrete floor was not arrested until he showed up at police headquarters days later griping about his seized car, a police officer testified today.
Kevin Johnson, 47, kept talking about his car when Detective Steven Stonecypher began his interrogation into the October 2016 assault of Kimberly Rhoades.
But during the interrogation, a detective told Johnson that Rhoades had died. The detectives left the room sometime later.
"Oh my God, she wasn't supposed to die," Johnson said to himself, in a statement recorded on video.
Johnson, a pimp, attacked Rhoades, who was working for him as a prostitute, because she owed him money, prosecutor Jeremy Cali has said.
A witness told police that Johnson broke into 134 Eureka St. through a window and attacked Rhoades in the basement.
"I want my (expletive) bitch, I'll kill you," the witness said Johnson told him before the assault.
Police were still looking for Johnson several days later when he came to police headquarters looking to get his car back.
That's when he made the apparent confession.
But Johnson's words are not a sure bet to be admissible at trial.
Assigned defense lawyer Charles Keller noted today that Johnson's words -- "Oh my God, she wasn't supposed to die" -- came after he'd made references to a lawyer.
That should have ended the interrogation, Keller said.
On top of that, Johnson was alone in the interrogation room and apparently unaware that cameras were rolling.
"These cameras are a blessing and a curse," Keller noted today, suggesting that using his client's statements to himself could even amount to eavesdropping by police. (Cameras were originally installed so judges and juries did not have to rely on an officer's recollection of what a suspect said during an interrogation.)
Keller argued today that police continued to talk to Johnson -- even after he'd mentioned a lawyer -- to get a reaction out of him. That included mentioning that Rhoades had died, something that Johnson clearly hadn't known yet.
But prosecutor Jeremy Cali defended the officers' actions. He noted that Johnson had been read his Miranda (Constitutional) warnings before the interrogation and had waived his rights.
Cali also said that Johnson never unequivocally asked for a lawyer.
http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index...ad_on_concrete_she_wasnt_supposed_to_die.html
Kevin Johnson, 47, kept talking about his car when Detective Steven Stonecypher began his interrogation into the October 2016 assault of Kimberly Rhoades.
But during the interrogation, a detective told Johnson that Rhoades had died. The detectives left the room sometime later.
"Oh my God, she wasn't supposed to die," Johnson said to himself, in a statement recorded on video.
Johnson, a pimp, attacked Rhoades, who was working for him as a prostitute, because she owed him money, prosecutor Jeremy Cali has said.
A witness told police that Johnson broke into 134 Eureka St. through a window and attacked Rhoades in the basement.
"I want my (expletive) bitch, I'll kill you," the witness said Johnson told him before the assault.
Police were still looking for Johnson several days later when he came to police headquarters looking to get his car back.
That's when he made the apparent confession.
But Johnson's words are not a sure bet to be admissible at trial.
Assigned defense lawyer Charles Keller noted today that Johnson's words -- "Oh my God, she wasn't supposed to die" -- came after he'd made references to a lawyer.
That should have ended the interrogation, Keller said.
On top of that, Johnson was alone in the interrogation room and apparently unaware that cameras were rolling.
"These cameras are a blessing and a curse," Keller noted today, suggesting that using his client's statements to himself could even amount to eavesdropping by police. (Cameras were originally installed so judges and juries did not have to rely on an officer's recollection of what a suspect said during an interrogation.)
Keller argued today that police continued to talk to Johnson -- even after he'd mentioned a lawyer -- to get a reaction out of him. That included mentioning that Rhoades had died, something that Johnson clearly hadn't known yet.
But prosecutor Jeremy Cali defended the officers' actions. He noted that Johnson had been read his Miranda (Constitutional) warnings before the interrogation and had waived his rights.
Cali also said that Johnson never unequivocally asked for a lawyer.
http://www.syracuse.com/crime/index...ad_on_concrete_she_wasnt_supposed_to_die.html
