Appeals court overturns ruling in drug case
KEITH KINNAIRD | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 8 years, 8 months AGO
SANDPOINT — The Idaho Court of Appeals is overturning a motion to suppress evidence in a felony drug case pending against a former Kootenai man who argued his confession was coerced by a Bonner County sheriff’s deputy.
Gunnar Liam Breymann was a suspect in a burglary at his own home in March 2015. Methamphetamine paraphernalia was discovered in the backyard and Breymann’s father suspected his 19-year-son was involved, court documents said.
A deputy later located the younger Breymann walking down the street and asked him about the break-in, according to court documents. He told the deputy that somebody else was responsible for the burglary. The deputy also asked Breymann if he had drugs or paraphernalia in his bedroom. Breymann said there was marijuana and paraphernalia, but refused to allow the room to be searched.
Breymann, then 19, was detained and he admitted there was meth paraphernalia in his room, court records indicate. Breymann indicated he understood his rights, was given Miranda warnings and signed a consent to search form.
The search turned up pot, small bags of meth and paraphernalia with meth residue, court records show.
Breymann’s counsel, Chief Public Defender Janet Whitney, argued that evidence in the case should be suppressed Breymann’s consent to search and confession were involuntary. First District Judge Barbara Buchanan agreed, finding that the questioning was repeated and prolonged. Breymann was also nervous and upset.
The appeals court overturned Buchanan’s ruling on the motion to suppress in an unpublished opinion released on Monday.
Appellate Judge Sergio Gutierrez ruled that Breymann knew his Miranda rights due to prior brushes with the law and that the questioning was not coercive or overlong.
The record showed that the interrogation lasted about 42 minutes in total and that the deputy was respectful and patient with Breymann. The deputy tried to calm Breymann when he started to cry, allowed him to sit down and loosened Breymann’s handcuffs after he complained they were too tight, Gutierrez noted.
“In sum, the nature and duration of the questioning does not indicate coercive tactics were employed by the officer,” Gutierrez said in the nine-page opinion.
The opinion remands the case back to district court for further proceedings.
Breymann currently resides in Sheldon, Iowa, according to court records.
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