Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Associated Press
AKRON
A man accused of plotting to bomb a highway bridge near Cleveland lost his bid Monday to suppress his post-arrest statements to an FBI agent in a decision that likely has minimal impact since prosecutors have said they don’t plan to use the statements.
An attorney for defendant Connor Stevens had argued that his client’s comments to FBI agent Jake Ruddy in April weren’t voluntary and should be suppressed.
Court records indicate Ruddy had talked with Stevens for 14 minutes before beginning the process of advising him about his Miranda warning rights.
Federal judge David Dowd rejected Stevens’ arguments after his review of the interview’s circumstances.
Dowd said issues he considered included the fact that Stevens made what the judge called incriminating admissions during the four-hour interview, and that Ruddy did not coerce Stevens.
Dowd’s ruling did not include examples of any allegedly incriminating admissions, but focused on the minutes immediately before Stevens went through the Miranda process.