[Part 2 of 2*] Did detective violate right to silence and counsel? Co-defendant argues to suppress
49 lbs of marijuana, and ramen noodle seasoning sprinkled on seat
co-defendants in 2-yr old marijuana transport case; one already in prison, the other out of custody, awaits trial in March 2017
BISBEE - Maria Liliana Sallard and Sheri Hogan were arrested in July 14, 2014 on drug charges following a traffic stop north of Elfrida that revealed nearly 49 pounds of marijuana in the truck they were in. The women would later be indicted by a county grand jury on nearly identical charges, yet their cases in the Cochise County Superior Court have followed different paths.
Hogan, who was charged with six drug related counts in the June 11, 2015 indictment, accepted a plea agreement this summer that resulted in a prison sentence.
In the meantime, 31 year old Sallard is out of custody on a $25,000 surety bond as her case slowly makes its way toward a March 2017 trial. She is facing five counts of violating Arizona drug laws and one count of providing false information to an officer.
On October19 - more than two years after the traffic stop - Sallard will be in judge Wallace Hoggatt’s courtroom for a hearing on a motion challenging the admissibility of evidence obtained from her cell phone. At issue is whether Douglas police detective Clemente Rodriquez knowingly communicated with Sallard after her arrest “in violation of Ms. Sallard's rights to silence and to the assistance of counsel,” as alleged in the motion by the county's chief legal defender, Joel Larson.
According to the motion, Sallard invoked her rights shortly after her arrest. She was then transported to the Douglas police station where Larson claims Rodriquez “approached Ms. Sallard and requested consent to search her cell phone” even though the veteran officer was aware “she had invoked her Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights.”
Larson also alleges Sallard was told “if she did consent, the phone would be released to her as soon as the download was complete” thus saving her the cost of replacing the phone if the police kept it as evidence. Such comments, argues Larson, were “threats and promises aimed at inducing Ms. Sallard” to consent to an improper search and therefore “evidence seized following consent to a search must be suppressed if the consent is tainted by a prior constitutional violation.”
The defense’s motion to suppress the cell phone evidence was filed August 30; as of October 6 the clerk’s office does not show a response filed by the county attorney’s office. The suppression hearing is scheduled to begin at 10:00am October 19. Rodriquez has been subpoenaed to testify, as has U.S. Customs & Border Protection officer Paul Barco who was on-scene when Sallard was arrested.
TRUCK FOLLOWED FOR 20 MILES; MARIJUANA FOUND, RAMEN NOODLE SEASONING SPRINKLED ON BACKSEAT
The cases against Sallard and Hogan started in July 2014 when Arizona Dept. of Public Safety (DPS) officer Jeff Richardson noticed a pickup truck with Texas plates traveling on Highway 191 near Elfrida. After following the truck for nearly 20 miles, Richardson eventually initiated a traffic stop based on speeding (60mph in a 55mph zone) and crossing the shoulder line. Hogan was at the wheel and Sallard in the front passenger seat.
According to Richardson’s probable cause statement, at one point during his surveillance he “observed the passenger leaning back and move (sic) stuff around in the back seat.” He kept the women separated after the stop, Richardson noted, and became suspicious because their accounts of where they had been differed. He also noticed Sallard was talking on a cell phone while he was speaking with Hogan.
More than an hour after the initial stop, Cochise County Sheriff deputy Marsha Callahan-English arrived on scene with her canine partner Nobe, a certified drug sniffing dog. After Nobe “alerted to the pickup,” Richardson performed a search which revealed 49 packages of marijuana totaling 48.8 pounds. The search also revealed that ramen noodle seasoning had been sprinkled in the backseat.
Both women were arrested that evening on drug charges but those cases were dismissed days later when the county attorney’s office failed to file a complaint. The June 2015 grand jury indictment resulted in the current case against Sallard, which attorneys estimate will require a four day trial. But the issue of the cell phone evidence must be resolved first.
As part of the driver’s plea agreement, Hogan is required to “provide truthful testimony at any proceeding to which she may be subsequently subpoenaed” in the case against Sallard. Hogan was sentenced July 8 to two years in prison followed by three years of supervised probation.
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* [see Part 1 of 2] Check www.CochiseCountyRecord.com for the first half of the report which focuses on Sheri Lyn Hogan's case.
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Contact reporter Terri Jo Neff at 520-508-3660 and cjw_media@yahoo.com
