Rota cop in domestic violence case says he was not provided Miranda rights

George Ayuyu Barcinas, a Rota police officer facing domestic violence charges, moves the Superior Court to suppress any statement he made to law enforcement officers allegedly without providing him his constitutional rights.

In a motion to suppress statements, Barcinas, through counsel assistant public defender Tillman Clark, requested the court to find his first statement be found inadmissible at trial as a violation of Miranda.

Miranda refers to the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark ruling that concludes that statements made by a suspect in police custody are generally inadmissible if the suspect has not been made aware of his or her Fifth and Sixth Amendment rights.

Clark also asked the court to hold as inadmissible Barcinas’ second statement to the police as a post-warning violation of Miranda and Seibert.

Seibert refers to a U.S. Supreme Court decision that held that Miranda warnings given mid-interrogation, after the defendant gave an unwarned confession, were ineffective, and thus a repeated confession made post-Miranda warning, after questioning resumed following a short break, was inadmissible at trial.

Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho set the hearing of the motion to suppress for Oct. 7 at 8:30am at the Rota Courthouse.

Camacho reset the bench trial currently scheduled on Oct. 7 at 9am, to Oct. 7 at 1:30pm at the Rota Courthouse.

Clark stated that on June 5, 2015, at 5:25pm, police detective Shaw Taisacan responded to the residence of Barcinas.

Clark said Taisacan said Barcinas flagged down the vehicle, and he was immediately, in the words of Taisacan, placed under arrest and transported to Department of Public Safety Central for processing by a police officer.

On that same day at 5:43pm, Clark said, while under arrest in police custody, Police Officer Noel M. Calvo interviewed Barcinas.

In that interview, the defense lawyer said, Barcinas gave a full and detailed description of his version of the events that occurred that day.

Clark said Barcinas was never Mirandarized or otherwise informed of his constitutional rights before giving his statement.

At 9pm that same day, Clark said, Barcinas had his rights read to him by Detective Taisacan and was interviewed again.

Clark said the second interview was equally descriptive and detailed as Barcinas’ earlier interview and was substantially identical.

Clark said it is not reasonable to find that the Miranda warnings Barcinas received could function effectively.

Clark said at the time which Barcinas received them he had already told the officers a fully chronological narrative of his history and there was nothing more to add.

Clark said the only purpose of a second interview was to do so after having read him his rights and thus, in the minds of the officers involved, getting a legally admissible statement.

The Office of the Attorney General alleged that on June 5, 2015 on Rota, Barcinas pinned his wife to the ground and placed her in a headlock. He allegedly grabbed his wife’s keys from her car’s ignition against her will preventing her from leaving his property.

Barcinas also allegedly used physical force to struggle with and prevent the victim from calling law enforcement after she informed him of her intention to do so.

The government charged the 35-year-old Barcinas with assault and battery, disturbing the peace, and interfering with a domestic violence report.