Lawyer wants statement in deputy's death suppressed
The defender, whose client is accused of killing a sheriff's deputy, says the suspect's words were obtained illegally.
By CHASE SQUIRES
Published March 25, 2004
DADE CITY - An attorney representing Alfredie Steele Jr. - the young man accused of killing a sheriff's deputy - made another assault Wednesday on the state's evidence.
Public defender Tom Hanlon has already challenged the first statements Steele made to detectives, before he was released and sent home June 3. In Wednesday's bid, Hanlon seeked to suppress the rest of the statements Steele made that day - the statements that led to his arrest.
Steele, 20, of Lacoochee is charged with first-degree murder in the June 1 death of Pasco County sheriff's Lt. Charles "Bo" Harrison. The 57-year-old deputy was in his patrol car early that day in Trilacoochee when investigators say Steele fired on his car with an assault rifle, killing him.
Steele left Lacoochee after the shooting, but his mother and professional football player Darren Hambrick, of Lacoochee, retrieved him from Daytona Beach and drove him to the Sheriff's Office in Dade City to talk with deputies.
Earlier this month, Hanlon argued that because a deputy followed Hambrick's SUV as he drove Steele to the Sheriff's Office, Steele was essentially in custody and therefore should have been read his rights before he made any statements.
A judge has yet to rule on that argument.
On Wednesday, Hanlon followed that because deputies released Steele after the first round of questioning but surrounded his house when he went home, he was still in custody. So even though he called detectives less than two hours after his release and said he wanted to make another statement, that statement was also illegally obtained.
Investigators say Steele told them he did the shooting. But so far, there has been little physical evidence presented to back up that claim.
Steele could face the death penalty if convicted. He is being held in the Sumter County jail without bail.
