A 29-year-old man's confession to police that he killed and buried 18-year-old Zoe Campos seven years ago will be used against him at trial, a Lubbock judge ruled on Friday.
District Judge Douglas Freitag issued an order denying Carlos Rodriquez's request to throw out his 2018 confession to Lubbock homicide detectives.
Carlos Rodriquez is charged with murder in Campos' November 2013, death. The charge carried a punishment of five years to life in prison.
The order came after a hearing Thursday in the 140th District Court on Rodriguez's motion to suppress his confession.
A trial is tentatively set for Aug. 15 and his defense attorneys hoped to throw out that key piece of evidence, saying detectives used tactics that pressured their client into involuntarily confessing to killing Campos and helping authorities find her remains, which were buried at a home in south Lubbock where Rodriquez used to live.
They also argued that police used an informant at the jail to elicit incriminating information from Rodriquez, violating his fourth amendment right.
Campos was initially reported missing on Nov. 19, 2013. Five years later, Lubbock homicide detectives found her remains buried in the backyard of a home in the 1900 block of 70th Street, which police visited multiple times over the years during their search for Campos.
About a week after her disappearance, police found her vehicle, a 1997 silver Lincoln Town Ca,r abandoned at an apartment complex in the 5500 block of Utica Avenue. Police found her jacket and phone charger in the trunk of the vehicle.
Meanwhile, Rodriquez was a person of interest in the case as investigators learned he may have been the last person to see Campos alive.
During a Nov. 19, 2018 interview with Lubbock police, police say Rodriquez admitted to killing Campos. He said he strangled Campos to death then buried her body in the backyard of his home at the time. He later led detectives to the spot where her remains were found.
On July 12, Rodriquez's defense attorney filed a motion to suppress his confession, saying detectives ignored his request for an attorney in prior interviews, unfairly pressuring him to ultimately confess to killing Campos.
By December 2017, the case had been handed to a third detective, David Schreiber, who wanted to speak with Rodriquez about Campo's disappearance.
Rodriquez was being held at the Lubbock County Detention Center on an unrelated count of stalking when Schreiber and Lubbock police Sgt. Brandon Price spoke with him on Dec. 5, 2017.
The detectives brought Rodriquez from the jail to police headquarters for an interview that spanned more than two hours. The detectives told Rodriquez that they knew Campos was dead and that she was killed at his previous residence. However, at the time, police had no evidence to corroborate that.
They also told Rodriquez his DNA was found inside Campo's jacket.
However, none of the detectives asked Rodriquez directly about his involvement. Instead, they pressured him into confessing, saying they believed his criminal behavior was increasing because he was haunted by his role in Campos' death. They told him confessing to what he did would end the cycle that brought him in and out of jail.
Rodriquez didn't confess. Instead, he told detectives that "every time I try to talk about anything that happened that night ... I always want to like ... talk to an attorney about it so I know where I am at legally. I need to know if it is intentional or whatever ... It's not easy talking without knowing what is going to happen."
Rodriquez's attorney Jeff Nicholson said his client's statement was an obvious request for an attorney. Instead, the detectives shifted their questions to another topic.
It wasn't until Rodriquez verbally stated he wanted an attorney that the detectives ended the interview.
Schreiber and Price disagreed.
The detectives told the court during Thursday's hearing that they met with Rodriquez to set a tone by letting him believe they had more information about his involvement with Campos' disappearance than they had at the time.
They said Rodriquez didn't expressly request for an attorney when he said he wanted legal advice and kept speaking.
Price told the court that he didn't believe Rodriquez was specifically asking for an attorney when he said he wanted legal advice. He said he's seen suspects seek legal advice from family members.
"He could be wanting to call his uncle," Price said. "Sometimes they talk to their mothers ... and their mothers say, 'I think you should tell the truth.'"
Detectives wouldn't speak with Rodriquez until 11 months later. Meanwhile, a confidential witness being held at the jail called law enforcement in July 2018 saying he had information that Rodriquez killed and buried Campos but was adamant that he would only give it in exchange for a favorable deal on his own case.
Records showed the informant relented and provided the information without a deal.
Nicholson argued that records that were available to him showed the informant's change of heart was suspicious because a recording of the interview indicated the informant and Price got into a heated argument about the offer.
Moreover, the informant didn't become an official confidential informant, which would conceal his identity in court records, until the month his client made his confession.
Nicholson said the scenario reeked of a secret deal being struck for the informant to speak with his client as an agent of law enforcement.
Prosecutor Barron Slack told the court that the evidence showed the informant acted on his own, saying he already had the information from Rodriquez before he contacted law enforcement.
Slack said the Lubbock County District Attorney's office never approved a deal with the informant, nor was there any evidence that the police did either. He said the record showed detectives made it clear to the informant that he was not working for law enforcement.
In November 2018, Lubbock police had enough information to begin digging in the backyard of Rodriquez's former home to search for Campos' remains.
At some point, police found what they initially believed to be a human bone. Schreiber said he met Rodriquez a second time to confront him with the evidence. The interview ended quickly when Rodriquez asked for an attorney.
The bone was later identified as an animal bone, Schreiber said.
However, a week later, Rodriquez contacted jail officials saying he wanted to speak with Schreiber and confess to killing and burying Campos.
Slack played a portion of that third interview at the hearing. Rodriquez could be heard saying that he and Campos were at his home smoking synthetic marijuana and "freaked out on her" and started hitting her.
He said she was about to call the police when he strangled her and she passed out.
"I think she was already dead," he could be heard saying.
He later led police to the spot where Campos' remains were found.
Nicholson argued that his client's confession was a culmination of the detectives' unfair tactics that began in the interview 11 months prior when they ignored his client's initial request for an attorney.
"It's a snowball effect," he said. "He gets more nervous and nervous... Once a person is denied counsel they sit around for 11 months, they get desperate and they sit around doing something foolish."
He said detectives knew that his client was requesting an attorney when he said he wanted legal advice.
"He just didn't say the right word," Nicholson said. "There's no law that he has to say the word 'attorney.'"
Slack argued that the record showed Rodriquez knew how to terminate that December interview because it ended when the defendant expressly asked for an attorney.
He said the detectives also weren't required to bring a lawyer to consult with Rodriquez.
The motion to suppress didn't address the July 2019 letter Rodriquez reportedly wrote to local media outlets in which he admits to Campos' killing, saying he acted while he was high on synthetic marijuana.
In the letter, Rodriquez said he carried the guilt and shame of Zoes killing for years. He apologized to Campos family and the community.
He said he believed the jail inmate to whom he confided betrayed him to the police. However, he said he is not mad at the inmate.
He did me a huge favor, he wrote.
Rodriquez wrote in detail the moment the drugs took over his senses, making him believe Campos had turned into a demon.
Though he admitted to killing Campos, he wrote that he was not a murderer and described his actions that night as reckless, which is a culpable mental state in manslaughter charges. Manslaughter is a second-degree felony that carries a punishment of two to 20 years in prison.
Im not asking for a dismissal, he wrote. I just want a fair judgement and not to be labeled as a murderer, but as a 20-year-old kid who made a mistake because of K-2 playing a major factor.
However, voluntary intoxication is not a defense to a crime, though it may be used to mitigate punishment after a defendant is found guilty.
See more here:
Confession in Zoe Campos homicide to be admitted at trial - LubbockOnline.com
- Why Congress Must Reform FISA Section 702and How It Can - brennancenter.org - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- CIA wants more power to spy on Americans - Washington Times - April 12th, 2024 [April 12th, 2024]
- Keyboard search warrants and the Fourth Amendment | Brookings - Brookings Institution - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Just Published: "Terms of Service and Fourth Amendment Rights" - Reason - February 22nd, 2024 [February 22nd, 2024]
- Can Texas police set up DWI checkpoints in Dallas-Fort Worth? Here's what to know - Yahoo News Canada - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The FBI's Lawless Raid on U.S. Private Vaults Shows Why the Founders Created the Fourth Amendment | Jon Miltimore - Foundation for Economic Education - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- HCSO to release body cam footage to plaintiff alleging Fourth Amendment violation - Smoky Mountain News - December 19th, 2023 [December 19th, 2023]
- Section 702 surveillance doesn't belong in the NDAA - Defense One - December 16th, 2023 [December 16th, 2023]
- Valkyrie's Fourth Amendment for the Launch of a Bitcoin ETF - Crypto Times - December 16th, 2023 [December 16th, 2023]
- Digital justice: Supreme Court increasingly confronts law and the internet - Washington Times - December 14th, 2023 [December 14th, 2023]
- Trump and Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment: An Exploration ... - JURIST - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- Expert Q&A with David Aaron on FISA Section 702 Reauthorization ... - Just Security - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- A Constitution the Government Evades - Tenth Amendment Center - October 13th, 2023 [October 13th, 2023]
- First and Fourth Amendment Claims Over Arrest at Protest of Police ... - Reason - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Law enforcement violation of the fourth amendment - Daily Kos - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- D.C. Appeals Court weighs whether phone seizures from 2020 ... - Washington Times - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Opinion: Why you shouldn't turn on your phone in church Palo Alto ... - The Daily Post - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Court attorneys group hosts CLE seminar with esteemed Justice ... - Brooklyn Daily Eagle - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Former Dona Ana County Deputy Sheriff Charged with Federal Civil ... - Department of Justice - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Editorial: Renters rights ruling | Opinion - nwestiowa.com - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- U.S. Attorney's Statement Regarding Proposed Changes to Crime ... - Department of Justice - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- New Jersey provides a road map for fighting racially biased traffic ... - Slate - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Animal rights advocates sue after facing ongoing censorship and ... - Foundation for Individual Rights in Education - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Gerald Jako Pleads Guilty to Two Counts of Murder in Ohio County - Wheeling Intelligencer - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Supreme Court of Appeals Visits Campus The Parthenon - MU The Parthenon - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Securities and Exchange Board of India (Listing Obligations and ... - Tax Management India. Com - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Legal Strategies For A Strong Defense Against Bribery Accusations - American Judicature Society - September 25th, 2023 [September 25th, 2023]
- Police get new images of area break-in suspect - Southwest Virginia Today - September 15th, 2023 [September 15th, 2023]
- Napolitano: Is the CIA in your underwear? | News, Sports, Jobs - Standard-Examiner - September 15th, 2023 [September 15th, 2023]
- Bulletin: Maryland Juvenile Services Head Says Violence Among ... - The Trace - September 15th, 2023 [September 15th, 2023]
- Tased horseman's excessive force claims clear bar Rhode Island ... - Rhode Island Lawyers Weekly - September 15th, 2023 [September 15th, 2023]
- The absurdity of fact-checkers | Columnists | leader-call.com - leader-call.com - September 15th, 2023 [September 15th, 2023]
- Facial Recognition Technology and False Arrests: Should Black ... - Capital B - September 15th, 2023 [September 15th, 2023]
- Letter to the editor - Southeast Iowa Union - September 15th, 2023 [September 15th, 2023]
- Petition hopes to stop US government agencies from using ... - Cointelegraph - September 15th, 2023 [September 15th, 2023]
- Passing on the legacy of 9/11 to the next generation The ... - The Duquesne Duke - September 15th, 2023 [September 15th, 2023]
- Congress Should Reauthorize a Key Intelligence Tool - Foreign Policy Research Institute - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- Kansas City police made arrests based on rescinded warrants ... - Kansas Reflector - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- Tased horsemans excessive force claims clear bar - Virginia Lawyers Weekly - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- Ball is in AL's court - newagebd.net - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- Lawsuit against police chief just the latest shoe to drop in Marion ... - Kansas Reflector - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- In the wake of Idalia, residents of one Florida town are turning to ... - Poynter - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- NYPD using drones to monitor NYC backyard Labor Day parties, spurring privacy concerns - NBC New York - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- City of Grand Rapids dismissed, lawsuit against Christopher Schurr ... - FOX 17 West Michigan News - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- OSHA's Proposed Rule Would Allow Union Walkthroughs of All ... - Fisher Phillips - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- Letters From Readers, Aug. 31, 2023 | Opinion | avpress.com - Antelope Valley Press - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- Where are the Noah's Park animals? - The Pike County Courier - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- His hands were up: Attorney for football game shooting victim says civil rights violated - Yahoo News - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- NYC voters explain why theyre voting for RFK Jr. over Biden: Going ... - 1330 WFIN - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- Houston Food Not Bombs in Court over Feeding the Unhoused - The Texas Observer - September 5th, 2023 [September 5th, 2023]
- Search and seizure Equal protection Discriminatory policing - Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- The Timing of Computer Search Warrants When It Takes the ... - Reason - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Councilmembers Inquired About Pretext Stops By Police One Year ... - Pasadena Now - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- BARINGS BDC, INC. : Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet... - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Alabama appeals court reverses murder conviction of Ala. officer ... - Police News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Oakland narrows town manager search to five | West Orange Times ... - West Orange Times & SouthWest Orange Observer - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- The Durham Report Is Right About the Need for More FBI Oversight - Reason - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Collective knowledge doctrine applies to a traffic stop - Police News - May 18th, 2023 [May 18th, 2023]
- Interpretation: The Fourth Amendment | Constitution Center - March 31st, 2023 [March 31st, 2023]
- Public Schools :: Fourth Amendment -- Search and Seizure :: US ... - January 2nd, 2023 [January 2nd, 2023]
- BSE : Securities and Exchange Board of India (Issue of Capital and Disclosure Requirements) (Fourth Amendment) Regulations, 2022 - Marketscreener.com - November 27th, 2022 [November 27th, 2022]
- Trump legal counsel vows 'Fourth Amendment based' challenge to Mar-a ... - October 21st, 2022 [October 21st, 2022]
- Get to Know the EFA: Digital Fourth - EFF - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Arguments heard in body in trunk case | News, Sports, Jobs - Minot Daily News - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Ormond Beach Planning Board to meet Thursday - Ormond Beach Observer - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Limiting the Power of Police in Schools - The Regulatory Review - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Letter to the Editor: What Republicans Believe - Door County Pulse - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Trump wants other presidents investigated - KRLD - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Trump Rally Speech Shows He's 'Guilty and Scared': Former Prosecutor - Newsweek - October 13th, 2022 [October 13th, 2022]
- Court Strips Immunity From Cop Who Shot A Dog Within Seconds Of Arriving On The Scene Of A Non-Crime - Techdirt - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Claiming to have 4.3 trillion readers, the Onion supports parodist and its writers' paychecks in SCOTUS brief - ABA Journal - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- INHIBRX, INC. : Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement, Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet... - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- PennLive goes to court for records related to U.S. Rep. Scott Perrys cell phone - PennLive - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Rusty Hardin & Associates Strengthens Litigation Team with Addition of Attorney Aisha Dennis - PR Newswire - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Vancouver City Council asked to OK $725000 deal with family of man killed by police - The Columbian - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Govt plans to auction 22 mineral blocks in 3 states within next two months - Business Standard - October 6th, 2022 [October 6th, 2022]
- Fort Worth officers sued after being accused of violating rights - WFAA.com - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- LSU professors, students weigh in on constitutionality of room scans for online exams - The Reveille, LSU's student newspaper - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Solution for ideological division: Revising the Constitution? - The Christian Science Monitor - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]
- Lawsuit says teen was thrown in solitary confinement and abused inside Maine's youth prisons - observer-me.com - September 27th, 2022 [September 27th, 2022]