MORGANTOWN — A motion to suppress DNA and an interview as evidence at trial for Cesar Felix, a man accused of sexual assault, was granted on Monday.
“I find that the translator … was under a false impression as to the purpose of the meeting with the detective,” Judge Phillip Gaujot said.
Gaujot also found the translator, a family friend, exceeded her responsibilities as a translator and gave law enforcement information that was ultimately determined to be evidence useful to the state without Felix’s permission.
A court translator interpreted the proceedings for Felix at Monday’s hearing.
There was also no evidence showing Felix knew why he was there to give information nor was he specifically advised he could leave at any time, Gaujot said.
While the interpreter may have believed she was helping Felix, she was legally hurting him, he said.
“She absolutely was but not by anything the state did,” Assistant Prosecutor Stephen Fitz said.
Gaujot said he wasn’t suggesting the state did anything wrong, just stating what happened.
He also found Felix did not understand his constitutional rights well enough to waive them and a permission form signed by Felix agreeing to submit his DNA did not sufficiently notify him of those rights.
“I find that he did not voluntarily, knowingly and intelligently waive his right not to have his person searched without a search warrant,” Gaujot said.
The case is still planned for trial said Felix’s attorney, Matthew Brock.
Felix is charged with second-degree sexual assault. He is accused of committing that assault in May 2016 when he allegedly offered to give a woman a ride home and instead took her to a gravel parking lot and assaulted her.
She fought back, he stopped and he left the area, according to a criminal complaint.
Felix was interviewed in August of 2016, according to testimony on Monday by Detective D. Trejo of the Morgantown Police Department.
A family friend of Felix’s, Stephanie Murillo, set up the interview with Trejo on Felix’s behalf after Felix’s boss told him police wanted to interview him. She also accompanied him to the interview and translated in it.
In addition to the constitutional rights issue, Brock argued that Murillo also effectively acted as an agent of law enforcement by offering details to police without actually asking Felix for an answer.
Murillo said Felix told her he wasn’t guilty, she believed him and that she thought giving as much information as law enforcement as possible would be helpful.
Fitz argued that while Felix was not read the Miranda warning it wasn’t required because the interview was voluntary and no state action had been taken. Murillo was acting on behalf of Felix and as an agent of the state and his DNA was given voluntarily.
The results of Felix’s DNA matched that of the reported assault and were returned to the MPD in August 2019, when he was charged.
