FLORENCE, Ariz. (AP) - An Arizona judge has decided comments by an inmate accused of murder made before he was read his rights are useable in court because he voluntarily made them.
Attorneys argued whether the evidence could be used before jury selection started on Monday for 26-year-old Tyler Bondy’s trial, the Casa Grande Dispatch reported (https://bit.ly/2wPNITX ).
Bondy is accused of killing his former cellmate, 29-year-old Anthony Allen, in July 2015. Bondy was indicted for first-degree murder about eight months after the death.
Bondy’s pre-Miranda rights comments were made spontaneously before any questions were asked, prosecutors said. While Bondy’s attorney, James Soslowsky, argued those statements were involuntarily because if he would’ve been read his rights, he would have known he had the right to remain silent.
Brandon Rodarte, one of the investigators, told the court he didn’t ask Bondy any questions before giving a Miranda warning. Rodarte claims Bondy talked about his property and concerns he had about moving to another cell.
The judge ultimately sided with the prosecution.
Bondy is currently serving a 10-year prison sentence for an aggravated assault charge prosecuted in Pima County.
Allen was about a year away from completing a three-year sentence for an aggravated DUI charge out of Yavapai County at the time of his death.
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Information from: Casa Grande Dispatch.
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