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APPEAL
FROM THE PULASKI COUNTY CIRCUIT COURT [NO. 60CR-15-2690],
HONORABLE HERBERT WRIGHT, JUDGE
Omar F.
Greene, for appellant.
Leslie
Rutledge, Atty Gen., by: Brooke Jackson Gasaway, Asst Atty
Gen., for appellee.
OPINION
JOSEPHINE
LINKER HART, Justice
This
case is once more before us after we have twice remanded it
to the circuit court to supplement the record with materials
that were omitted from the official transcript. Zavier Pree
appeals from his conviction by a Pulaski County Circuit Court
jury of capital murder, aggravated robbery, and a firearm
enhancement, for which he received, respectively, a sentence
of life without parole, a concurrent term of 40 years, and a
consecutive term of ten years in the Arkansas Department of
Correction. On appeal, he argues that the circuit court erred
when it denied his motion to suppress (a) his statements to
police recorded in a police-interrogation room and (b) an
alleged nonrecorded custodial statement made while police
escorted him to a police car. Our jurisdiction is pursuant to
Arkansas Supreme Court Rule 1-2(a)(2).
Pree
posted a Facebook status asking if anyone wanted to make
quick money. The victim, Aaron Crawford, "liked"
Prees post, and the two started communicating through
private messaging. Pree promised Crawford that he would pay
him $300 if he gave him a ride from Jacksonville to Little
Rock. On July 9, 2015, Crawford picked up Pree and drove him
to the U.S. Bank ATM in North Little Rock.
While
parked at the ATM, Pree shot Mr. Crawford five times.
Crawford crawled out of the car and ran across the street
where witnesses called 911. North Little Rock police arrived
a few minutes later. Crawford was covered in blood. Although
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he was in and out of consciousness, Crawford told police that
he had been shot and his car was stolen.
While
processing the crime scene, officers found Crawfords cell
phone. When they opened the cell phone, a Google Maps page
popped up. The map showed directions from Prees apartment in
Jacksonville to the ATM at U.S. Bank. Crawfords phone also
revealed Facebook messages between Pree and him. On the
morning of the murder, Pree messaged Mr. Crawford and told
Crawford to tell him when he arrived in Jacksonville.
Officers went to Prees address and saw Crawfords stolen car
nearby. Subsequently, Pree and two females got into the
stolen vehicle. Pree was immediately arrested.
An
in-custody interrogation was conducted by Detective Dane
Pedersen immediately after Prees arrest. Pree was read his
Miranda warnings, and each right was explained to
him. Pree acknowledged in writing that he was read each
warning and that he understood it. Pree told the detective
that he was nineteen years old and a graduate of Little Rock
Central High School. Following the Miranda warnings,
Pree confessed to shooting Crawford. Pree also told Detective
Pedersen where to find the gun, and Detective Pedersen
retrieved it from Prees apartment. At some point during the
interrogation, Crawford died.
While
Detective Pedersen was retrieving the weapon, two Little Rock
detectives asked to speak to Pree about two unrelated crimes.
Pree was again Mirandized. Pree told the detectives that he
did ...