Charges against murder suspects dropped

NEWPORT NEWS - Two defendants in a Newport News murder case are walking free after a judge ruled that police did not properly advise one of them of his Miranda rights before he gave an incriminating statement.

Joe Ashley Jr. and Jaynerio Camm, both 17, were charged with murder in the Sept. 30 slaying of their neighbor, John R. Gibson, 51, of Antrim Drive, located near Harpersville Road and Jefferson Avenue.

Police believed Ashley and Camm forced their way into Gibson's home to steal guns. Gibson — who had just moved from Chatham to attend a technical school here — was shot and killed.

At the police station, court documents say, Camm gave a statement implicating himself and Ashley. Camm also admitted that he and Ashley broke into Gibson's home a day earlier and stole a gun, a crime Gibson had reported.

But only after he gave that statement did a detective advise Camm of his Miranda rights — the right to remain silent, the right to an attorney and a warning that anything he said could be used against him. A detective then asked Camm to go back and reiterate his prior admission, said Ashley's attorney, Carl C. La Mondue.

Camm's attorney, Deputy Newport News Public Defender Robert Moody IV, filed a motion challenging the admissibility of the statement.

"If a person is questioned in police custody without being aware of their Miranda rights, the police are violating that person's rights," La Mondue said.

Newport News Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Laurel A. Uhlar first opposed the motion. But in researching the case, including consulting with the state Attorney General's Office, she determined the crux of Camm's statement was barred.

"I determined that Miranda was not timely given," she said.

Juvenile and Domestic Relations Judge Thomas W. Carpenter agreed, throwing out the key part of Camm's statement. With little else to go on, Uhlar filed the motion to drop the charges.

"If I can't bring legally admissible evidence that can sustain a conviction, I can't ethically proceed," Uhlar said.

The charges can be brought back if more evidence is found, but "the case is over as far as we're concerned," La Mondue said.

People can voluntarily give statements to police without being advised of their rights so long as they're free to go.

"Once police have displayed that you're not able to leave voluntarily, then your Miranda rights attach," La Mondue said.

In Camm's case, Uhlar said that though he initially agreed to come in and talk to police, the interview later shifted to a custodial one. That moment came, she said, when a detective told him he couldn't leave or go outside to smoke.

Advising suspects of their rights and asking them to reiterate prior statements was once a widespread police practice, but it was barred by the U.S. Supreme Court a few years ago, Uhlar said.

"I know this is not favorable for (Gibson's) family," La Mondue said. "But the bigger picture is that if anyone was placed in custody, we'd want our rights enforced."

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