Tampa murder suspect’s statement thrown out after cop ignores lawyer’s request

TAMPA — When a woman and her 14-year-old daughter were stabbed to death in their Tampa apartment on a Sunday morning last November, police quickly focused on the woman’s boyfriend.

A day after the murders, Jean Pierre Ojeda Salazar sat handcuffed at a table in a police interrogation room more than 900 miles away in Montgomery County, Maryland. Three detectives sat beside him.

Ojeda Salazar, 26, said he wanted a lawyer. Montgomery County Detective Jose Guzman urged him to tell what happened.

“I know you want to talk,” Guzman said. “I can see it in your eyes.”

A jury will never hear what he said. Last week, a judge granted a request by Ojeda Salazar’s defense to throw out nearly every word of his more than two-hour statement to police, finding that Guzman had ignored his request for a lawyer.

In a seven-page ruling, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Lyann Goudie found that the interview “became coercive.” The detective’s “harassment” and “relentless cajoling” interfered with his right to seek legal counsel, pushing him to the point where he agreed to talk.

“Detective Guzman’s repeated and persistent efforts to overcome Mr. Ojeda Salazar’s resistance and change his mind rendered Mr. Ojeda Salazar’s agreement to speak to the detectives a mere acquiescence and not the product of free will and rational choice,” Goudie wrote.

It’s not yet clear what impact the ruling might have on the murder case. If Ojeda Salazar is convicted, prosecutors have said they intend to seek the death penalty. But there could be consequences elsewhere.

Montgomery County police said this week they were unable to comment on the case, but that a Tampa Bay Times investigation had prompted an internal review of the detective’s tactics.

“Now that the department is aware, the matter is under review,” said Montgomery County Police Capt. Stacey Flynn. “There are potential repercussions going forward.”

The crime and the interrogation

One Sunday morning last November, an anonymous call came in to Tampa police saying someone had seen a man with a knife. The caller directed officers to an apartment at The Lodge at Hidden River complex off Morris Bridge Road near Interstate 75.

Inside, they found Mariana Cabrejo, 14, lying on the floor of a hallway. Officers found her mother, Paula Cabrejo Molina, in a nearby master bedroom. Both had been stabbed.

A roommate told police she witnessed the attack. She said it started with an argument between Cabrejo Molina and her boyfriend. She said she saw the boyfriend stab the mother, then attack her daughter, before chasing her with the knife.

She identified him as Ojeda Salazar. Police followed him as he fled north. He was arrested in Maryland the next day at his brother’s home.

Guzman, the Montgomery County detective, led Tampa detectives Nicole Sackrider and Austin Hill into the interrogation room shortly after midnight, less than 48 hours after the crime.

Ojeda Salazar, a Peruvian citizen, did not speak English, so Guzman arranged for a conversation in Spanish. A full transcript of the ensuing conversation was filed in court.

A few minutes later, the detective read Ojeda Salazar her rights, including the right to have a lawyer present during the interrogation. He had her sign a form.

He told Ojeda Salazar that no one was there to judge him, that everyone makes mistakes. Then he asked him what happened Sunday morning.

“I want to have a lawyer with me,” Ojeda Salazar said.

“Huh?” the detective asked. “What?”

Ojeda Salazar repeated what he had said. He then said things had “gotten out of control for a minute or two” and that he had “a very deep cut” on his finger and that he had been “bleeding a lot.” He again asked to see a lawyer.

“I have never been involved in this kind of problem,” he said.

Tampa detectives left the room.

In the minutes that followed, Guzman repeatedly hinted that Ojeda Salazar should say more, suggesting that this was his only chance to say he was sorry, and that keeping it to himself would torment him.

“If you feel more comfortable with me here and want to talk to me without a lawyer present, you need to tell me,” the detective said.

Ojeda Salazar relented, describing in detail an argument that led to the stabbing.

The court’s decision

Assistant Public Defender Donna Perry argued in a written motion that her statements should be suppressed because they were obtained through methods that violated her constitutional rights.

Prosecutors in Attorney General Suzy Lopez’s office have not disputed that much of Guzman’s remarks should be suppressed, noting that Guzman “took liberties far beyond what was required of him.” But they have tried to preserve their ability to use at least some of Ojeda Salazar’s remarks.

In particular, Assistant District Attorney Lindsey Hodges argued that her remarks at the beginning of the interrogation, immediately after the detective asked “Huh?” and “What?” in response to her first request for a lawyer, should be allowed at trial. The state also wanted to be able to use Ojeda Salazar’s remarks against him if he testifies at trial.

The judge disagreed, saying Ojeda Salazar’s request for a lawyer was clear and that the detective’s questions “appear to be a deliberate tactic” to get her to reconsider.

The judge’s order cites several excerpts from Guzman’s dialogue:

“The detectives here, this is the only time you get to talk to them,” Guzman said. “And that’s where it all comes out, where they also observe what kind of person you are…

“It will continue to torment you, because these are things that need to come out.

“The only thing I can tell you is that what’s done is done. But sometimes it’s nice to know if the person is sorry.”

The judge noted that Guzman told Ojeda Salazar nine times that if he wanted to speak without a lawyer present, he should say so. He asked him directly five times if he wanted to speak without a lawyer present.

The judge concluded that the detective was aware that his efforts were “wearing down” Ojeda Salazar’s resistance. Finally, when asked again if he wanted to speak without a lawyer, Ojeda Salazar replied, “I don’t know.”

As he hesitated, the detective advised him to “think about it.”

The law states that police are supposed to immediately stop questioning a suspect if he or she requests a lawyer, unless he or she resumes communication. It is rare for a detective to try to get a suspect to talk after he or she has invoked his or her right to have a lawyer present.

It is not yet clear whether prosecutors will appeal the decision. A spokesman for the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office declined to comment because the case is still pending.

Court documents indicate the state has other evidence it could use against Ojeda Salazar, including cellphone records and forensic evidence, as well as testimony from the surviving witness.

A trial date has not been set.