Judge will allow video, recordings

Defense had asked court to suppress interview, jail conversations in trial of man accused of raping former Sunday school teacher

Vasquez Dominique Hayes
Vasquez Dominique Hayes

A bevy of pretrial motions were argued in an hours-long hearing Thursday in the case of a man accused of raping his former Sunday school teacher last year in Miller County, Ark.

Vasquez Dominique Hayes, 22, sat quietly as his lawyers, Lawrence Walker and Crystal Okoro of Little Rock, presented motions before Circuit Judge Carlton Jones in a second-floor courtroom of the Miller County Courthouse. Hayes is charged with two counts of rape, two counts of theft of property, and charges of kidnapping, aggravated robbery and residential burglary in connection with an alleged Nov. 22, 2015, attack on a woman who once led a Sunday school class he attended at a Texarkana church.

Jones denied a motion to suppress a videotaped interview of Hayes with Texarkana, Ark., Detectives Jason Haak and Paul Nall after hearing arguments from the defense and Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Connie Mitchell. Walker argued that a form advising suspects of their constitutional rights, including the right to stay silent and to have a lawyer present during questioning, is misleading.

Jones heard testimony from Haak and Nall and watched the beginning of Hayes' videotaped interview, during which the rights form is reviewed and signed.

"You don't have to talk to me if you don't want to," is one of the first statements Haak is heard making in the video.

Walker specifically took issue with a heading on the document, which states, "Statement of rights."

Walker argued that the form, which contains a section at the bottom where a defendant can sign an acknowledgement of their rights and a choice to waive them and talk to investigators without a lawyer, could have a better title. Nall testified that suspects regularly refuse to sign the waiver, refuse to give a statement and ask for a lawyer after initialing by each right that their rights have been explained to them.

"We just write 'refused' when that happens," Nall said.

Jones also denied a motion from the defense to exclude recordings of jailhouse conversations between Hayes and several relatives. Mitchell said she mailed copies of the recordings to the defense Sept. 3 and the defense said they received the recordings Sept. 8. Walker argued the recordings should have been turned over months ago and pointed out that the defense filed motions for discovery and production in January and February.

Walker called several witnesses, including Hayes' mother, an aunt and an uncle, who testified they have had many conversations with Hayes since his confinement began that are not included in the 14 recorded phone calls provided by the state to the defense. Walker complained that many conversations and emails between Hayes and others have occurred during his time in jail since his arrest Nov. 27, 2015, which have not been copied and provided to the defense. Jones granted a motion by the defense for all phone recordings to be turned over but tabled the issue regarding emails until it can be determined if the electronic communications have been preserved.

Jones ruled that the approximately eight weeks between the defense's receipt of the recordings and the Oct. 31 date set for jury selection amounts to "timely" notice by the state.

Okoro argued a different issue concerning the jailhouse recordings. Okoro said some of the recordings contain inaudible portions that might lead a jury to "guess," and that the conversations are "prejudicial" and might lead a jury to decide the case on emotion rather than fact.

"There is no comparable evidence to the defendant's own words," Mitchell argued. "He said he was there at her house, he had a gun, they had sex and they traveled to an ATM to get money. The court instruction (to the jury) could be, 'If you don't know, don't guess.'"

Mitchell went on to address a defense motion regarding the testimony of Jessica Hayes, Vasquez Hayes' wife.

"There is no marital privilege if you know from the get-go you're being recorded," Mitchell said.

When a free citizen answers a call from a jail phone, a recorded voice warns that the conversation may be recorded. The defense has filed motions arguing Jessica Hayes cannot testify against Vasquez Hayes because of spousal privilege. Jones said he will take that matter up once Jessica Hayes is in the courthouse and available for questioning outside the presence of a jury.

A defense motion concerning the order in which the state calls witnesses was addressed Thursday as well. Alleged victims in a criminal case have a right to be present in the courtroom throughout trial. Other witnesses can be excluded from the courtroom so that the testimony of others doesn't influence what they say on the witness stand. The defense filed a motion asking that any witness who is allowed to remain in the courtroom for the whole trial be called to testify first. Mitchell argued that the defense cannot be allowed to dictate the manner or order in which the state presents evidence in a case.

Jones referred Walker to rule 616 of the Arkansas Rules of Evidence, which explicitly deals with an alleged victim's rights.

"The first word is 'right,'" Jones said. "It leaves no discretion to the trial court."

The court also addressed a recently completed competency evaluation of Hayes by a local psychologist, which found Hayes is competent to proceed.

Among the last issues addressed by the court was a motion to limit pretrial publicity. At different points during the hearing, the defense argued that media coverage has been "slanted" and that prosecutors have made numerous out-of-court statements to members of the media. Mitchell pointed out that except for one comment she gave last month, all of the news coverage of Hayes' case has included information only from court documents and public court hearings. Jones instructed the state, the defense and law enforcement to refrain from giving statements about the case to members of the press.

Hayes was serving a three-year term of felony probation for theft of property when the most recent charges were levied against him. The court docket in Hayes' 2014 theft case shows he was arrested Nov. 27 by the Miller County Sheriff's Office on a motion to revoke that probation. The warrant for his arrest related to the alleged rape was served by Texarkana, Ark., police to Hayes in jail Nov. 30.

He has been in custody since. If convicted, Hayes faces the possibility of multiple life sentences. Jury selection is scheduled for Oct. 31.

 

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