Judge OKs hospital statements
Suspect gave details of assault while on meds
Frank Frometa had been hit by a car and was breathing through a tube when he told a hospital nurse that he had killed someone with a rock and wanted to speak to police, investigators said.
On Tuesday, 2nd Judicial District Judge Briana Zamora determined that the statements Frometa provided to homicide detectives in a total of three interviews can be used at his trial in the December 2016 death of Wilfred Salas.
That ruling came in response to a request by Frometa’s attorney, Leanne Hamilton, who argued that the questioning constituted police overreach. She urged the judge to take into consideration her client’s physical and emotional state, along with a language barrier, as she determined whether the statements were given voluntarily.
“Not only is he a Spanish speaker, but he was on medication and breathing support with a tube placed down his throat,” Hamilton wrote in her motion, adding that the breathing tube was removed after the first interview. “Detectives struggled throughout to understand what Mr. Frometa had told them.”
But prosecutor Jonathan Gardner argued that Frometa was the one who asked to speak with police, and he was properly advised of his Miranda Rights ahead of each interview.
In her testimony, former APD detective Leah Acata said that a Spanishspeaking detective assisted in the interviews and Frometa could have switched to Spanish at any point.
Gardner argued the jury should have the opportunity to hear Frometa’s statements, which are at times very hard to understand, in order to determine for themselves what he told authorities.
According to police, Salas was found dead of blunt force trauma outside of his apartment near Lomas and Edith. They said Salas threatened Frometa with a knife before Frometa attacked.