ASSISTANT Public Defender Vina Seelam has asked the Superior Court to suppress any statements made by her client, Frankie Rettanlug, after he was brought to the interview room at the Department of Corrections on the morning of May 30, 2022.
“Any purported waiver of Mr. Rettanlug’s Miranda rights was unknowingly, unintelligently, and involuntary made and is therefore invalid,” Seelam added.
She said the Commonwealth “cannot show that any waiver was the product of a free and deliberate choice; instead, the statement was a direct product of an improper promise by the police that Mr. Rettanlug would be released from jail if he gave a statement.”
Rettanlug “did not voluntarily waive his rights because he only did so believing that he could only be released if he spoke with the detectives,” his lawyer added.
“Therefore, the statement he made was the product of improper coercion by police. Because Mr. Rettanlug’s statement was involuntarily made, it must be suppressed,” she said.
Rettanlug and co-defendant Tim Onopey are accused of sexually molesting a 17-year-old girl on May 29, 2022.
Onopey, 25, and Rettanlug, 27, were each charged with sexual assault in the first degree.
According to the prosecution, on May 29, 2022, at around 8:17 p.m., police officers responded to two reported sexual assault incidents at the Guma Sakman in Susupe.
They arrested Frankie Rettanlug and Tim Onopey and transported both to the Department of Corrections for booking.
Rettanlug remained in custody of Corrections overnight.
On May 30, 2022, at around 9 a.m., Detective Lupe Maratita observed the forensic interview of the alleged victim at the Division of Youth Services office. Later that same morning, around 11:11 a.m., Detective Maratita interviewed Tim Onopey at Corrections.
Afterward, at around 11:51 a.m., Detective Maratita interviewed Frankie Rettanlug at Corrections.
Seelam said Rettanlug had been under arrest and held at Corrections since the night before.
“He was not free to leave,” Seelam added. “Mr. Rettanlug had a headache and was disoriented and hung over from drinking a large amount of alcohol the day before.”
She said although Rettanlug’s primary language is Satawalese, the interview was conducted in English without the assistance of an interpreter.
“Mr. Rettanlug completed schooling through the 12th grade, and his primary language throughout his schooling was Satawalese,” Seelam said.
She added that based on what the detective conducting the interview told him, Rettanlug believed that he would only be released from jail if he gave them a statement.
Rettanlug signed the “Your Constitutional Rights” form when asked to do so by the detective.
He thought that he could only be released from jail if he signed the form, his lawyer reiterated.
“Mr. Rettanlug did not understand that if he asked for an attorney, the interview would stop and he would not have to answer the detective’s questions without an attorney present,” Seelam said.
Associate Judge Joseph N. Camacho has scheduled a hearing regarding the defense motion for Nov. 30, 2022, at 10 a.m. in Courtroom 220A.
