Suppression motion dropped in rape/beating case

The defense attorney for a Salvadoran man who’s accused of beating and raping a Marietta woman in Athens last summer gave up Tuesday on an attempt to suppress as evidence statements his client made to police after his arrest.

This clears the way for 25-year-old Edwin J. Carcamo to go to trial though if he does, the proceedings may be rather slow-moving, as Carcamo speaks little English, and will need to have all courtroom statements translated for him.

Carcamo, who is in this country illegally, is facing charges of rape, gross sexual imposition, felonious assault, abduction and kidnapping. Last August, he is alleged to have broken into a van parked on West Union Street in Athens during the early morning hours.

Once inside, he allegedly beat into submission and raped the woman who was sleeping inside, after she had finished a work shift at a nearby restaurant. Some people who were in the vicinity reportedly intervened and restrained Carcamo until city police arrived to arrest him.

Defense attorney Kyle Witt, who took over the case from the Ohio Public Defender's office after Carcamo's family opted to hire private counsel, filed a motion in January, asking Athens County Common Pleas Judge L. Alan Goldsberry to suppress statements Carcamo made to police.

Witt argued that because of the language barrier, his client did not understand his "Miranda" rights to remain silent and have an attorney present during questioning, when police read them to him.

The motion also maintained that the arrest of Carcamo by Athens Police was improper, because when officers arrived on scene and found him being restrained by several men, they immediately handcuffed and arrested him "with little or no questioning." Because this arrest was improper, Witt argued, it invalidated the officers' search of Carcamo's person and their questioning of him.

At a scheduled suppression hearing Tuesday, the state was ready to go with testimony, having subpoenaed three APD officers who were in court prepared to testify. Before that could happen, however, Witt opted to withdraw his suppression motion, telling Judge Goldsberry he was ready to set a trial date.

Carcamo agreed to waive his speedy-trial rights during the time before his next court appearance. No trial date had been scheduled as of Tuesday.

Witt would not comment afterward on why he abandoned his suppression motion. Asked whether he expected to actually take the case to trial, the defense attorney would say only that "at this point, I would say we're considering it."

The Public Defender's office reportedly had been advising Carcamo earlier that he was very likely to be convicted if he did go to trial, and that he should probably be seeking to negotiate some type of plea bargain.

Witt suggested a plea bargain is still a possibility. "(Talks) are ongoing," he said. "We continue to communicate with the prosecutor."

Assistant county prosecutor Rob Driscoll said he believes the suppression motion was dropped because it wouldn't have succeeded.

"They dropped the issue because it's not an issue," Driscoll said, maintaining that based on a tape of the police interview, Carcamo was not denied knowledge of his Miranda rights. The arresting officers could also easily show that they had probable cause to make the arrest, Driscoll said.

Present in court Tuesday was a court-appointed Spanish interpreter, who repeated for Carcamo in Spanish all comments made by the parties. If the case goes to trial, the interpreter will be needed to do this for all proceedings and testimony.

Witt acknowledged that this could slow the trial down considerably. "I'm sure it will add some (extra time)," he said. "But that's just a bridge we'll have to cross."