Teen’s confession OK’d for trial

A self-incriminating statement will be allowed in the first-degree murder trial of a Seattle teenager accused of killing a classmate, a judge ruled Friday.

The decision came after Snohomish County prosecutors asked Superior Court Judge Thomas Wynne to change his mind about a March ruling excluding all Jenson Hugh Hankins’ statements to police.

The ruling is a victory for prosecutors, who said Hankins’ own words in the taped statement are critical to the state’s case against the former Roosevelt High School football player, who is accused of killing teammate John Jasmer, 16.

Hankins, 17, and Joshua David Goldman, 19, are scheduled for separate trials next month on first-degree murder charges in Jasmer’s beating and stabbing death. They are accused of luring him to an isolated spot on the Tulalip Indian Reservation on Aug. 21, killing him and putting his body in a grave dug the day before.

Court documents indicate the two were taking revenge on Jasmer for allegedly having sex with Hankins’ girlfriend.

The disputed statements were made to Seattle detectives after the teenagers were questioned about Jasmer’s disappearance amid reports he had been killed.

Wynne ruled in March that it was clear Hankins did not understand his right to remain silent and not incriminate himself when he first talked to a Seattle detective the evening of Aug. 27. He gave a taped interview implicating Goldman.

Before making the statement, Hankins asked a detective if he had forfeited his constitutional rights when they were read to him. But he talked with officers anyway after the detective said, "Yes."

On Friday, Wynne said the ruling excluding the first taped statement stands because it was not clear at that time whether Hankins fully understood his rights.

However, Hankins then gave a second interview and a taped statement later that same night.

About 2 1/2hours after the first statement, Hankins banged on an interview room door at the Seattle Police Department, yelling that he wanted to confess. A second detective took him to another room and advised him of his rights, making it clear that he could stop talking at any time.

That statement, and anything he said later that night to Snohomish County detectives, will be allowed at the trial, Wynne ruled. He said that statement was made "knowingly and voluntarily."

Attorneys did not specifically argue the validity of the second statement during the March hearing. It was, however, a central point in deputy prosecutor Ed Stemler’s motion for reconsideration that was heard Friday.

Stemler said the interview was critical to the state’s case because it outlines the plan to dig the grave, kill Jasmer and destroy evidence.

"There’s no question this was a voluntary statement on the part of the defendant," Stemler argued.

Seattle lawyer Rachel Levy argued that the second statement was tainted by the first because Hankins thought he had "forfeited his right to remain silent. Clearly, he was not effectively advised of his rights," Levy said.

After the decision, Levy said she will continue preparing for trial. "We’re not worried about it," she said of the decision.

Stemler told the judge he can’t expect "jurors to make just verdicts when we withhold from them a critical piece of evidence."

After the hearing, Stemler said he has a great deal of respect for the judge, and he should have included more material for Wynne in March.

Reporter Jim Haley: 425-339-3447 or haley@heraldnet.com.

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