I'm assuming the friend was using a metaphor when he said his "insides were spaghetti". I'm not, however, understanding the said metaphor. Was he saying he had no guts to say no to his friend?
I don't think anyone blames him for helping his friend. He had to be scared to death.
A Westmoreland County detective acted properly when he asked a Jeannette teenager accused of shooting his friend and posing with the body for a “selfie” to reveal the gun's location before he was read his rights, according to a judge's order.
Common Pleas Judge Meagan Bilik-DeFazio on Wednesday denied a motion seeking to dismiss murder charges against Maxwell Morton and to toss the teen's statements to police.
Morton, 18, is charged as an adult in the Feb. 4, 2015, slaying of 16-year-old Ryan Mangan as the teens played video games in Mangan's bedroom.
Police said Morton told them he shot Mangan after they searched his home and found a 9 mm handgun hidden under the basement steps.
Morton took the photo of himself with Mangan's body and sent it through an Xbox to a Wisconsin boy with whom he was chatting online, according to police.
The boy's mother forwarded the photo, which bore the name “Maxwell” at the top and depicted Morton wearing a Chicago Bulls hat and Penn State jacket, to Jeannette police. It shows Morton smiling and sitting on a bed as Mangan's body is seated in a chair, leaning to the left, according to court documents.
Defense attorney Patrick Thomassey of Monroeville argued Morton's statements, including one that directed police to the gun's location, were improperly obtained. Thomassey wanted the statements suppressed and the charges dismissed.
In a nine-page opinion, Bilik-DeFazio said although Detective James Williams did not advise Morton or his mother of their right to remain silent before asking them where the gun was, their statements are admissible under a public safety exception.
“It is evident that there is a concern for public safety when there are allegations that a juvenile shot and killed his friend, and the gun is still missing,” Bilik-DeFazio said in the opinion. “Thus, it was proper when Officer Williams asked defendant specifically about the location of the gun.”
In denying the motions to dismiss the murder charges, Bilik-DeFazio said the selfie, Morton's words to police and the allegation he hid the weapon rather than seek help demonstrate intent, an element required for a first-degree murder conviction.
Bilik-DeFazio pointed out Morton told police he “was going to take a picture looking down the gun, but then said, ‘and I just shot him and it didn't matter and I don't care.' ”
Mangan was shot under the left eye, according to court documents. He was discovered by his mother, Rebecca Murtland, who called 911 when she found him slumped over in the chair.
During a hearing on the motion, Morton's father, Marion Morton, testified he signed a Miranda rights waiver only because he thought it was a document barring the photo's release to the media.
Bilik-DeFazio rejected that claim, finding that Marion Morton understood his Miranda rights because when Maxwell Morton “stated he shot victim and didn't care,” Marion Morton “did ... exercise his right to end the interview. ... This clearly evidencing his understanding of the Miranda warnings.”
Morton, who was 17 at the time of the shooting, is in the Westmoreland County Prison without bail.
His trial is tentatively set for August.
http://triblive.com/news/adminpage/1...-police-county
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