PANAMA CITY — A murder suspect’s attorney questioned Bay County Sheriff’s deputies during a hearing Friday about what she called “sloppy” work during a murder investigation.
Kim Dowgul filed a motion on behalf of Philip Brock, who’s accused off killing Terry Brazil in December, arguing the judge should throw out evidence and statements Brock made before he was arrested because he was denied a lawyer.
According to Dowgul’s motion, Brock told her Capt. Jimmy Stanford hit him during portions of the interview that were not recorded, even though the interview took place in an interview room equipped with functioning recording equipment.
Stanford and other law enforcement officers who witnessed the unrecorded interview said that never happened. Dowgul asked why investigators didn’t record the interview.
“That is the way we conduct business,” Stanford said.
Stanford seemed insulted by the implication that investigators would misrepresent a defendant’s statement, but Dowgul argued that not having a recording of a suspect’s entire interview puts too much trust on the word of investigators.
“When the stakes are this high, and the work is this sloppy, I can’t wrap my head around it,” Dowgul said.
Prosecutor Larry Basford called several law enforcement witnesses to rebut the allegations in Dowgul’s motion. They said their dealings with Brock were cordial and friendly, and though they secured warrants, Brock had given his consent to search his property and take his DNA.
“There’s no evidence before the court that those statements were not freely and voluntarily given,” Basford told the judge.
Investigators filed a third search warrant in June after Dowgul filed her motion, which caused Dowgul concern, she said. The investigator took responsibility for failing to file it.
“She didn’t have the third warrant because I didn’t have it,” Basford said. “That’s the reason we have discovery, to hash out this.”
Dowgul acknowledged that she has brought up the issue of unrecorded interviews in the past, but she said this case was as frustrating as any she had ever worked.
“I don’t know that we can trust any of this. I certainly don’t,” Dowgul argued to Judge Brantley Clark, who didn’t rule on Dowgul’s motion Friday. “We’re being denied the best evidence in these cases.”
Basford and Dowgul plan to depose the judge who signed the warrants before Clark rules on the motion. Brock is scheduled for trial in September.