PANAMA CITY — Incriminating statements an accused murderer made to Bay County Sheriff’s Office deputies after his arrest will be allowed in court, as will the man’s DNA sample and evidence collected from his home.
Defense attorney Kim Dowgul had filed a motion to suppress the statements and evidence on behalf on Philip Dean Brock, the Panama City man accused of killing 65-year-old Terry Brazil in December. Judge Brantley Clark denied that motion Wednesday.
Brock, 56, is accused of tying up Brazil with duct tape and shooting, stabbing and beating him in December inside Brazil’s home. Brazil’s decomposed body was found about two weeks later during a welfare check by BCSO deputies. Investigators located Brazil’s stolen 1990 Cadillac at Brock’s home, and later charged Brock with murder after DNA evidence linked him to the slaying.
Dowgul filed the motion in June, arguing that Brock had been denied a lawyer after his arrest and that
statements he made regarding Brazil’s death, items seized during searches of his home, and DNA samples collected from him should be thrown out as evidence. The motion alleged that while Brock did waive his Miranda rights for questioning, he later invoked his right to counsel multiple times. The motion also alleged that while Brock provided his DNA to investigators, he did so after investigators told him they did not need a warrant to obtain a sample.
Additionally, Brock claimed an investigator hit him during an unrecorded interview.
A court order denying the motion stated Brock “knowingly and intelligently waived his Miranda rights” and never invoked his right to counsel during interviews with investigators. The order also states that incriminating statements Brock made regarding Brazil’s death after being arrested in an unrelated burglary case were “wholly voluntary and spontaneous.”
Moreover, the order states that Brock was never told his DNA could be obtained without a warrant, though “it appears that law enforcement had already obtained a warrant.”
Brock’s allegation he was physically abused during questioning also was rejected in the order. The judge wrote that “not once was he slapped or otherwise subject to verbal or physical abuse by law enforcement” during questioning.
BCSO Maj. Tommy Ford found the ruling satisfying.
“We’re very pleased with the judge’s ruling. Obviously there was some serious allegations levied against our guys and they turned out not to be true,” Ford said.
Dowgul has said that deputies not recording the interview in which Brock claimed he was physically abused was among several missteps indicative of a “sloppy” investigation.
Ford said Thursday that recording interviews is not a requirement, and investigators typically don’t record statements until a “concise set of facts” has been established.
Dowgul and prosecutor Larry Basford could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Brock’s trial is scheduled to begin in September.
An earlier version of this story is posted below.
A motion filed by Kim Dowgul, a public defender, on behalf of Philip Brock, accused of killing Terry Brazil in December, stated that Judge Brantley Clark should throw out evidence and statements Brock made before he was arrested because he was denied a lawyer.
During the hearing Dowgul argued that not having a recording of a suspect’s entire interview puts too much trust on the word of investigators.
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