Judge denies motion to suppress statements in Advance murder case

A Cape Girardeau County circuit judge on Thursday denied a defense motion to suppress statements a Dexter, Mo., man made to police during the investigation into a homicide in Advance, Mo.

Glen Scott Evans took the stand on his behalf Thursday at a motion hearing in Cape Girardeau in which he and his attorney, James McClellan, tried to convince Judge William Syler that Evans was too drunk and sleep-deprived to know what he was doing when he waived his Miranda rights and talked to police just after 3 a.m. Feb. 24.

Syler denied the motion and set Evans' next court appearance for Dec. 30.

Evans faces two counts of armed criminal action and one count each of first-degree murder and first-degree robbery in connection with the shooting death of Sean Crow, 34, whose body was found Feb. 20 in a truck outside a fast-food restaurant in Advance.

Another Dexter man, Matt Cook, faces identical charges.

"We believe that Mr. Evans didn't have the mental capacity to freely and voluntarily, with full knowledge, waive his constitutional right to remain silent with the amount of alcohol that was in his body ... and only having limited sleep of three to four hours on the Friday evening before Saturday," McClellan said in court Thursday.

Evans testified he had consumed about 20 beers, a pint of whiskey, three shots of alcohol and three mixed drinks over the course of the day before his conversation with police.

During the hearing, Cpl. Steve Jarrell of the Missouri State Highway Patrol and Stoddard County Sheriff Carl Hefner testified they went to Evans' home about 2:30 a.m. Feb. 24 because another officer had identified him as a potential witness and wanted to find out whether Cook -- who was arrested at an Applebee's restaurant in Poplar Bluff, Mo., where he had been drinking with Evans and another man -- had told him anything about the homicide.

They said Evans fled, but officers caught him after a short foot chase.

Jarrell, Hefner and Sgt. Scott Stoelting of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, who interviewed Evans at the Stoddard County Sheriff's Department, said Evans showed no outward signs of intoxication when they encountered him.

During the hearing Thursday, Stoddard County prosecuting attorney Russell Oliver played a few minutes of a video in which Stoelting read Evans his Miranda rights and had him sign a waiver before asking him questions about the case.

In court Thursday, Stoelting said he did not ask Evans how much he had slept or how much alcohol he had consumed before the interview, but in his professional opinion, Evans did not seem drunk.

"It was the first time that I talked to him, so with his speech, I didn't know if that was normal for him, but he did not seem impaired at all," Stoelting said.

Evans and his mother disagreed.

"That was the first thing that caught my eye when I saw that video was I could not believe I was so drunk," Evans testified.

He said the signature on the Miranda waiver was his, but he didn't remember signing it.

"I don't really remember anything about that interrogation, other than I was scared, and it was very intense," Evans said.

During a recess Thursday before Evans' testimony, his mother, Glynis Evans, said he appeared heavily intoxicated to her.

"As soon as I saw him on that video, it was so obvious he was drunk. He could hardly [sit up]," she said. "And I know him better than anybody."

His level of intoxication may have been less apparent to strangers.

On the video, a persistent clicking sound -- which Oliver attributed to a defect in the recording system at the sheriff's department -- made the conversation difficult to hear. But Evans' speech, while somewhat muffled, was clear enough to understand over the interference, and he seemed aware of his surroundings as he signed the waiver and gave a rambling but comprehensible account of the events of the evening.

As he talked, he fidgeted and slouched in his seat at times, but it was not clear whether his movements were the result of intoxication or nervousness.

In court Thursday, Evans' speech and movements seemed more precise than they were in the video.

In his argument Thursday, Oliver cited a Supreme Court ruling establishing that a defendant's mental state is not sufficient reason to suppress a statement unless the statement was coerced.

During the recess Thursday, Glynis Evans said her son was a good Samaritan whose habit of helping others backfired on him.

"Scott knows everybody, and any time anybody would have a flat or run out of gas, who do they call?" she said.

Glynis Evans said her son was unaware of Cook's plans when he agreed to drive him to Advance.

"This is ridiculous the way he was set up. ... Why would he be in a conspiracy to go up there and murder a guy he didn't know?" she said.

Cook's case is set for a Jan. 6 status hearing in Dunklin County. Both Cook and Evans had their cases moved from Stoddard County.

epriddy@semissourian.com

388-3642

Pertinent address:

Advance, MO