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Justin Stirling Vaver, 28, will be arraigned on a single charge of felony assault resulting in substantial bodily harm, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $10,000 fine.
The court heard three days of testimony from officers, the victim and Vaver in January and February about the alleged attack and the nature of the initial police investigation.
Vaver’s attorney, Gregory Schultz, requested all of Vaver’s statements to police be thrown out because he was improperly interviewed without warning of his Miranda rights and was lied to by an investigator.
Assistant Winona County Attorney Kevin O’Laughlin used testimony from officers to show that Vaver was never restrained and therefore didn’t require a reading of his Miranda rights.
According to testimony:
Investigators knocked on Vaver’s door and asked him to step out of his house because of a barking dog. At that point, Schultz argued, Vaver didn’t feel able to leave the interview that took place on his back porch. Two deputies stood nearby during the questioning, but they testified that Vaver was never restrained and was free to leave at any time.
Schultz argued that Vaver felt compelled to stay because one of the deputies asked him to “stay here a second” while he talked with another deputy. That amounts to being in custody, and Vaver should have been read his Miranda rights, Schultz argued.
After Vaver was taken into custody, Schultz said an investigator lied to Vaver about “wild statements” made by others to squeeze a confession out of Vaver. Investigator Rob Averbeck did not deny that he lied to Vaver, but said it was OK for interrogators to lie as long as they don’t make any false promises to the suspect.
Judge Margaret Shaw Johnson took the arguments and testimony into consideration in February and denied all of Schultz’s motions a day before she retired last week.
Vaver is set to return to court June 19.
According to the criminal complaint, Vaver attacked the victim after a party around 3 a.m. on Aug. 29 on Riverview Drive in Dresbach, Minn. The victim suffered several facial fractures, a chipped tooth, cuts and scrapes from the attack.
Contact Kevin Behr at (507) 453-3524 or at kbehr@winonadailynews.com.
