Original Case Details
This case arises from a 2016 incident where the Defendant, Laricca Mathews of Wixom, called 911 to report the shooting of her boyfriend, Gabriel Dumas. Mathews was arrested for his murder and taken in for questioning without an attorney present. Before the interrogation began, the police gave Mathews a document that informed her of her constitutional rights. Mathews was interviewed twice and was told that she had a “right to a lawyer.” The police failed to mention specifically that she could have a lawyer present during police questioning, so Mathews spoke to the police without a lawyer present in both interviews. During the first interview, Mathews claimed that she shot her boyfriend Dumas in self-defense. In the second interview she claimed that the shooting took place face to face. Police confronted her statements by telling Mathews that Dumas was shot in the back of the head. Mathews responded by saying that the bullet may have ricocheted before hitting Dumas. Mathews was charged with murder and later filed a motion to suppress the statements made as they were in violation of her right to have a lawyer present during both interviews conducted by the police. Both the Oakland County Circuit Court and The Michigan Court of Appeals sided with Mathews, agreeing that the police violated her Constitutional right to an attorney.