TOLEDO -- There was another snag today in a hearing for a Toledo teen who's accused of running from police the night a detective was shot and killed. Attorneys for Sherman Powell, 19, want his statements made after his arrest to be thrown out.
After police caught Powell and his friend, alleged shooter Robert Jobe, detectives interrogated them and got it all on tape. For the last few weeks, defense attorneys have argued the tapes can't be used, saying officers didn't play by the rules.
Powell is facing a list of charges from carrying a concealed weapon to obstructing justice after the February morning Detective Keith Dressel was killed.
Dressel's partners were arresting Powell when 15-year-old Jobe shot and killed Dressel, they say. Detectives questioned Powell right away, which his attorneys say never should have happened.
"He was scared, and he requested medical treatment. We believe it was denied," Attorney Paul Geller says.
Powell claims he was roughed up during his arrest.
"I don't think there's any doubt that he did suffer some bruising," Geller claims, adding that his client's statements were not voluntary and not made intelligently.
"They did not follow regulations. He asked for hospital treatment. He said he was in need of it," Geller says.
Jobe's attorneys have been fighting the same issue. Detectives say Jobe confessed to shooting Dressel because Jobe was drunk, Dressel had grabbed him and he wanted to feel grown up. Jobe's attorneys say those statements were made after the teen had asked several times for an attorney. They say future jurors should not hear the confession.
Prosecutors are arguing police played by the rules in both cases. They'll make their final argument in Jobe's case any day.
The hearing will wrap up next month.
