Defense claims teen killing suspect’s confession coerced

Erica D. Johnson

Tuesday, March 9, 2004 | 9:36 a.m.

Defense attorneys on Monday asked a judge to toss out a confession made by a teen charged with a killing, several home invasion robberies and a string of sexual assaults.

Deputy Public Defenders Joe Abood and Curtis Brown said jurors should not hear statements made by suspect Justin Porter because Chicago detectives coerced him into making the statements.

Prosecutors say Porter, then 17, gave authorities from Las Vegas and Chicago, where he was arrested, specific details about the six-month crime spree, which occurred in Las Vegas during the summer and fall of 2002.

Kriston Kato, a Chicago detective, said Porter admitted to having sexual encounters with several of the victims when he interviewed the teen at a Chicago police station in the early morning hours of Aug. 12, 2002.

In one incident in June 2002, Porter allegedly told the detective that he went into a woman's home where he "had consensual sex, took some items, put them in a baby stroller" and left.

Porter allegedly told Kato that the victim "was attracted to him."

When describing another incident, Porter allegedly told the detective that he went into an older woman's home in April 2002 and had consensual sex with her.

"He told me she reminded him of his mother," Kato said. "He felt bad about what he did to her."

Porter allegedly told the detective that the woman gave him $50 and a ring off her finger, but that he threw the ring away because "he felt bad about taking it."

But defense attorneys claim Kato and other Chicago detectives coerced the teen into making the statements during hours of interrogation. They claim the teen not only was kept in a holding cell for more than 12 hours but that he was not allowed to have his parents present.

During the first phase of a lengthy pre-trial hearing before District Judge John McGroarty on Monday, defense attorneys appeared to make headway in their charges against Chicago authorities.

They accused the department of neglecting to make an audio recording Porter's confession or have him submit a written statement. Detectives also did not obtain a signed a document in which Porter officially waived his Miranda rights.

The claims were punctuated during cross-examination by Abood, in which the defense attorney accused Kato of having a long history of using brutal tactics to force false confessions from suspects.

Abood said several men who had allegedly confessed to Kato were later discovered to have been in jail at the time of the crime or were exonerated by DNA tests. On one occasion, Abood said, an appellate court overturned a Chicago man's conviction, after having found that Kato lied on the stand during the man's trial.

Abood cited nearly a dozen articles published in Chicago-area newspapers, which accused Kato and other Chicago officers of brutalizing suspects to garner confessions.

Kato repeatedly denied using any improper tactics when interviewing Porter. He said he was unaware of many of the other accusations that had been levied against him.

Kato said laws governing the treatment of juvenile suspects did not apply to Porter because in Chicago, teens 17 and older are considered adults.

Chief Deputy District Attorneys Lisa Luzaich and Doug Herndon repeatedly objected to the line of questioning.

But Abood maintained that the accusations were critical to determining whether his client's confession was properly obtained.

"There are epidemic problems in the Chicago police department that are important to the judge's analysis," Abood said.

Porter is charged with raping six women during the crime spree and killing former monk Gyaltso Lungtok. DNA linked Porter to at least one of the alleged sexual assaults.

When referring to one incident in March 2002, Kato said, Porter said he had consensual sex with the victim once and that the woman didn't want to have sex with him a second time.

"The second time he (Porter) became angry because he believed she was no longer attracted to him," Kato said.

Porter said the door to each woman's home was already open and that he never forced entry into the homes. Porter also said he obtained a knife from the kitchen of each house, Kato said.

Barry Jensen, a Metro Police detective, said Porter admitted to three sexual assaults when he took a taped statement from him in Chicago on August 12.

"He had details that matched the crime and details, in my opinion, that only someone involved in the crime would know," he said.

Jensen said the teen specifically asked him not to contact his parents, who were still in Las Vegas.

"He indicated that he couldn't talk to his mom about this because she would think he was crazy," Jensen said.

Attorneys are expected to determine on Wednesday when testimony in the hearing will conclude.