Los Angeles News

RIVERSIDE, Calif. (CBS) ― A videotape allegedly showing the confession of a man accused of killing his girlfriend's 14-year-old brother will not be admitted as evidence, a Riverside County Superior Court judge ruled Monday.

After listening to arguments from both sides -- and watching a portion of the tape -- Superior Court Judge Christian M. Thierbach decided that statements of accused murderer Rogelio Fuentes had been obtained under questionable circumstances, according to Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Stephen Gallon.

"He decided to exclude it altogether," Gallon said.

The decision came after a morning-long pretrial hearing in which the case's chief investigator, Sgt. Steven Nieves of the Banning Police Department, was asked to go step-by-step through the tactics he used in gaining the alleged confession.

Los Angeles-based defense attorney Edward Shkolnikov pressed Nieves on several matters, beginning with what Nieves said to Fuentes in the interrogation room, leading up to the alleged confession.

"Did you not tell my client that if he lied, there would be some repercussions?" Shkolnikov asked.

"I would not phrase it like that," Nieves said.

"Didn't you tell my client you would arrest his mother and brother if he didn't confess?" Shkolnikov continued.

"I said I would arrest his family, because they were culpable for helping to hide him," Nieves said.

Nieves recalled how the defendant, then 18 years old, would not admit to anything until the detective shut off his tape recorder, which he did. However, a wall-mounted video camera was rolling the entire time, Nieves said.

Nieves described Fuentes' alleged confession as "very emotional."

"He started weeping, and I held his hand," Nieves said.

According to Nieves, Fuentes said he went to the home of his girlfriend, Araceli Hernandez's, on Alessandro Road in Banning around midday, Oct. 20, 2002. Fuentes allegedly told the detective he was strapped for cash and knew where he could find $20 inside the house. He apparently thought the place was empty, and was "startled" to find Hernandez's 14-year-old brother Miguel in the living room watching a football game on television.

"He was panicked and afraid," Nieves said. "He went to the phone and pretended to make a call, then grabbed the cord from the wall and strangled Miguel to death with it."

According to the detective, Fuentes said he wanted to make it "look like a robbery, so he went back and stabbed Miguel 18 times on the head and neck."

Nieves said the suspect left for Mexico shortly after. He returned to Banning in late November 2004 and was apprehended.

Toward the end of the alleged confession, Fuentes told the detective he "wanted to be truthful and honest to set an example for his unborn child," Nieves said.

Gallon noted during the proceedings that Fuentes had waived his Miranda rights by signing a consent form. However, Shkolnikov hammered away at the detective's methods, pointing out that before Nieves agreed to let Fuentes see his girlfriend, the policeman took the young woman aside and "shared with her pictures of her dead brother."

In the portion of the videotape played in court, Hernandez enters the interrogation room sobbing and yelling at Fuentes "It was you the whole time, wasn't it Roger?"

Nieves said he showed Hernandez the pictures to "gain her honesty."

Thierbach agreed there were "all sorts of implied threats and suggestions of leniency throughout" the transcript of the alleged confession.

Although he excluded the taped interview with Fuentes, Thierbach did allow statements to be admitted from Hernandez and Fuentes' mother concerning the defendant's alleged confessions to them, Gallon said.

Jury selection in the case is scheduled to start next Monday in Department 41 of the Riverside Justice Center.

(© 2006 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)