An Idaho mayor shot his son and called 911, police said. Now he wants evidence suppressed
The attorney for a former Idaho mayor who was arrested for allegedly shooting his son during an argument in November — just days before seeking re-election — is trying to have evidence suppressed in the case.
Rick York is alleging that police officers did not read him his Miranda rights until hours after he was arrested, according to court documents.
York was taken into custody at his home on the evening of Nov. 2 after police said he called 911 and admitted to shooting his son in the arm. The dispute hinges upon when he was actually placed under arrest.
Defense attorney Aaron Hooper said in the motion to suppress that body-camera video provided during discovery shows that York was arrested and questioned for more than two hours before he was read his Miranda rights.
Police say that all information he provided before he was read his Miranda rights was done voluntarily, according to the prosecutor’s motion to object.
The defense motion also said that York told police that a gun was located in the upper drawer of a dresser in his bedroom, and he gave police permission to retrieve the gun.
Officers who arrived at the house “went well beyond seizing a firearm or seizing items in plain view,” the motion stated.
Officers moved furniture, including a dresser with a shattered mirror, and found a hole in the wall that appeared to be caused by a bullet, and then searched the home for weapons that could have caused that hole, Hooper said in court documents.
Hooper also argued that York was swabbed for gun residue and administered a breathalyzer test without a warrant for either.
The defense requested that all statements York made to law enforcement the night of the incident before he was read his Miranda rights be eliminated as a violation of the Fifth Amendment. Hooper also asked that evidence seized from York’s home be suppressed, saying it was gathered from a search that “went beyond the scope of the consent provided by the Defendant on the night of the incident.”
Hooper did not respond to the Idaho Statesman’s request for comment.
Payette County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Scott Davis said in response to the motion that York voluntarily provided a breath sample and that the shattered mirror was “in open view of any person coming from the outside of the residence.” He also argued that officers did not infringe on York’s reasonable expectations of privacy because the then-mayor waived those to allow the securing of the gun.
York, who became New Plymouth’s mayor in 2020, lost his race for re-election on Nov. 7 to Lisa Binggeli, who received more than 75% of the vote.
A hearing is scheduled for Aug. 18 at 9 a.m. on the motion to suppress, with a jury trial scheduled for Oct. 21 at 8:30 a.m. on a felony aggravated battery charge.
