The Denver Postkobe bryant case
Investigation tactics at issue
Wednesday, February 04, 2004 -
EAGLE - Kobe Bryant willingly talked to detectives investigating allegations that he sexually assaulted a 19-year-old hotel employee, telling one at the conclusion of a night of questioning to "do the best investigation you can," one of the officers testified Tuesday.
The testimony of Doug Winters, an Eagle County sheriff's detective, came as Bryant's lawyers lashed out at investigators for the way they questioned Bryant and obtained evidence from him two days after the alleged assault. Lawyers Pamela Mackey and Hal Haddon claim police used nearly every trick in the book to elicit statements from the Los Angeles Lakers guard in the early hours of July 2 and then whisked him to a Glenwood Springs hospital at 3 a.m. to obtain samples of hair, blood and saliva. As a result, they say the evidence can't be used at trial. But Winters, the lead investigator in the case, painted a different picture, saying the basketball superstar consented to talking to detectives, voluntarily gave them his clothing and twice consented to a physical exam at the hospital. District Judge Terry Ruckriegle likely will rule on the admissibility of the evidence in early March. David Lugert, an Eagle lawyer who helped craft Colorado's rape shield law, said Bryant's cooperation - at least as portrayed by Winters and fellow detective Dan Loya - will be pivotal in Ruckriegle's ruling and could result in much, if not all, of the evidence being admitted. Winters testified that the relationship between him and Bryant was so cordial that they shook hands at least once. Winters became involved in the investigation after interviewing Bryant's accuser July 1, hours after the incident at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera near Edwards about 11 p.m. on June 30. Winters said after interviewing the woman, a surveillance task force was sent to the hotel to keep an eye on Bryant and his entourage. Winters said he joined the stakeout about eight hours later, meeting the team in the parking lot. He said that while sitting in a van with a fellow officer, Bryant, who was on crutches following knee surgery, approached the van with one of his bodyguards. "It took me a little by surprise when we found he was behind us and we got out and he spoke to us," Winters testified. "He asked, 'What's going on, fellas?"' Winters said he told Bryant they were there to talk to him about an incident the night before. "I stated there was an allegation of sexual assault and we'd like to talk to him further about it," Winters said, adding that he asked if he and the other detective could talk to Bryant alone. "He said something to the effect it would be fine to talk alone," the detective recalled. "We told the suspect he was not under arrest and free to leave," Winters added. "I never raised my voice to the defendant. I never became confrontational with the defendant, I wasn't in his face." The defense claims Bryant never was advised of his Miranda rights to remain silent or to have a lawyer, and was secretly tape-recorded. But Winters said because he never was arrested, Bryant didn't need to be read his Miranda rights and that police are permitted to secretly record suspects.
Click here for an interactive presentation on Kobe Bryant's career.
Click here for an archive of court documents in the People v. Bryant case.
Click here for The Denver Post's graphic on the events of June 30.
Click here for the 9NEWS archive on the case.
Click here for the CourtTV archive on the case.
"I'm OK with these guys," Loya quoted Bryant as telling his entourage. The testimony came against a backdrop of serious allegations against Bryant. The accuser that Bryant raped her and then forced her to perform oral sex on him late June 30 in his hotel room. According to testimony during Bryant's preliminary hearing, Bryant raped her about 11 p.m., first grabbing her neck with both hands, forcing her to lean over some chairs and then pulling up her dress and taking off her panties. The woman said that during the five minutes she was sexually penetrated, Bryant never let go of her neck, moaned and told her "he liked Vail, Colorado." The woman told detectives that she cried throughout the rape and then was forced to kiss Bryant's penis. Bryant faces four years to life in prison if convicted of the Class 3 felony of sexual assault. He has admitted he had sex with the woman but said it was consensual. The woman, a 2002 Eagle Valley High School graduate who attended the University of Northern Colorado, was a front desk employee at the upscale Lodge & Spa at Cordillera. She said that after Bryant checked in, she gave Bryant a tour of the hotel during which mutual flirting took place. She went back to his room where she asked for his autograph. He said no, saying he'd give her one if she came back later. As she was about to leave, he asked her for a hug and she agreed to give him one. They hugged and kissed for about five minutes, but when Bryant started her breasts and buttocks, she said no and the incident went from consensual flirtation to rape, she told detectives. The day after the incident, a detective met with the accuser and her mother and father, first at the family home and then at the sheriff's department where the woman made a videotaped statement. Authorities claim that a subsequent exam of the woman showed injuries to her vaginal area which were inconsistent with consensual sex, as Bryant claims. |