A Lima man charged with murder says he was not in his right mind when police interviewed him for the crime.
Lawyers for 32-year-old Paul Curtis Jr. say that he was too intoxicated to understand his rights before Lima police detectives interviewed him for the shooting death of Sam McLaurin in November of last year. They are asking that the interview be suppressed for Curtis's future trial. McLaurin's body was found in the driveway at a home in the 400 block of S. Baxter St. with multiple gunshot wounds. When officers went to arrest Curtis, they say that he was under the influence.
“Yes, I believed he was highly intoxicated, impaired by some type of drug or narcotic,” says Sgt. Matthew Douglas, Lima Police Department. “He had a strong odor of alcoholic beverage on him. His speech was extremely slurred, he also had bloodshot glassy eyes as well.”
“Nobody was disputing that Mr. Curtis was under the influence of something at the time that he was arrested. Which was conveyed to Detective Boss,” says Destiny Caldwell, Allen County Assistant Prosecutor. “That is why Detective Boss did not interview the defendant until approximately 9 hours after that time. What you will see when you watch that video, again as I indicated, that the defendant is in his right state of mind. In fact, Detective Boss asks him, you in the right frame of mind and he says yea I am good, I am fine, I am good to go.”
The judge will watch the videos and make his ruling on the interview at a later date.
