Francoise Gallant will go to trial July 28 to face charges that he strangled his girlfriend in January.
AUBURN – When Francoise Gallant goes to trial to face charges that he killed his girlfriend, state prosecutors will be able to tell the jury about his confessions to police and jail guards.
Arguing that the detectives disregarded Gallant’s questions about getting a lawyer and they didn’t bother to give him a Breathalyzer test to make sure he was sober enough to understand what was happening, defense lawyer James Howaniec asked the court to suppress the statements.
But Justice Thomas E. Delahanty II disagreed.
In a written ruling issued last week, Delahanty concluded that Gallant spoke “freely and willingly” to the detectives and jail guards.
As for the argument that Gallant was too drunk to understand what was happening, Delahanty replied, “By the time he was interrogated, his condition had improved. Even though he may have had the ‘jitters’ and was ‘not feeling too well,’ he had time to sober up and gain control of his faculties.”
Howaniec said he isn’t surprised by the judge’s ruling and he doesn’t believe it will affect his case. Howaniec said he doesn’t intend to argue that Gallant didn’t kill Cherrie Ann Andrews.
Instead, he hopes to prove that Gallant isn’t guilty because he was insane at the time of the killing. The trial is set to begin July 28.
Andrews was lying on her bed when police found her body on the morning of Jan. 25. She was covered with two blankets. A teddy bear was placed by her head, and blotchy red marks could be seen on her neck.
Police arrested Gallant hours later.
Before being interviewed at the Lewiston police station, Gallant went outside for a cigarette with Maine State Police Detective Lance McCleish. While outside, McCleish said, Gallant asked if Andrews was dead, then asked if he would spend the rest of his life in prison.
In the middle of the interview with detectives, Gallant asked if it would be in his best interest to get an attorney. After the detectives told him that it was up to him, Gallant said, “Well, at this stage, I don’t think a lawyer will do me much good anyway, would it?”
At that point, the interview continued with Gallant telling police how he and Andrews started arguing on the night of Jan. 24, after drinking and popping prescription pills. He told them that he tried to walk away, but she followed him into the bedroom and told him that she was going to have him arrested.
Gallant told police that he put a pillow over her face so neighbors couldn’t hear her, then he grabbed a towel and wrapped it around her neck until she stopped screaming.
Howaniec argued that Gallant’s question about a lawyer should have put a stop to the interview. But Delahanty concluded that the reference wasn’t specific enough.
“Gallant’s reference to his attorney’s advice was not followed by any indication that he would heed counsel’s instructions or that he did not want to speak with the detectives. To the contrary, he spoke freely and willingly,” the judge ruled.
Gallant’s most recent statements were made at the Androscoggin County Jail where he told at least two guards that he killed his girlfriend.
Howaniec argued that these statements should be discarded because Gallant was suicidal and in an altered state of mind. Again, Delahanty disagreed.
“These statements were made during routine processing and while the jail staff was checking on his well-being,” the judge wrote. “None of the statements to correctional officers at the jail were made in response to questions designed to interrogate or elicit information relevant to the case.”
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