The Station-House Interrogation

In Rochester, New York, a pizza parlor was the scene of an attempted robbery and a homicide. While investigating, a detective received information from an informant, whose account traced back to a jail inmate, suggesting the Defendant might have been involved. Acting on this lead, the detective directed other detectives to locate the Defendant and bring him in for questioning. Three detectives found the Defendant at a neighbor's house and took him into custody; he was not told he was under arrest, but he would have been physically restrained had he attempted to leave. He was driven to police headquarters in a police car and placed in an interrogation room. There, detectives read him his Miranda warnings, and he waived his right to have a lawyer present. Under questioning, the Defendant made statements and drew sketches connecting himself to the crime. At issue is whether escorting the Defendant to the station under these circumstances amounted to an arrest requiring justification beforehand, or something short of that.