Trey A. Gwathney-Law

Police properly obtained consent to search a shed last year outside a Franklin residence that resulted in the discovery of five purported Molotov cocktails, a federal judge ruled.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Brent Brennenstuhl said in his 26-page determination issued Thursday that a motion to suppress evidence police collected against Trey Gwathney-Law should be denied.

Gwathney-Law, 19, of Franklin, is charged in U.S. District Court with possessing an unregistered firearm, making a firearm, attempting to damage and destroy a building by means of fire or explosive and possession of firearms in furtherance of a crime of violence.

Franklin Police Department officers responded Sept. 27, 2015, to a call that Gwathney-Law had several explosive devices and talked about using them to blow up Franklin-Simpson Middle School.

The officers asked for permission to search the shed on the property where Gwathney-Law and his mother lived, receiving consent from Gwathney-Law’s mother.

According to federal court records, five glass soda bottles containing a mixture of oil and gasoline were found in a stove inside the shed. Rags were stuffed into the opening of four of the bottles, while the fifth bottle appeared to have a homemade detonator sealed to it.

If convicted as charged, Gwathney-Law could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Attorney Patrick Bouldin, representing Gwathney-Law, filed a motion to suppress the results of the search on the grounds that consent to search the stove within the shed had not been obtained.

Bouldin also sought to suppress statements Gwathney-Law made to police before his arrest, arguing that he was incorrectly advised of his rights by police, but Brennenstuhl ruled that Gwathney-Law was properly informed of his rights and that he understood them and chose to waive them before speaking with police.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jo Lawless argued that police acted lawfully at all times while they were at Gwathney-Law’s residence.

A suppression hearing was held in August and featured testimony from two FPD officers. Footage from the officers’ body cameras showing their interactions with Gwathney-Law and his mother was also played at the hearing.

Brennenstuhl found that FPD Lt. Dale Adams did not have to ask for permission to search the stove inside the shed, determining that the consent granted to Adams by Gwathney-Law’s mother to search the shed was not limited in scope.

“Because Lt. Adams informed Ms. Law that they would be looking for pipe bombs in the shed, it was objectively reasonable for the officers to conclude that the general consent to search the shed included consent to search things within the shed where the pipe bombs might be secreted,” Brennenstuhl wrote.

Gwathney-Law was advised of his rights by FPD Officer Serhiy Varyvoda, who attempted to recite them from memory. Varyvoda testified that he failed to advise Gwathney-Law that he had the right to have an attorney present during questioning, and Bouldin argued that Gwathney-Law’s statements should be suppressed because he was not asked whether he waived his rights.

While advising Gwathney-Law of his rights, Varyvoda told him he was not under arrest at the time but he was not free to go, which Brennenstuhl interpreted to mean that Gwathney-Law was in custody after exiting the shed.

Brennenstuhl also found that Varyvoda adequately advised Gwathney-Law of his rights, but he could have been clearer in doing so.

“The body cam video clips from Officer Varyvoda and Lt. Adams show no indication that Gwathney-Law’s age and suffering from autism and Asperger’s syndrome prevented him from understanding the warnings or knowingly and voluntarily waiving his rights,” Brennenstuhl wrote. “Moreover, after Lt. Adams arrested Gwathney-Law and announced that an ATF agent might want to talk with him at the jail, Gwathney-Law made a conscious decision to withdraw his waiver by requesting a lawyer.”

— Follow courts reporter Justin Story on Twitter @jstorydailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.