Following a stipulated bench trial, Bernard Ndungu Mwangi appeals from his convictions for theft by taking, burglary, entering an automobile with intent to commit theft, and forgery. He contends that the trial court erred in denying his motions to suppress evidence seized and statements made to police both before and after his incarceration. For the reasons that follow, we affirm. In reviewing a trial court’s ruling denying a motion to suppress, the following three principles apply: First, when a motion to suppress is heard by the trial judge, that judge sits as the trier of facts. The trial judge hears the evidence, and his findings based upon conflicting evidence are analogous to the verdict of a jury and should not be disturbed by a reviewing court if there is any evidence to support them. Second, the trial court’s decision with regard to questions of fact and credibility must be accepted unless clearly erroneous . Third, the reviewing court must construe the evidence most favorably to the upholding of the trial court’s findings and judgment. Because there was testimonial evidence in this case, we do not apply a de novo standard of review.1 So viewed, the record shows that at the hearing on the motions to suppress, Officer M. J. Masselter of the Cobb County Police Department testified that at about 2 a.m. on January 25, 2010, he and another officer responded after a caller to 911 reported that the motion-sensor lights on the front and back of her house came on after a man she did not know parked his truck in her driveway, blocking it, and walked away. The truck in question belonged to a business in another area. As the officers approached the house where the 911 call originated, Masselter saw Mwangi, wearing dark clothing and riding a toy scooter down a hill toward the police car. The police and Mwangi each stopped at approximately the same time, about 100 to 150 feet apart. Masselter identified himself and his companion as police officers. Mwangi allowed himself to be patted down. No weapons were found. Mwangi consented to a search of his pockets, in which Masselter found a pair of gloves and a key. Once the officers determined that the key fit the truck, they detained Mwangi. At the scene, Mwangi told Cobb County Police Officer Dennis Ryan that he had been walking in people’s yards and looking into cars; that the truck did not belong to him; but that he had parked it in the driveway. Mwangi, still detained but not handcuffed, rode in Ryan’s police car to show Ryan where he got the truck. After the truck’s owner confirmed that the truck was missing, Ryan handcuffed Mwangi and read him his Miranda rights. Mwangi then told Ryan that he took the scooter from the house where he parked the truck, and he directed Ryan back to the house where the 911 call originated.
Cobb County Police Detective J. W. Friedlander testified that the following day, he interviewed Mwangi at the Cobb County Adult Detention Facility, where Mwangi was in custody, and advised him of his Miranda rights. Mwangi admitted to the theft of the truck, to entering numerous other vehicles in the previous months, and to forging and cashing checks he had stolen from checkbooks he found in the vehicles. He also admitted that he had some stolen items at his house. During the recorded interview, Friedlander asked for and received consent to search Mwangi’s house; but because other people lived there and Mwangi was not the owner, Friedlander obtained a search warrant. A search of Mwangi’s room yielded items that did not belong to Mwangi, including an iPod Touch, a Wachovia bank statement, and a checkbook. The trial court denied Mwangi’s motions to suppress, and entered a final disposition. Mwangi moved for a new trial, which the trial court denied. This appeal followed.
