In a hearing Wednesday, lawyers for Suzanne M. Pomey ’02 filed motions to suppress her statement to the Harvard University Police Department (HUPD) and to be tried separately from her co-defendant Randy J. Gomes ’02 following allegations that the two stole over $90,000 from the Hasty Pudding Theatricals (HPT).

Pomey, who produced the HPT’s annual show last spring and Gomes, who assistant-directed HPT’s Man and Woman of the Year awards last year, pled “not guilty” to felony larceny charges this spring for allegedly stealing the funds from HPT from March 2000 to June 2001.

Although Gomes’ lawyers did not file any motions, Pomey’s filing on Wednesday provided the first clues to the defenses that the two will use in court.

Pomey will allege that Gomes was responsible for the thefts; while Gomes will assert that “Pomey benefited to a great[er] extent from the alleged thefts than the amount she returned to Hasty Pudding Theatricals.”

The filings also included Gomes’ handwritten admission and a cashiers check sent to the Pudding on Jan. 17 in the amount of $23,427.15 from Pomey’s father, Albert H. Pomey, to repay the money she allegedly took.

Statement Suppression

The suppression motion, filed by Pomey lawyer Michael DeMarco, contests that Pomey did not understand that she waived her Fifth Amendment rights during questioning last fall by HUPD Detective Sgt. Richard Mederos in regards to the case—thus making the statement inadmissible in court.

In the supporting April 30 affidavit, Pomey said that when Mederos asked her to sign a piece of paper at the beginning of her questioning on Sept. 24, she “did not understand” that the paper was a waiver of her constitutional rights.

In her affidavit, Pomey also says that she was not aware that she was under investigation when she met with police on Sept. 24.

“I was lead [sic] to believe the interview only concerned potential charges against Randy Gomes,” she says in the affidavit.

“I did not ask for a lawyer because I did not understand I could ask for a lawyer. I was extremely nervous, so much so that it was hard for me to understand exactly what was going on.”

Pomey also says that the police “intimidated” and “continuously taunted” her.

“I did not understand that I could simply refuse to talk,” she says.