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Bonito was arrested in Los Angeles, Calif., on Feb. 16, and Council Bluffs Police detectives flew to California to help a LAPD detective interrogate him on Feb. 17.
Bonito's attorney, Charles Fagan, moved to suppress the interrogation on the grounds that at one point, in Spanish, Bonito uttered the phrase "I want," and was cut off by a LAPD detective Armando Moriel.
Moriel said, "you want water, you want water." Fagan argued that his client was going to ask for an attorney when Moriel interrupted him.
Moriel testified that the transcript from the interrogation was incorrect and Bonito never asked for counsel.
Janet Bonet, who translated the interrogation, testified that she listened to the taped conversation eight times and produced a transcript of what she perceived that she heard.
Pottawattamie County Attorney Matt Wilber argued against suppressing the interrogation on the grounds that a defendant has to "unequivocally ask for counsel."
Wilber said that even if Bonito said, "I want," which Wilber disputes, he still continued on with the interview and never asked for counsel again.
"Even taking the defendant's utterance in the most favorable light, it is still not enough," Wilber said. "If we have to listen to the tapes 12 times to determine what he said, by definition, that is not unequivocal."
Fourth District Court Judge Timothy O'Grady told the prosecution and the defense that he would listen to the tapes and read over the written transcripts and rule on the motion next week.
Bonito remains in the Pottawattamie County Jail on a $500,000 bond. His trial is set for Sept. 12.
Fagan said that the ruling is important for his client's case. The trial changes significantly if the interrogation is not allowed.
"I believe my client exercised his right to counsel," Fagan said. "If there was a question as to what he was asking for, they should have stopped or asked a clarifying question."
