TROY – The defense attorney for a learning disabled man accused of killing four people in Lansingburgh and the State Police investigator who interrogated him had different interpretations Monday of the defendant’s response, “I don’t talk,” when questioning began at Schenectady police headquarters in December.

“It means 'I don’t snitch,'” Investigator Jason DeLuca of the Troop G Major Crimes Unit said during a suppression hearing in Rensselaer County Court Monday.

To the defense, however, Justin Mann was invoking his constitutional rights when he said, “I don’t talk.” That’s what Mann’s attorney, Joseph Ahearn, hammered home as he repeatedly questioned DeLuca about Mann not wanting to speak to police and the techniques investigators used.

Mann, 24, and co-defendant James W. White, 38, both of Schenectady are each charged with nine counts of first-degree murder, four counts of second-degree murder, one count of first-degree burglary, one count of second-degree robbery and two counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of stolen property.

They are accused of killing Brandi Mells, 22; Shanta Myers, 36; Jeremiah Myers, 11; and Shanise Myers, 5, by tying them up and slashing their throats in their basement apartment at 158 Second Ave. in Lansingburgh. The bodies of the four were discovered on Dec. 26 when a property manager checked on them because they had not been heard from since Dec. 22.

The indictment also accuses the defendants of stealing an Xbox video game system and flat screen television from the apartment. Eight of the nine first-degree murder counts are related to the robbery and burglary charges.

DeLuca was called to testify by District Attorney Joel Abelove. During DeLuca’s testimony about statements Mann made that allegedly implicated him in the four homicides, the courtroom was closed by County Court Judge Debra Young for 25 minutes to the public to preserve his right to a fair trial.

The Times Union had asked that the courtroom not be shut due the strong public interest in the case. Diego Ibarguen, an attorney for Hearst, represented the newspaper in a telephone conference, arguing for the suppression hearing to be open. Young ruled that only portions regarding the statements made by the defendants would be closed. When DeLuca finished his direct testimony, Young ordered the courtroom reopened and the press returned.

But before DeLuca even appeared, Young held a hearing on a request by White to represent himself and drop Assistant Public Defender Greg Cholakis as his attorney. At one point, White turned to Mann and suggested he also represent himself. After a recess, White reversed himself and said he wanted to keep Cholakis as his lawyer.

The suppression hearing is being held in a defense effort to get the judge to dismiss the statements made by the defendants to police as being taken illegally.

Ahearn pressed DeLuca several times about whether he lied to Mann, which is considered a legally justified police tactic, during the interrogation. DeLuca confirmed he did. He also said that the different times Mann spoke to him about not talking, he was saying, “I’m not a snitch.” Ahearn repeatedly said those different statements were requests to be silent and for an attorney.

Ahearn questioned DeLuca about Mann’s mental capacity. DeLuca said Mann’s mother had told him her son was learning disabled but he didn’t know if she was telling the truth. DeLuca testified that police used Mann’s close relationship with his mother as a tool in getting him to make a statement.

The suppression hearing resumes Tuesday morning at the county courthouse.