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--> --> Teens' attorneys: Supress evidence BEND (AP) - Attorneys for Adam Thomas and four other teen-agers accused of killing Thomas' mother say statements made by the teens at the U.S.-Canadian border should be suppressed because the five were not properly extradited. Deschutes County prosecutors argued in court Tuesday that the five teens were never officially admitted to Canada when they arrived at the border one day after 52-year-old Barbara Thomas was found dead in her home. Canadian Customs Inspector Stephen Burnett told the court that when guards stopped the teens' car at the border crossing, Thomas said he was going to Canada to visit his mother. "He then made a strange laugh like I should have known," Burnett testified. Burnett then asked Thomas why the teens chose to drive to his border station instead of the Interstate 5 crossing. Thomas replied that they wanted to see "the scenery," Burnett said. "There was no scenery to be had," Burnett said, noting that it was raining and visibility limited. The customs inspector also testified that Thomas was the only one of the five able to produce photo identification on March 27. Burnett said he was suspicious and sent the teens to the immigration office for further examination. Senior Immigration Officer Sandra Mather testified Tuesday that she ran Thomas' identification through her computer and found the teens were suspects in an Oregon homicide. The four other teens first gave false names and said they were from Prineville, she said. Three finally gave their real names, she said. Mather said the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service was contacted and officers with firearms were sent over to the Canadian Immigration Office to watch the suspects. "They were never in the country," she said. "They were never lawfully admitted to Canada." Investigators say Thomas, now 18, pointed a rifle at his mother after hitting her in the head with bottles. Seth Koch, 16, allegedly grabbed the .308-caliber rifle and shot the woman in the head before the group fled to Canada. Thomas and Koch, as well as Justin Link, 18, and Ashley Summers and Lucrecia Karle, both 16, are charged with 22 crimes, including aggravated murder, which alone carries a minimum life sentence in prison without possibility of parole. All five are charged as adults. Police say the teens killed Barbara Thomas so they could steal her car and drive to Canada, police say. Hearings will continue through Thursday, and will address concerns raised by the teen-agers' lawyers that their clients' initial confessions were "coerced." The attorneys also contend the teens did not understand their Miranda rights. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing