Buckingham v. State

• Decision Date: 19 August 2022
• Docket Number: S-20-0278,S-22-0008
• Citation: 2022 WY 99
• Parties: SHELDON SCOTT BUCKINGHAM, Appellant (Defendant), v. THE STATE OF WYOMING, Appellee (Plaintiff).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

2022 WY 99

SHELDON SCOTT BUCKINGHAM, Appellant (Defendant), v. THE STATE OF WYOMING, Appellee (Plaintiff).

Nos. S-20-0278, S-22-0008

Supreme Court of Wyoming

August 19, 2022

Appeal from the District Court of Fremont County The Honorable Marvin L. Tyler, Judge.

Representing Appellant: Office of the State Public Defender Diane M. Lozano, State Public Defender; Kirk A. Morgan, Chief Appellate Counsel; David E. Westling, Senior Assistant Appellate Counsel.

Representing Appellee: Bridget L. Hill, Attorney General Jenny L. Craig, Deputy Attorney General; Joshua C. Eames ^[*] , Senior Assistant Attorney General; Donovan Burton, Assistant Attorney General.

Before FOX, C.J., and KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, GRAY, and FENN JJ.

BOOMGAARDEN, JUSTICE.

[¶1] Sheldon Scott Buckingham was convicted of numerous crimes after repeatedly confronting his soon to be ex-wife, Shai Becker, and her male friend. On appeal, Mr. Buckingham challenges the district court's denial of his W.R.A.P. 21 motion for a new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel. He contends trial counsel failed to properly advise him of his right to plead not guilty by reason of mental illness (NGMI) after a psychiatrist opined he was experiencing an adverse reaction to the anti-depressant Paxil when the crimes occurred. We affirm.

ISSUE

[¶2] Did the district court err by denying Mr. Buckingham's W.R.A.P. 21 motion for a new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel?

FACTS

[¶3] In May 2019, Ms. Becker filed for divorce from Mr. Buckingham after approximately two years of marriage. In June, she moved out of their home, joined a coed soccer league, and became friends with her teammate Chemo Carrillo, which upset Mr Buckingham, as he did not want a divorce and believed Ms. Becker had been cheating on him with Mr. Carrillo for some time.

[¶4] On July 16, Mr. Buckingham pulled into the parking lot of a restaurant where Ms. Becker and Mr. Carrillo were talking and started yelling at Ms. Becker. A week later, on July 23, Mr. Buckingham ran into the Holiday Inn where Ms. Becker and Mr. Carrillo were having dinner and, by their account, began punching Mr. Carrillo in the head. Ms. Becker and Mr. Buckingham signed their divorce decree the following day. In an interview with police later that month, Mr. Buckingham admitted he went to the Holiday Inn to confront Ms. Becker and Mr. Carrillo because he suspected they were having an affair. He claimed, however, that when Mr. Carrillo tried to stand up from the table, he pushed him back down and they "exchanged punches."

[¶5] On August 9, Ms. Becker and Mr. Buckingham saw each other at a wedding rehearsal. Ms. Becker left the rehearsal around 9:00 p.m. and went to Mr. Carrillo's home. Mr. Buckingham left around the same time and persistently tried to contact her. At first, he sent her text messages stating he loved her and wished she would talk to him. When she did not respond, he bombarded her with text messages saying goodbye, expressing anger towards her, insisting she answer her phone, and suggesting he would kill himself if she did not.

[¶6] Around 10:30 p.m., Ms. Becker and Mr. Carrillo were in his living room talking when she received a text message from Mr. Buckingham stating, "Answer the phone or you both die[.]" When she did not answer his call shortly thereafter, Mr. Buckingham kicked in the front door and entered Mr. Carrillo's home carrying an AR15. According to Ms. Becker and Mr. Carrillo, he pointed the AR15 at them both. He also grabbed Ms. Becker's phone and threw it across the room when he realized she was calling 911. Ms. Becker and Mr. Carrillo tried to take the gun from Mr. Buckingham and told him to leave. As Mr. Buckingham left, he told Mr. Carrillo, "I should have killed you." He then fired numerous rounds into Ms. Becker's car before driving off.

[¶7] Over the next several hours, Mr. Buckingham contacted various people, insisting he needed to talk to Ms. Becker before he killed himself. Most notably, he called 911 and told the dispatcher he "just shot up [his] wife's car with an AR15 because she's a cheating little bitch." He went on to state that Ms. Becker was lucky he did not kill her and Mr. Carrillo; he knew Ms. Becker was not going to answer her phone because he smashed it, the police should be at Mr. Carrillo's house because he "shot up the car instead of killing them"; he "was going to jail for a long time [for] what he did", and Ms. Becker and Mr. Carrillo were lucky they did not die.

[¶8] When the dispatcher asked what happened that night, Mr. Buckingham succinctly explained that he knew Ms. Becker was cheating on him so he drove past Mr. Carrillo's house, "kicked in the door," "took an AR[15]," "pointed it at [Mr. Carrillo]," "grabbed [Ms. Becker's] phone [and] smashed it on the ground," walked out the door, "shot 15 shots in the car," and then left. Mr. Buckingham turned himself in to the Riverton Police Department later that night.

[¶9] The State charged him with eight crimes, including aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated assault and battery, property destruction, and interference with emergency calls for his conduct on August 9; battery for hitting Mr. Carrillo on July 23 at the Holiday Inn; and two counts of stalking for his behavior toward Ms. Becker and Mr. Carrillo from July 10 to August 10.

[¶10] Before the preliminary hearing, defense counsel moved to amend bond, asserting Mr. Buckingham had no prior criminal history or history of violence, was suffering an adverse reaction to Paxil when the charged incidents occurred, and had stopped taking the medication. Counsel attached a report prepared by psychiatrist George S. Glass, M.D., P.A.

[¶11] As set forth in the report, defense counsel asked Dr. Glass to evaluate Mr. Buckingham to determine whether his behavior "could have been related to or caused by" Paxil-the Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressant he started taking shortly before the charged incidents-and, if so, whether he posed a danger to the community now that he had stopped taking Paxil. To form his opinion, Dr. Glass interviewed Mr. Buckingham for approximately two hours in September 2019, interviewed Mr. Buckingham's mother over the phone, reviewed notes from the counselor who suggested Mr. Buckingham obtain medication, and reviewed medical records from the clinic that prescribed Paxil.

[¶12] In Dr. Glass's opinion, Mr. Buckingham had a "paradoxical reaction" to Paxil. His behavior on July 23 "was a response to the impulsivity, agitation, irritability, disinhibition, and psychotic decompensation which" the medication caused. His behavior on August 9 "was also a direct result of the [Paxil] he had been taking, and the fact that he was suicidal, and attempted to kill himself in front of his wife and her boyfriend." Mr. Buckingham "was psychotic, impulsive, out of control, [and] depressed" at the time. Dr. Glass did not believe Mr. Buckingham posed a danger to the community, as he had stopped taking Paxil and his mood had stabilized. The circuit court did not rule on Mr. Buckingham's motion to amend bond.

[¶13] After the charges were bound over to the district court, Mr. Buckingham obtained a different attorney, pleaded not guilty to the charges at arraignment, and continued pursuing bond modification based on Dr. Glass's report. The district court amended bond.

[¶14] Concerned Mr. Buckingham intended to present a diminished capacity defense, the State moved to prohibit him from introducing any evidence about the effects of Paxil on the brain. It noted such evidence would be inappropriate because Mr. Buckingham had not entered a NGMI plea and Wyoming does not recognize a diminished capacity defense. Defense counsel responded that he was well aware of the law and had no intention of presenting any such defense. The court entered an order prohibiting Mr. Buckingham from presenting any defense related to Paxil.

[¶15] At trial, Ms. Becker and Mr. Carrillo testified to the facts summarized above. In addition, the State introduced photographs of text messages Ms. Becker received from Mr. Buckingham, Ms. Becker's phone logs, and the damage to her car; the video recording of Mr. Buckingham's interview about the Holiday Inn incident, and the audio recording of Mr. Buckingham's 911 call.

[¶16] Mr. Buckingham testified in his own defense. By his account, he contacted Ms. Becker after the wedding rehearsal because he felt suicidal and wanted her to tell him she loved and cared about him. He then happened to see Ms. Becker's car parked in front of a house he suspected belonged to Mr. Carrillo so he sent her a "false threat"-"Answer the phone or you both die"-hoping she would respond. He kicked in the door and entered the home because he wanted Ms. Becker to know he was serious about killing himself; he also wanted her help.

[¶17] Mr. Buckingham denied pointing his AR15 at Mr. Carrillo or Ms. Becker but admitted he grabbed her phone and threw it when he noticed she was calling 911. He claimed he voluntarily left when he realized he put Ms. Becker in danger. As he left, he yelled, "Now I'm going to kill myself, bitch." He put the gun under his chin but could not pull the trigger so he aimed the gun at Ms. Becker's car and fired multiple shots.

[¶18] In closing argument, defense counsel did not dispute that Mr Buckingham shot Ms. Becker's car (property destruction) and threw her phone (interference with emergency calls). He did, however, suggest the facts were muddy as to what happened at the Holiday Inn (battery) and argued he did not have the requisite intent to support the remaining charges (aggravated assault and battery, aggravated burglary, and stalking). The jury found Mr. Buckingham guilty of all the charged crimes except...