Commonwealth v. Lemons
| Decision Date | 19 June 2014 |
| Docket Number | No. 2012–SC–000431–DG.,2012–SC–000431–DG. |
| Citation | 437 S.W.3d 708 |
| Court | United States State Supreme Court — District of Kentucky |
| Parties | COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellant v. Brian LEMONS, Appellee. |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Jack Conway, Attorney General of Kentucky, Jason Bradley Moore, Assistant Attorney General, Counsel for Appellant.
Susan Jackson Balliet, Assistant Public Advocate, Counsel for Appellee.
In the early morning hours of October 11, 2008, Brian Lemons (Lemons) stabbed and killed Cory Kessnick (Cory). After the trial court found that Lemons was not entitled to immunity under KRS 503.085 and denied his motion to dismiss, Lemons entered an Alford1 plea to charges of second-degree manslaughter and assault under extreme emotional distress. Consistent with the plea agreement, the trial court sentenced Lemons to a total of fourteen years' imprisonment. Pursuant to his reservation of the right to appeal the trial court's order denying his motion to dismiss, Lemons appealed, and the Court of Appeals reversed. It is from that opinion that the Commonwealth now appeals. Having reviewed the briefs and oral arguments of the parties, we reverse the Court of Appeals and reinstate the judgment of the trial court.
I. FACTS.
The following facts are not in dispute. Cory and his two brothers, Dustin Kessnick (Dustin) and Gary Damon (Gary), went to the Brass Ass, a bar in Newport, Kentucky, at approximately 9:30 p.m. on October 10, 2008. At closing time, which was approximately 2:30 a.m., the brothers left the bar. Cory, who was the designated driver, went to get Gary's truck, which was parked down the street from the bar. Gary and Dustin waited for Cory in the parking lot, which is adjacent to the bar. Several of the dancers from the bar were also in the parking lot, and Gary and Dustin joined them.
At or near that same time, Patrick Link (Patrick) and Lemons, pulled into the parking lot to pickup their respective girlfriends, Cassandra Maggard (Cassie)—Patrick's girlfriend, and Yvonne Weaver (Yvonne)—Lemons's girlfriend and Cassie's mother. Yvonne was upset and complaining because she had not made any money that night. She took offense when one of the brothers commented that he had given her $5.00 to play the jukebox. An argument ensued, which devolved into a fistfight, during which Lemons stabbed Cory twice. Cory died from his wounds later that morning.
The witnesses to the altercation had different versions of how the fight started and who started the fight. There are two groups of witnesses, the brothers—Cory, Gary, and Dustin—and those affiliated with the bar—Yvonne, Lemons, Jaemichael Goodwin (Jae), and Patrick. The members of the two groups did not know each other; and, in their respective statements generally referred to members of the opposing group by description rather than by name. Those descriptions were generally based on the type and color of shirt. However, the descriptions are not consistent. For example, Cory was variously described as wearing a black shirt, a gray shirt, or a white striped shirt. For the sake of clarity, we use names where possible rather than descriptions in our summary of the various witnesses' versions of what occurred.
Dustin provided the investigating police officers with two statements, one within two hours of the fight and one three days later. The morning of the fight, Dustin stated that he had three or four beers while in the Brass Ass. When he and his brothers left, Cory went to get the truck, and Dustin and Gary went to the parking lot to smoke some marijuana with two of the dancers from the bar. While they were in the parking lot, two guys pulled up and, “Shit kind of blew.” Dustin could not remember any details about how the fight began, because he “blacked out.” However, he stated that, when he “came to,” Cory was pulling into the parking lot. He remembered Cory jumping out of the truck, and the next thing he knew, Cory was on the ground. He went to help Cory and, while he was trying to help Cory, someone hit him in the back of the head. Dustin did not know what happened to Cory, and he did not know who hit him.
During his second interview, Dustin remembered that Lemons, Patrick, Yvonne, and another dancer went to the parking lot to smoke marijuana and that he and Gary joined them. One of the girls in the parking lot was complaining about not making any money. Dustin said that he told her to be quiet, and they argued. At some point after the argument started, Cory pulled into the parking lot and got out of the truck. According to Dustin, the next thing he knew, Cory was on the ground, bleeding. Dustin did not see who stabbed Cory, but he stated that Cory did not get out of the truck “aggressive” and that Cory would not have had a chance to hit anyone before being stabbed. Dustin did not believe he hit anyone, but he did recall being hit from behind.
Like Dustin, Gary provided two statements to the investigating police officers. The morning of the fight, Gary stated that, after the brothers left the bar, Cory went to get the truck, and he and Dustin went to the parking lot to talk to Yvonne, and another dancer (later identified as Jae). At some point Lemons and Patrick arrived and joined the group. Yvonne was yelling because she had not made any money and words were exchanged. Lemons said something to Yvonne and Patrick said everyone should just calm down. Gary said that everything was “cool” and that the brothers were leaving. At some point, Cory pulled into the parking lot, someone said something,2 and the next thing Gary knew there was a “big fight going on and ... Cory's laying on the ground in a puddle of blood.” Gary saw “three guys on top of Dustin swinging” so he went to help Dustin. Gary then saw Lemons running away, and he gave chase. However, Gary could not catch Lemons so he returned to the parking lot. Gary did not see Cory fighting with anyone and, although he admitted that he had been drinking, Gary said he understood what he was saying.
During his second interview, Gary stated that Cory did not pull into the parking lot until after the argument had started. When he heard the truck pull up, Gary said to Dustin, The next thing he knew, “all hell broke loose and [he turned] around and [Cory was] laying on the ground.” According to Gary, “Cory did not get one step out of that truck [,] and he was on the ground.” Cory was not fighting with anyone and no one started “throwing any fists” until after he saw Cory on the ground. Gary did not see Dustin get hit. Finally, he stated that he had “probably twelve beers” that night, but he knew what he was doing and saying when the police first interviewed him.
Yvonne provided a statement to the police the morning of the fight. She stated that she got to work at 8:00 p.m. and left work near closing time, 2:15 a.m. After leaving the bar, Yvonne went to the parking lot to smoke a cigarette with two of the other dancers and Jae. While they were in the parking lot, three men (Cory and his brothers) walked up to them. One of the men made a comment she did not like, and she “got rude with him.” At that point, Lemons and Patrick pulled into the parking lot. The man again said something Yvonne did not like, and she “tried to jump in his face,” but Lemons grabbed her. She pulled away, pointed her finger at the man, and he picked her up and threw her to the ground. As she was trying to get up, a third man pulled up in a truck and all three men jumped on Lemons and Patrick. According to Yvonne, she tried to diffuse the situation but was thrown back down by one of the men. She was not sure who threw her to the ground, but she thinks it was the man who got out of the truck. She stated that the guy from the truck had Lemons and Patrick on the ground, and the next thing she knew, Lemons was carrying her out of the parking lot to the corner of the building. She kept hitting Lemons to get him to let her go back to the parking lot so she could check on Jae and Patrick. Eventually Lemons let her go, and she went to help Patrick, who was lying on the ground.
Jae, who had previously been a dancer at the bar, was there that night celebrating her graduation from paralegal school. At closing time, she stopped outside the bar to talk to the three brothers. She saw Yvonne come out of the bar and go back to the parking lot. Jae eventually went back to check on Yvonne, who seemed upset. After a few minutes, Lemons and Patrick pulled into the parking lot, and the brothers walked into the lot. Jae believes that two of the brothers then left and the remaining brother and Yvonne started arguing. Lemons and Patrick both told Yvonne to calm down. A truck then pulled into the lot and the two brothers jumped out. The driver, presumably Cory, hit Patrick as soon as he got out of the truck. Patrick fell to the ground, and Jae turned to help him. When she turned around again, Cory was lying on the ground bleeding. Jae stated that whatever happened to Cory must have happened very quickly because she did not see it. When Jae noticed Cory on the ground, Lemons was still holding Yvonne. Jae told one of the other two brothers that Cory had been hurt and that brother started chasing Yvonne and Lemons. Jae stated that she then called 911 and went over to help Cory. Shortly thereafter the police and emergency personnel arrived.
The police did not interview Patrick until four days after the fight. Patrick stated that he and Lemons arrived at the Brass Ass at approximately 2:30 a.m. When they pulled into the parking lot, Jae and Yvonne were with two men, who were smoking marijuana. One of the men said something that offended Yvonne. Patrick told the man not to pay any attention to Yvonne because she had been drinking, and Lemons pushed Yvonne to keep her from going after the man. At that point Cory pulled into the lot. He jumped...
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