People v. Spratley

• Decision Date: 07 March 2018
• Docket Number: Ind. No. 65/13,2015–04116
• Parties: The PEOPLE, etc., respondent, v. Lakime J. SPRATLEY, appellant.
• Court: New York Supreme Court — Appellate Division

159 A.D.3d 725
71 N.Y.S.3d 582

The PEOPLE, etc., respondent,
v.
Lakime J. SPRATLEY, appellant.

2015–04116
Ind. No. 65/13

Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Second Department, New York.

Submitted—May 26, 2017
March 7, 2018

Del Atwell, East Hampton, NY, for appellant.

William V. Grady, District Attorney, Poughkeepsie, NY (Kirsten A. Rappleyea of counsel), for respondent.

REINALDO E. RIVERA, J.P., L. PRISCILLA HALL, BETSY BARROS, VALERIE BRATHWAITE NELSON, JJ.

DECISION & ORDER

159 A.D.3d 725

Appeal by the defendant from a judgment of the County Court, Dutchess County (Stephen L. Greller, J.), rendered April 22, 2015, convicting him of murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, upon a jury verdict, and imposing sentence.

ORDERED that the judgment is reversed, on the facts, and the matter is remitted to the County Court, Dutchess County, for further proceedings pursuant to CPL 330.20.

On July 10, 2013, at around 11:30 p.m., the defendant shot and killed Talesha Wright in a grocery store in Poughkeepsie. At trial, the defendant asserted the affirmative defense of lack of criminal responsibility by reason of mental disease or defect ( Penal Law § 40.15 ). The People did not dispute that the defendant was suffering from a mental disease or defect at the time of the shooting, but they disagreed as to the nature of the disease or defect and whether it caused the defendant to lack substantial capacity to know or appreciate either the nature and consequences of his conduct or that it was wrong. The jury convicted the defendant of murder in the second degree and criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree, implicitly rejecting his affirmative defense. On appeal, the defendant contends, among other things, that the verdict of guilt was against the weight of the credible evidence as it found that he failed to establish the affirmative defense by a preponderance of the evidence. We agree, and therefore reverse his convictions and remit the matter to the County Court, Dutchess County, for further proceedings pursuant to CPL 330.20.

The incident was captured on several surveillance cameras, which show that at the subject time, the defendant was walking

159 A.D.3d 726

on a sidewalk on Academy Street in Poughkeepsie. An SUV traveled down the street and stopped in front of the A & M Grocery. Wright, who had been hanging out of the rear driver's side window as the SUV was moving, exited through the vehicle's window and walked into the store. The defendant continued to walk down the sidewalk until he reached the A & M Grocery and then turned to enter the store, and, from the doorway, pulled a gun from the waistband of his shorts and fired at Wright, who was standing only a few feet away at the counter. The defendant exited the store and paced outside for approximately one minute and then slowly walked a short distance away. Moments later, police cars arrived and the defendant immediately put his hands in the air and laid down on the ground. A police officer handcuffed the defendant, and according to the officer, the defendant "stated something about a suitcase and he said that bitch stole my clothes and they know how they get when they mess with me."

In a videotaped interview at the police precinct, the defendant told detectives that he had been "paranoid," "hearing voices and stuff," and "having issues or whatever with [himself]." He stated that he had seen Wright in the SUV three to four times earlier that day without incident. However, the defendant told detectives that, shortly before the shooting, he had seen a blue suitcase that belonged to him sitting on a street corner. He stated that he looked at the suitcase for a long time, and was uncertain of whether what was happening was "reality." The defendant said that he was certain that the suitcase was his, but walked away to try to "figure it out." As the defendant was walking, the SUV with Wright came down the street. The defendant told the detectives that at this time, he was hearing voices that were telling him "all kinds of ... negative stuff." When the SUV pulled up, the defendant believed that Wright was making signals with her hands at him, including "like gun [signals] and signs," and that she was wearing his shorts. The defendant believed that "they" were playing "mind games" with him. He stated that when Wright "put a gun sign on," he thought, "hold on, you're talking about endangering my life," and it "really triggered" him. The defendant told the detectives that he recalled walking into the grocery store and asking Wright why she was wearing his shorts. The defendant claimed that he then "blanked out," and he did not remember whether Wright responded to him and did not remember shooting her. When one of the detectives pressed the defendant to try to remember what happened after he was "triggered," the defendant said "this" happened, and pointed to his shoe, leg, and shorts. The detective asked the defendant whether he had

159 A.D.3d 727

urinated on himself, and the defendant replied, "yeah, I was hearing voices." The defendant told the detectives that he recalled feeling "bad" after he left the store and feeling "lost" when he was on the sidewalk following the shooting. The defendant admitted to the detectives that he had been carrying the gun with him all day because he was hearing voices and needed to protect himself. Wright's wife testified that she and Wright knew the defendant through a mutual friend, and there had never been any disagreements between them.

The defense presented the expert testimony of a board-certified forensic psychiatrist who opined that at the time he possessed the gun and shot Wright, the defendant was suffering from a severe, persistent, and serious mental disease, namely, schizoaffective disorder, and that because of this mental disease the defendant lacked substantial capacity to know or appreciate that what he did was wrong. The defense expert described schizoaffective disorder as having a combination of symptoms of both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. To support the expert's conclusion, the defense presented evidence that throughout the defendant's childhood, his parents were severely drug addicted and that in 1995, when the defendant was about 15 years old, his mother, suffering from mental illness, stabbed his father to death. The defendant was imprisoned as a juvenile offender in 1995 for assault and attempted robbery. He was released from prison briefly, but then convicted of selling a controlled substance, so that he remained incarcerated almost continuously from 1995 to December 2010. The defendant received numerous disciplinary citations while incarcerated, and was in isolation in the special housing unit during the majority of his time in prison.

The defense evidence also showed that the defendant began complaining of hearing voices in 1995 or 1996 when he was 15 or 16 years old. At times, the defendant expressed a belief that corrections officers and/or other detainees were poisoning his food. However, prison staff repeatedly concluded that the defendant was "faking" in order to gain special favors, and thus he was treated punitively for his behavior. In 2008, the defendant was diagnosed with bipolar disorder with psychotic features, and was prescribed antipsychotic medication for the first time. The defense expert testified that the defendant's prison records reflect that the defendant's behavior changed drastically after he was medicated, his symptoms went away and he was able to avoid citations.

The defendant was released on parole in December 2010. Upon his release, the defendant was treated at a community

159 A.D.3d 728

mental health clinic. The defense expert testified that the notes from the clinic indicate that at the December 2010 intake interview, the defendant complained of hearing voices that were telling him to hurt himself and other people. The defendant expressed a belief that there was a secret society of assassins that were trying to kill him, and that the society utilized both people he knew and strangers in its conspiracy to assassinate him. The clinic treated the defendant from December 2010 until March 2013 for schizoaffective disorder with antipsychotic, mood stabilizing, and antidepressant medications. It is unclear from the record why the defendant's treatment stopped in March 2013.

On June 20, 2013, 20 days before he shot Wright, the defendant was in an automobile accident in which another vehicle struck the vehicle he was driving. The hospital records indicated that the defendant exited his vehicle after the accident and appeared as though he was going to attack the other driver, but that he then had a seizure and was brought to the hospital. The defense expert testified that the defendant told him that at the time of the accident, he believed the driver of the other vehicle was an assassin from the secret society and that the accident was an assassination attempt. The community mental health clinic records indicated that the defendant returned to the clinic several times after the June 20 automobile accident asking that he be prescribed a particular antipsychotic medication that he had received when he was being treated...