State v. Calhoun, No. COA07-1223 (N.C. App. 7/1/2008)
| Decision Date | 01 July 2008 |
| Docket Number | No. COA07-1223,COA07-1223 |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. CARNELL LAVANCE CALHOUN. |
Robert W. Ewing, for defendant-appellant.
Carnell Lavance Calhoun ("defendant") appeals from judgments entered upon guilty verdicts for felony breaking and entering, attempted first-degree rape, robbery with a dangerous weapon, two counts of first-degree sexual offense, and two counts of second-degree kidnapping. For the following reasons, we hold no error.
In the early morning on 24 February 2005, defendant and David Moore ("Moore") entered the home of Steven White ("White") in Fairview, North Carolina. At the time, White, White's roommate Roderick Monk ("Monk"), and White's friend Kimberly Rowell ("Rowell") were asleep in the residence. Defendant and Moore entered White's bedroom and tied him up with electrical cords. White then awoke and observed Moore standing at the end of his bed and pointing a rifle at his face. White, who had gotten into an argument with Moore the previous day over a failed drug deal, asked Moore what was happening. Defendant, holding a knife, told White to be quiet and that nothing would happen to him. Defendant took approximately $40.00 and an ounce of marijuana from the pockets of White's pants, which were laying on the bedroom floor. Defendant left the room, and White again asked Moore what was happening. White testified,
Rowell, who had been sleeping on the couch in the living room, awoke to find defendant standing over her and ordering her to get up. Rowell thought he was joking until he brandished the knife and threatened to cut her. After getting up from the couch, Rowell observed White tied up in his bedroom with a gun pointed to his head. Rowell became frightened and started crying hysterically and begging defendant to stop. Defendant ordered her to be quiet and to "move; move; move." Defendant took Rowell to Monk's bedroom, and after observing Monk asleep in the room, ordered Rowell into an unoccupied guest room. There, defendant ordered Rowell to remove her clothes, threatening to cut her with his knife if she refused. Defendant then forced Rowell to perform fellatio on him.
Meanwhile, Moore left White's bedroom, and White, still tied up, followed Moore to the kitchen area, where Moore was standing in front of the residence's front door. Monk, who awoke after hearing Rowell's cries, left his bedroom, and while walking down the hallway, he observed defendant, standing in front of Rowell and pressing a knife against her. Monk testified that he was in shock and continued down the hallway, and that as he entered the area in which Moore and White were standing, Moore pointed his rifle at him.
After defendant left the guest room, Rowell dressed and attempted to escape through a window, but was unable to open the window as it was bolted down. Rowell heard Moore tell defendant to return to the guest room and "have some more fun." Defendant returned to the guest room and became upset that Rowell was dressed. Defendant pressed his knife to Rowell's throat, demanded that she take her clothes off, and threatened to cut her face. Rowell begged defendant to stop, but defendant ordered her to her knees and demanded that she once again perform fellatio on him, stating, Rowell said she did not want to, but defendant stated that "[h]e could care less." Defendant then made Rowell stand up, and he inserted his fingers into her vagina. While still standing, defendant tried to engage in sexual intercourse with Rowell. Rowell testified, "[I thought] he was going to rape me and he was going to kill me, and my friends were going to die." However, defendant stopped trying to have intercourse with her, and ran out of the room. Defendant and Moore then ran out of the house and walked to Moore's nearby home. On the way, Moore buried the rifle in a ditch. After defendant and Moore left, Rowell dressed again, ran to the kitchen, and untied White. Monk ran outside, but soon returned and informed White and Rowell, Rowell later discovered that her wallet was missing from her car, and White discovered that his gun was missing from his residence.
A few hours after defendant and Moore left White's residence, police apprehended Moore at his residence, and Moore gave a statement incriminating himself and defendant. With Moore's help, the police were able to recover the rifle. An employee of a local trash service found Rowell's wallet and gave it to the police. The police also found White's gun in an overnight bag located in an abandoned motel room defendant had rented two days prior to the robbery. Defendant subsequently was arrested.
On 22 March 2006, defense counsel moved to have defendant committed to Dorothea Dix ("Dix") for an examination to determine his capacity to proceed to trial. The trial court granted the motion, and on 11 April 2006, defendant was committed to Dix, where he was evaluated by Dr. David Bartholomew ("Dr. Bartholomew"). On 8 May 2006, defendant was released from Dix, and Dr. Bartholomew opined that defendant was competent to proceed to trial.
While at Dix, defendant conveyed to defense counsel that he wished to represent himself. After his release from Dix, defendant again stated that he wished to represent himself. On 21 June 2006, defense counsel moved to withdraw, and on 29 June 2006, the trial court held a hearing on the motion. By order entered 30 June 2006, the trial court noted that it had "concerns regarding the defendant's competency to proceed in this matter." After denying the motion to withdraw, the trial court directed defense counsel to locate a qualified mental health professional to evaluate defendant, and on 21 July 2006, the court appointed John R. Clement ("Clement") to evaluate defendant.
On 5 September 2006, defense counsel filed a motion for a hearing to determine defendant's capacity, and at the 11 September 2006 hearing, the trial court reviewed Clement's report and Dix's report and heard testimony from Clement, defendant, and Dr. Bartholomew. Clement, who met with defendant for two, one-hour sessions, noted that defendant
evidenced a number of odd mannerisms. In particular, he repetitively touched his face, hair and arms in a compulsive fashion. . . . His speech was fast paced, and his conversation was grossly disorganized, bordering on incoherent[, and] . . . might best be described as "word salad" (i.e., a hodgepodge of both real words and neologisms).
Clement also explained defendant could not answer his questions concerning the criminal charges before defendant became "derailed", and that he believed that defendant has disorganized schizophrenia. However, Clement also stated that defendant (1) "was alert and oriented to time, person, place"; (2) "had a limited understanding of the role of a psychologist"; (3) "seems to know the charges against him"; (4) "seems to understand that he is the accused"; (5) "may marginally have the capacity to understand the basic trial process," including the role of the attorneys, judge, and jury; and (6) "expressed doubts about the adequacy of his attorney, saying he wanted to represent himself." Additionally, Clement acknowledged that "with considerable patience, one can perhaps understand the crux of [defendant's] conversation." Clement ultimately opined that defendant was "not competent to assist his attorney" and that defendant's condition "absolutely" impacts his ability to proceed.
Dr. Bartholomew disagreed with Clement's belief that defendant had disorganized schizophrenia. He noted that defendant's speech became more disorganized and antagonistic when discussing his criminal proceedings, and that his frustration and disorganization when discussing his case would impair his ability to communicate with his attorney. However, Dr. Bartholomew also testified that during the four weeks that defendant was at Dix, defendant followed the hospital's rules, cooperated with the staff, and exhibited no disorganized behavior. Dr. Bartholomew further testified that defendant understood and communicated (1) what it meant to plead guilty and not guilty; and (2) the roles of the defense counsel, district attorney, judge, and jury. Ultimately, Dr. Bartholomew testified that defendant was able to assist his attorney if he chose to do so and was competent to proceed to trial.
At the conclusion of the 11 September 2006 hearing, the trial court found that "defendant does speak in a peculiar form and fashion," but that "due to the repetition and other things involved with it, one can decipher what he is concerned about and cares about and is obsessed with regard to his particular cases." The court found that defendant had provided a "reasonable definition of what extradition means" as well as a summary of "the role of all court personnel involved in this case[.]" The court noted that defendant was aware of the charges as well as the facts underlying the charges. Ultimately, the court concluded that defendant "is competent to stand trial for those charges."
On 23 October 2006, the day before trial was scheduled to commence, defense counsel renewed his motion to determine defendant's capacity to proceed, alleging that defendant was unable to provide the most basic assistance in the preparation of his case and that defendant was so obsessed with having his case dismissed that he would not talk about...
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