State v. McClain

• Decision Date: 19 April 2005
• Docket Number: No. COA04-938.,COA04-938.
• Citation: 169 NC App. 657,610 S.E.2d 783
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina, v. Robert Lewis McCLAIN.
• Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals

610 S.E.2d 783

169 NC App. 657

STATE of North Carolina, v. Robert Lewis McCLAIN.

No. COA04-938.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

April 19, 2005.

Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General Mary D. Winstead, for the State.

Appellate Defender Staples Hughes, by Assistant Appellate Defender Anne M. Gomez, Durham, for defendant-appellant. STEELMAN, Judge.

Defendant, Robert Lewis McClain, appeals his conviction for first-degree murder. For the reasons discussed herein, we affirm the trial court.

The evidence at trial tended to show that defendant was mildly mentally retarded. At the time of the murder, defendant worked at TPI Commissary warehouse in Charlotte, with the victim, David Evans. The two men worked as a team, as order pullers. Defendant's responsibilities included reading orders, which contained information as to the description of the item, its number, quantity, and location in the warehouse. Defendant would locate the items and load them onto an electric pallet jack for shipment. Testimony at trial indicated Evans teased defendant at work because of defendant's mental retardation.

On 15 March 1994, defendant and Evans had an argument when Evans arrived late to work. After work that day, defendant walked out with a co-worker, Michael McFadden. They walked over to defendant's car, where defendant opened the glove compartment and showed McFadden his nine millimeter pistol. As Evans was leaving work, defendant called him over to his car and said, "What was this sh — you were talking all day?" Defendant did not point his gun at Evans, but he raised it high enough that Evans could see it. After seeing the gun, Evans went to his vehicle and left.

The next day, Evans went to work and reported to his supervisor, Frederick Cantelmo, that defendant had threatened him with a gun in the parking lot. Defendant did not go to work that day because he was in jail on unrelated charges of carrying a concealed weapon and speeding. When defendant came to work Thursday morning, Cantelmo spoke with defendant about his absence the day before. After they spoke, defendant returned to work and Cantelmo contacted the company's legal department for advice.

At approximately 11:00 a.m., Cantelmo called defendant to his office. Cantelmo told defendant he had consulted with the company attorney and was firing him because he had a weapon on company property. Defendant became angry and asked if it was Evans who reported he was carrying a gun. Cantelmo denied that Evans told him, instead stating that several employees had reported the incident. As defendant was leaving, he saw his friend McFadden and told him he had been fired for no reason, and he had a good lawyer and was going to sue.

Defendant clocked out at approximately 11:15 a.m. He contacted a lawyer in South Carolina who had represented him regarding an automobile accident. The attorney informed defendant that he would need an attorney in North Carolina. At around 11:30 a.m., defendant drove to Shoney's where Robin Lowery (Lowery), his ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child, worked. Lowery had ended their relationship several days earlier. Defendant went inside and began following Lowery around, telling her that he wanted to talk. Lowery told defendant she would talk to him later, but defendant refused to leave. In order to lure Lowery from the restaurant, defendant told her he had a package in his car for her from a woman he worked with. Lowery followed defendant outside. Defendant pointed a sawed-off shotgun at her and threatened to kill her if she did not get in the car. Lowery got into defendant's car and he drove them down a gravel road to a yellow building in an industrial area and made Lowery get out of the car. He then made her get back into the car and drove further down the gravel road to a more secluded area. Defendant again made Lowery get out of the car, ripped off her hose and panties, and forced her to have sex with him. Defendant began walking in circles saying that Evans had caused him to lose his job and that he was going to jail for the rest of his life anyway so he was going to go all the way and kill Evans. Defendant then loaded a gun and shot Lowery in her left knee. After shooting Lowery the first time, he made her take her skirt off, saying he wanted them to find her looking like a slut. Defendant began walking around her again and shot her in the right knee. Lowery tried to get away from defendant and began to crawl towards the woods. She heard a shot ring out and a bullet grazed her head. She fell to he ground and lay still until she heard defendant drive away. Lowery was later able to drag herself to a building where she received assistance. While waiting for the ambulance to arrive, Lowery called TPI to warn Evans.

At approximately 1:15 p.m. defendant went back to TPI. Defendant went into the warehouse and called out Evans' name twice. Evans and a co-worker were returning from their lunch break when they heard defendant call out. When Evans turned around, defendant shot him in the face at close range with the sawed-off shotgun. After defendant shot Evans, he turned and pumped his fist in the air and stated, "Yeah. I got that mother f_____[,]" and then drove off.

At 2:25 p.m., defendant called 911 and reported he just committed two crimes and wanted to turn himself in. He agreed to unload the weapon and leave it outside and go back into the house and wait for the police. While speaking to the 911 dispatcher, defendant asked if he would be harmed or shot when the police arrived. The police arrived and arrested defendant.

Defendant was diagnosed as being mentally retarded. Defendant consistently scored below 70 on IQ tests. The IQ range for mental retardation is generally below 70. Defendant has problems with adaptive behavior skills such as reading, using a telephone book, using a map, and filling out a job application.

In May 1999, the trial court held a competency hearing to determine whether defendant was competent to stand trial. The trial court heard testimony from the State's and defendant's expert witnesses. The trial court found defendant was competent to stand trial. Jury selection initially began on 20 April 1999. Three days later, one of defendant's attorneys informed the court he could not continue with the trial. As a result, the trial court replaced him and continued the trial until 24 May 1999, on which date jury selection resumed. Two days later, the trial court declared a mistrial due to contact between the victim's father and a prospective juror. Jury selection resumed with a new panel of jurors.

On 25 June 1999, a jury found defendant guilty of first-degree murder of Evans. In accordance with the jury's recommendation, the trial judge sentenced defendant to death.

Defendant filed a Motion for Appropriate Relief in the North Carolina Supreme Court contending he was retarded under the provisions of N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A-2005. The Supreme Court remanded the case to the Mecklenburg County Superior Court for a hearing on defendant's motion. State v. McClain, 355 N.C. 208, 560 S.E.2d 151 (2002). On 13 April 2004, the Honorable Charles C. Lamm, Jr., found defendant was mentally retarded within the meaning of N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A-2005(a)(1) and vacated defendant's death sentence. As a result, the Supreme Court transferred defendant's appeal of his first-degree murder conviction to this Court. State v. McClain, 358 N.C. 374, 599 S.E.2d 906 (2004).

In his first assignment of error, defendant contends the trial court erred in determining he was competent to stand trial. We disagree.

N.C. Gen.Stat. 15A-1001(a) sets out the test for competency of a defendant to stand trial. The test is "`whether a defendant has capacity to comprehend his position, to understand the nature of the proceedings against him, to conduct his defense in a rational manner and to cooperate with his counsel....'" State v. Pratt, 152 N.C.App. 694, 697, 568 S.E.2d 276, 278 (2002), appeal dismissed and cert. denied, 357 N.C. 168, 581 S.E.2d 442 (2003) (quoting State v. Jackson, 302 N.C. 101, 104, 273 S.E.2d 666, 669 (1981)). The defendant bears the burden of demonstrating he is incompetent. Id. If the trial court's findings of fact are supported by competent evidence, they are deemed conclusive on appeal. Id. Furthermore, the trial court's decision that defendant was competent to stand trial will not be overturned, absent a showing that the trial judge abused his discretion. Id. at 698, 568 S.E.2d at 279. Evidence that a defendant suffers from mental retardation is not conclusive on the issue of competency. See id. at 697, 568 S.E.2d at 278. A defendant need not be "at the highest stage of mental alertness to be competent to be tried." Id. at 697, 568 S.E.2d at 279 (citing State v. Shytle, 323 N.C. 684, 689, 374 S.E.2d 573, 575 (1989)). Dr. Robert Rollins, the Director of Forensic Psychiatry at Dorothea Dix Hospital, and a board certified expert in the field of forensic psychiatry, testified on behalf of the State. After interviewing defendant on three separate occasions and reviewing his records and test scores, Dr. Rollins concluded defendant was competent to stand trial. Dr. Rollins opined that although defendant suffered from "borderline intellectual functioning," and found it difficult to cope with the stress of the legal process, he was nevertheless able to understand the nature and object of the proceedings against him. He further concluded that with proper support, defendant was "certainly... able to cooperate with his attorneys" and assist in his own defense, although his attorneys might need to assign him very specific tasks and he would need additional time to complete the tasks given.

Dr. Mark Worthen testified for defendant as an expert in clinical and forensic psychology. Dr. Worthen testified defendant was not competent to stand trial based upon several factors. He stated that defendant's mental retardation, coupled...