State v. Pickrell
| Decision Date | 08 December 2021 |
| Docket Number | 5878,Appellate Case 2018-001139 |
| Court | South Carolina Court of Appeals |
| Parties | The State, Respondent, v. Gregg Pickrell, Appellant. |
Heard February 10, 2021
Appeal From Kershaw County Alison Renee Lee, Circuit Court Judge William A. McKinnon, Circuit Court Judge
Chief Appellate Defender Robert Michael Dudek, of Columbia, for Appellant.
Attorney General Alan McCrory Wilson, Assistant Attorney General Mark Reynolds Farthing, and Solicitor Byron E Gipson, all of Columbia, for Respondent.
Appellant Gregg Pickrell, appeals from her murder conviction. She first asserts the immunity hearing court erred in denying her immunity from prosecution. She further maintains the trial court erred in allowing certain testimony from two law enforcement officers. Because we find the record supports the immunity hearing court's determination that Appellant failed to show by a preponderance of the evidence that she was entitled to immunity from prosecution, and we further find no reversible error in the admission of the challenged testimony, we affirm.
Appellant was indicted for murder in the death of Robert Lamont "Monty" Demary (Victim), who was sometimes employed by Appellant and with whom Appellant was engaged in a sexual relationship. It is undisputed that Appellant shot Victim in her home on the morning of September 11, 2014. However Appellant maintained she was immune from prosecution pursuant to the Protection of Persons and Property Act (the Act).[1] Following an immunity hearing, Judge Alison Renee Lee denied Appellant immunity from prosecution. Appellant was thereafter tried by a jury before Judge William A. McKinnon, was convicted as charged, and was sentenced to thirty-five years' imprisonment.
Within hours of Victim's shooting, Appellant gave two statements to law enforcement. In her first interview by Kershaw County Sheriff's Investigator Rick DeVors-in the presence of then-victim's advocate, Karen DeVors-Appellant indicated Victim came to her farm house the night before, arriving by cab between 10:00 and 11:30 p.m. She explained that Victim was previously employed by her and the two began a sexual relationship in 2008, which Appellant maintained resulted in six years of physical abuse perpetrated by Victim. Appellant, a horse trainer, described a particular previous instance of abuse she suffered at Victim's hands when she took Victim and another employee, Tyrone Pearson, to Louisiana for a horse race. The police responded to the racetrack as a result of that incident, and Appellant "put [Victim] in jail" over the matter, where he stayed for sixty days for committing assault and domestic battery against her.
Appellant stated that on the night before the shooting Victim contacted her wanting money. She told him she would put the money in an envelope in the mailbox and he could "get [his] cab, and take [his] money." The next thing she knew, Victim was on her porch, at which time she offered him a drink and they ate dinner. According to Appellant, Victim threw her against a desk prior to them eating dinner, there was a verbal argument during dinner, and there was another "altercation" after dinner. Victim passed out in a chair after dinner, and Appellant then got into bed. Victim later joined Appellant in bed and they engaged in sex. When they awoke around 6:45 a.m., Victim wanted to have sex again. However, Appellant's mother was expected to be at her house soon, and Appellant told Victim she needed to get him out of there. Victim was mad about not engaging in more sex and, upon discovering he was missing one of his earrings, he "had a fit" and began swearing. Appellant told Victim the earring had to be in the bed, but Victim, who had a bad temper, said something about Appellant stealing the earring and said, "I'm going to kill you." Appellant explained that she always kept a gun in a drawer by a boom box right outside the bedroom door. She described Victim as being "[f]urious about the earring," and stated that when he was like that he "does this sort of build-up" and he "inflates." Victim told Appellant, "If I cannot find this earring, I'm going to come and fucking kill you." Appellant told him she would find the earring for him, but he said, Appellant then stated as follows:
When Investigator DeVors asked her what about this time made her pull the trigger, she stated she had been so close to death so many times at Victim's hands. Investigator DeVors again asked what was different about this time and she replied, "I just can't take any more beating . . . and the terrible things he said about my mother, who's helped him, and I just can't take it anymore." She further stated, "[I]t's been six years of - - I just don't, I don't want to get hurt anymore."
Appellant reiterated that she told Victim they needed to go because she had things to do with the horses and her mother was coming over to her house. She explained that she offered to find the earring and get it to him, but Victim [']" Appellant stated Victim was referring to "the sex" he had previously been denied. The following colloquy then occurred:
According to Appellant, the Louisiana incident was the basis for the big fight the two had the night before Victim's death. She stated that Victim "couldn't stop beating me over the fact I put him in jail . . . six years ago." Appellant's attorney arrived at the Sheriff's Office and asked for some time with his client, at which time Appellant's interview with Investigator DeVors concluded.
Appellant's second interview was conducted that same day by Investigator Rick Bailey in the presence of Appellant's attorney after her attorney told Investigator Bailey they had more information to share. Appellant expounded on the Louisiana incident and indicated that after Appellant returned from Louisiana toward the end of 2008, she contacted the Kershaw County's victim advocate, told her what happened, and stated she wanted the matter on file. Appellant described Victim as very volatile, and stated it was "like a switch would go off if you said something." Investigator Bailey asked Appellant about what occurred the previous night. She stated Victim wanted money, he got a cab, and she left money in the mailbox-as she had done in the past when Victim would make drunken threats against her and her property if she did not give him money. The next thing she knew, Victim showed up at her house, and she offered him a drink and dinner. She stated that Victim had a drink, and there was an altercation-during which she was thrown on a desk, Victim held her down, and she was "thrashed around."
Investigator Bailey asked Appellant what the situation was that morning up to the point of the shooting. Appellant explained...
To continue reading
Request your trial