Steplock v. State

• Decision Date: 26 January 2022
• Docket Number: S-20-0160,S-21-0050
• Citation: 2022 WY 12
• Parties: ANDREW WAYNE STEPLOCK, Appellant (Defendant), v. THE STATE OF WYOMING, Appellee (Plaintiff).
• Court: Wyoming Supreme Court

2022 WY 12

ANDREW WAYNE STEPLOCK, Appellant (Defendant), v. THE STATE OF WYOMING, Appellee (Plaintiff).

Nos. S-20-0160, S-21-0050

Supreme Court of Wyoming

January 26, 2022

Appeal from the District Court of Natrona County The Honorable Daniel L. Forgey, Judge

Representing Appellant: Office of the State Public Defender Diane Lozano, Wyoming State Public Defender; Kirk A. Morgan Chief Appellate Counsel; Robin S. Cooper, Senior Assistant Appellate Counsel. Argument by Ms. Cooper.

Representing Appellee: Bridget Hill, Wyoming Attorney General; Jenny L. Craig, Deputy Attorney General; Joshua C. Eames, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Catherine M. Mercer, Assistant Attorney General. Argument by Ms. Mercer.

Before FOX, C.J., and DAVIS, ^[*] KAUTZ, BOOMGAARDEN, and GRAY, JJ.

GRAY JUSTICE

[¶1] Andrew Wayne Steplock confessed that he broke into his parents' house and killed his mother. The jury convicted him of felony murder, second-degree murder, aggravated burglary, and possession of a deadly weapon. On appeal, Mr. Steplock argues that the district court abused its discretion in denying his motion to continue the trial and erred by rejecting his W.R.A.P. 21 motion for new trial based on ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the conviction but remand for correction of illegal sentence.

ISSUES

[¶2] Mr. Steplock presents two issues, which we have rephrased:

1. Did the district court abuse its discretion when it denied Appellant's morning of trial motion to continue?

2. Did the district court err in denying Appellant's Rule 21 motion for new trial due to ineffective assistance of counsel?

FACTS

[¶3] On the morning of February 25, 2019, Mr. Steplock, who had a key to his parents' home, went to their house where he argued with his mother about his custom of making unannounced visits to the home. Following the argument, Mr. Steplock asked, and his mother agreed, that he could take a shower there. While Mr. Steplock showered, his mother switched his house key with a fake key hoping to prevent further uninvited visits. After showering, Mr. Steplock left.

[¶4] Later that evening, Mrs. Steplock and her husband, Dr Steplock, watched television until around 10:30 p.m. when Dr. Steplock went to bed. Mrs. Steplock followed him to the bedroom to settle the family dogs before returning downstairs. Dr. Steplock fell asleep until sometime after 12:56 a.m. when he was awakened by the security alarm. After calling out to Mrs. Steplock and receiving no response, he ran downstairs to the den because he knew Mrs. Steplock, who often stayed up until three or four in the morning, was usually there. He did not see her in the den but spotted her lying unconscious on her back near the front door. As he frantically called out and shook her, he noticed a small pool of blood on the floor just below her left ear. He called 911.

[¶5] Shortly thereafter, the police arrived. One officer applied pressure to Mrs. Steplock's head while the other searched the house for an intruder. The officer discovered the back door was open with its window broken from the outside. He continued to sweep the house but did not find anyone else inside. The paramedics arrived and transported Mrs. Steplock to the hospital where she later died.

[¶6] During the investigation, the police learned of Mr. Steplock's argument with his mother. The police also learned that Mr. Steplock appeared unconcerned when family members had called to tell him that his mother was hurt and in the hospital. Based on the information, Mr. Steplock became a suspect in his mother's shooting. The police made several attempts to reach Mr. Steplock, but these efforts were unsuccessful. Casper police detective, Jesse Jones, tracked Mr. Steplock's cell phone and discovered that on the day of the murder, Mr. Steplock's phone had traveled from Casper to Cheyenne and then to Aurora, Colorado, before heading back north. Using this information, the police located Mr. Steplock at a truck stop north of Denver, Colorado, and arrested him.

[¶7] Following his arrest, Mr. Steplock confessed to killing his mother. He told the police that he went to his parents' house to steal money. When he arrived, his house key would not unlock the front door, so he went to the back door where he broke the door window, reached inside, and turned the deadbolt key to gain entry to the house. His mother, who was in the living room, asked what he was doing. Instead of answering, he walked toward her, pointed the gun, and pulled the trigger. The security alarm sounded, and he fled.

[¶8] Mr. Steplock was charged with felony murder, second-degree murder, aggravated burglary, and possession of a deadly weapon. He pled not guilty and not guilty by reason of mental illness (NGMI). Prior to the initial date of trial, August 26, 2019, the district court ordered a psychological evaluation. Dr. Elizabeth Donegan, a licensed psychologist with the Wyoming State Hospital, evaluated Mr. Steplock. Her report was originally due July 29, 2019, but technology issues had prevented access to Mr. Steplock's police interviews, so the Wyoming State Hospital requested a thirty-day extension. The district court granted the extension and, to accommodate the new deadline, continued the trial until November 18, 2019. Dr. Donegan conducted her evaluation on June 25, 2019. Mr. Steplock claimed for the first time during this evaluation that he was suffering from hallucinations and demons directed his actions. In her report, submitted on August 28, 2019, she concluded that Mr. Steplock did not "lack[] substantial capacity, as a result of mental illness or deficiency, to appreciate the wrongfulness of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law at the time of the alleged offenses." Mr. Steplock moved for a second psychological evaluation, which the court granted on September 11, 2019.

[¶9] Defense counsel then submitted a request for funding for the evaluation to the public defender committee-a five-member committee composed of experienced defense attorneys. This committee evaluates and approves or denies any funding request in aid of trial that exceeds $1, 500.^[1] In determining whether to approve or deny funding, the committee reviews any information that the attorneys provide. For NGMI cases, the information provided may include prior evaluations, history of psychiatric treatments or diagnoses, social history, and other relevant background information. Here, Mr. Steplock's prior treatment records were unavailable. The committee relied on Dr. Donegan's evaluation in making its decision. It denied funding for a second psychological evaluation. At the Rule 21 hearing, the State Public Defender testified:

[E]ssentially, the committee felt that there didn't seem to be evidence consistent with . . . [a] defense for not guilty by reason of mental illness. Not [a] lot of talk about whether or not the State Hospital report was valid; but that there didn't seem to be any evidence that Mr. Steplock was struggling to conform his conduct or didn't understand right from wrong.

Mr. Steplock did not receive a second psychological evaluation.

[¶10] A few weeks before trial, defense counsel made a request to the State for Dr. Donegan's litigation support package (her notes and the basis for her evaluation) to determine whether she had conducted any testing on Mr. Steplock during her evaluation. The State told defense counsel to make his request directly to the Wyoming State Hospital, which he did. When the hospital indicated there was no litigation support package, defense counsel attempted to contact Dr. Donegan directly. Dr. Donegan did not return his calls until the Thursday preceding trial scheduled to begin on Monday. On that Thursday, Dr. Donegan told defense counsel that she did not conduct any testing and her report was based solely on her notes and observations. The next day, defense counsel hired Tricia Miller, a licensed counselor, to conduct a series of personality tests on Mr. Steplock. On Monday, the first day scheduled for trial, defense counsel supplemented his witness list adding Ms. Miller. The State objected to Ms. Miller as an expert witness arguing unfair surprise and that Ms. Miller, a licensed counselor, did not qualify as a designated examiner pursuant to statute.^[2] The district court accepted the State's objections and ruled that Ms. Miller would not be allowed to testify.^[3] Despite being previously denied funding and having taken no alternative measures to secure a second psychological evaluation, Mr. Steplock also moved for a continuance claiming that he needed a second evaluation. The district court denied the motion, finding:

[T]here's not good cause to continue the trial at this time. There's been plenty of time and opportunity to try to address those issues in advance of trial. The Court has already granted a continuance due to the State Hospital['s] problems, ^[[4] and it's been several months since the evaluation was received. So if that's the reason, I think we need to proceed.

[¶11] The trial proceeded as scheduled. As part of Mr Steplock's NGMI defense, his counsel cross-examined Dr. Donegan challenging her evaluation; cross-examined Mr. Steplock's father about Mr. Steplock's behavior as a child and behavior changes through his teenage years; presented testimony from Mr. Steplock's sister on her observations of her brother's personality and temperament; and Mr. Steplock testified in his own defense. Dr. Donegan's testimony is addressed below. See infra ¶ 25. Dr. Steplock testified, that as a teenager Mr. Steplock started getting into trouble at school and began performing poorly academically, and then as an adult he started isolating himself from friends and family. Mr. Steplock's sister testified...