U.S. v. Greer

• Decision Date: 16 October 1998
• Docket Number: 96-11588,Nos. 96-11443,s. 96-11443
• Citation: 158 F.3d 228
• Parties: UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles Randell GREER, Defendant-Appellant.
• Court: U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit

Page 228

158 F.3d 228

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. Charles Randell GREER, Defendant-Appellant.

Nos. 96-11443, 96-11588.

United States Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit.

Oct. 16, 1998.

William Bryan Mateja, Lubbock, TX, Christopher Allen Curtis, Asst. U.S. Atty., Fort Worth, TX, for Plaintiff-Appellee.

Ira Raymond Kirkendoll, Dallas, TX, for Defendant-Appellant.

Appeals from the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Before KING, SMITH and PARKER, Circuit Judges.

KING, Circuit Judge:

Defendant-appellant Charles Randell Greer appeals the district court's enhancement of his sentence for obstruction of justice. We affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The history of this case is long and complicated. During the summer of 1994, defendant-appellant Charles Randell Greer, a convicted felon with a lengthy criminal record, one previous determination of incompetency and numerous commitments to psychiatric facilities, was homeless. Joyce Cantrell, a resident of Lubbock, Texas for whom Greer had done odd jobs, offered to let him stay in her garage apartment, and he moved in on July 16, 1994. That evening, he asked to use the telephone in Cantrell's house. Cantrell allowed him to do so, but when he finished his conversation, he was distraught and, without permission, entered her bedroom and lay down on her bed. When Cantrell asked him to leave, he grabbed her wrists and told her, "Don't cause me any problems." In order to appease Greer, Cantrell offered to cook him dinner, and when he returned to the bedroom, she escaped from the house and called the police. Greer had left by the time the police arrived, but when Cantrell returned the next morning, she discovered human excrement smeared in the bathroom and bedroom, and a .22 caliber revolver was missing.

The evidence at trial showed that after Cantrell left her house on the evening of July 16, Greer went to the home of Arthur Follows, another Lubbock resident for whom he had done odd jobs. Follows had befriended Greer in the past, giving him a ride to the hospital when Greer claimed that his grandfather had attempted suicide and then to Greer's uncle's house when Greer decided that he would rather see the uncle. At about 10 or 11 p.m., an agitated Greer arrived at Follows's home and asked to take a shower. Follows permitted him to do so, but told him that he would have to leave afterward. After Greer showered, however, he went to Follows's bedroom. Normally soft-spoken and shy, he began cursing loudly, telling Follows that no one cared about him.

At that point, Follows ordered Greer to leave. Greer then struck Follows, who fell back onto the bed, and bound him at gunpoint. He told Follows that he wanted Follows to drive him away from Lubbock because he wanted to kill himself, and the two men left in Follows's car. Greer, who kept the gun pointed at Follows with his finger on the trigger, told Follows to drive him to Clovis, New Mexico. During the journey, Greer drank heavily and continued to complain that no one cared about him. When Follows reached Clovis, he began to pull into the bus station, enraging Greer, who jammed the revolver into Follows's ear and then his side. Greer ordered Follows to drive to Albuquerque, but when they arrived, Greer became very sad, apologized to Follows, and asked to be taken to a motel, where he paid for a room with Follows's Mastercard. He indicated that he had achieved the purpose of the kidnapping--to be a long way from his family and friends when he committed suicide--and apologized again. He then allowed Follows to leave and entered the motel room alone. Follows immediately called the police, who arrested Greer at the motel. A federal grand jury indicted Greer on five counts: (1) kidnapping; (2) using and carrying a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence; (3) possession of a stolen firearm; (4) transporting a stolen firearm in interstate commerce; and (5) being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The post-arrest events were even stranger than the kidnapping itself. After Greer's arrest, a doctor attached to the Bernalillo County Detention Center in New Mexico gave him a prescription for two anti-psychotic drugs, Thorazine and Elavil, as well as an anti-depressant and medication to counteract the side effects of the anti-psychotics. Greer was also found incompetent to stand trial on the New Mexico state charges stemming from Follows's kidnapping. On November 14, 1994, pursuant to a joint motion filed by Greer and the Government, the district court ordered Greer committed to the custody of the Attorney General to undergo a competency evaluation. After a 1-1/2 month evaluation at the United States Medical Center for Federal Prisoners in Springfield, Missouri (FMCP-Springfield), Greer returned to Lubbock. The district court held a competency hearing on April 21, 1995. After local jail personnel and the FBI case agent testified to evidence tending to demonstrate Greer's competency, the Government called Dr. Richard Frederick, Greer's forensic psychologist at FMCP-Springfield, who testified not only that Greer was competent to stand trial, but that he was feigning psychotic illness. Dr. Frederick stated that he came to his conclusion based, in part, on a three-page narrative Greer wrote that cogently set forth his "understanding" of the crime--namely, that Follows had sexually assaulted him and had concocted the kidnapping story to save himself from punishment. Greer called only one witness, a local psychiatrist named Preston Shaw, who testified that Greer was incompetent. The district court determined that Greer was competent.

As trial preparation continued, Greer's bizarre behavior prompted his attorney to file another motion to determine competency. ¹ The district court initially denied the request but later granted it after the Government declined to oppose the motion. Greer was examined by Dr. Ross Taylor, a psychiatrist with the Texas Department of Corrections. Taylor determined that Greer was incompetent, the Government acquiesced to allowing Greer to be adjudicated incompetent, and on February 8, 1996, the district court executed an agreed order committing Greer to the custody of the Attorney General until such time as his competency was restored.

On June 25, 1996, after receiving a psychiatric evaluation from the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minnesota (FMC-Rochester), the district court ordered a second competency hearing. On July 17, 1996, the court convened a competency hearing at which Dr. Mary Alice Conroy, a psychologist who had evaluated Greer during his commitment at FMC-Rochester, testified. Conroy stated that because Greer was referred for restoration of competence, the medical staff initially presumed that he suffered from a serious mental disease that rendered him incompetent. But after observing Greer for nearly two months, Greer's treating psychiatrist, Dr. Sigerson, was unable to find any active psychotic process or serious mental disease. During Greer's case conference, in which six members of the medical staff involved in Greer's treatment and evaluation, including Dr. Sigerson and Dr. Conroy, participated, concluded that there was no evidence of psychotic process. Conroy opined that Greer was a malingerer, although she conceded that Greer had a personality disorder with antisocial and borderline tendencies that could not be treated. As to the nature of Greer's disorder, Conroy testified: "A character disorder, unlike a mental illness, does not disrupt cognitive processes or cause confusion, it doesn't compel anyone to do anything. They do not lose control. A person who has a character or personality disorder has control over his/her actions."

The day before trial, the district court found not only that Greer was competent but that he had feigned mental illness:

On July 17, 1996, the Court conducted an evidentiary hearing on this matter, wherein the Court heard the testimony of Dr. M.A. Conroy, a psychologist employed by the Bureau of Prisons at FMC-Rochester. Dr. Conroy evaluated Defendant Greer. Dr. Conroy testified, as did Dr. Richard Frederick of FMCP-Springfield during the hearing held April 21, 1995, that Defendant Greer was not even suffering from a severe mental disease or defect. Both experts believe Defendant Greer to be malingering. Based on these experts' testimony and the exhibits introduced by the Government during the July 17, 1996 and April 21, 1995 hearings, the Court concludes, by a preponderance of the evidence, that Defendant Greer is able to understand the nature and consequences of the proceedings against him and to assist properly in his defense. In this regard, the Court adopts the findings of Dr. Conroy and Dr. Frederick, as set forth in their reports ....

Greer's trial began on August 7, 1996. At approximately 10:30 a.m. on the first day, after voir dire and while the attorneys were making peremptory challenges, the marshals informed the district court that Greer had taken his clothes off and attempted to flush them down the holding cell toilet. During the resulting delay, Greer spit up between ten and sixteen half-dollar-sized splotches of blood and was taken to a local hospital. In Greer's absence, at approximately 11:15 a.m., the court called the names of the twelve jurors, seated them, administered their oath, and recessed the trial until 1:30 p.m. After Greer returned from the hospital, the court stated, outside the presence of the jury:

Just to backspace a bit, yesterday I entered an order finding the Defendant Mr. Greer competent to stand trial. In that order I found and find today that Mr. Greer is a malingerer, that he is a feigner, and that he is a fraud to medical personnel, and he has been doing this for a period of time now. I believe that he is competent to stand trial, and I am fully prepared to continue with this trial this afternoon.

....

At approximately 10:15 we recessed ...