King v. People

67 V.I. 903
CourtSupreme Court of The Virgin Islands
DecidedAugust 21, 2017
DocketS. Ct. Criminal No. 2015-0113
StatusPublished

This text of 67 V.I. 903 (King v. People) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of The Virgin Islands primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
King v. People, 67 V.I. 903 (virginislands 2017).

Opinion

OPINION OF THE COURT

(August 21,2017)

Cabret, Associate Justice.

Lawrence King appeals the Superior Court’s November 18, 2015 judgment and commitment, arguing that the Superior Court erred by sentencing King instead of finding him not guilty by reason of insanity. Because the People did not prove King’s sanity beyond a reasonable doubt, we reverse the Superior Court’s November 18, 2015 judgment and commitment, and remand this matter with instructions to enter a judgment of not guilty by reason of insanity on all counts.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On April 1, 2015, King approached a building located at 2200 Percy DeJongh Drive, Estate Staabi, in St. Thomas. King demanded entry into the building. From behind a glass door, the owner of the building, Robert DeJongh, refused to grant King entry. King responded by picking up a 12-inch concrete paver from the parking lot area and throwing it through the glass door. He then attempted to reach through the broken glass and unlock the door from the inside, but abandoned his attempt and left the scene before the police arrived. When police officers arrived on scene, they made contact with DeJongh and inspected the premises. King then returned to the scene, and appeared agitated. The officers attempted to calm King down, but were unable to do so. The officers then arrested King.

[907]*907By information dated April 15, 2015, the People charged King with burglary in the second degree, V.I. Code Ann. tit. 14, § 443, destruction of property, 14 V.I.C. § 1266, disturbance of the peace, 14 V.I.C. § 622(1), and trespass, 14 V.I.C. § 1741. King was tried by a jury in the Superior Court on October 5, 2015.

At trial, the People called DeJongh and responding police officer Shawell Turnbull as witnesses. DeJongh testified concerning the chronology of events that occurred on April 1, 2015. Although he testified that he had been standing inside the building and was separated from King by a glass door, DeJongh explained that he heard King shout expletives and threaten to burn the building down if he was not granted entry. DeJongh testified that, on previous occasions, King had threatened to shoot him in the head, to cut his throat, to chop off his head, and to burn the building down. DeJongh testified that King had not always behaved this way, and that he initially met King “quite a number of years ago” while King was trying to organize a basketball league for his neighborhood. DeJongh testified that, “years later” their relationship changed after King began “stalking” and harassing him and his wife, and that King was no longer welcome at DeJongh’s business as a result.

Officer Turnbull then testified. She stated that King appeared on the scene after she arrived, and that King was arguing with the officers, claiming that he owned DeJongh’s business, and “mumbling all kind of different comments.” Officer Turnbull further testified that King “was agitated. He look[ed] a little irritated and upset,” and that despite trying to calm him down, King “continued arguing and making threatening gestures at . . . DeJongh.”

After the People rested, King called Dr. Leighmin James Lu, who had evaluated King’s mental condition. The People stipulated to his qualifications and certification as an expert in the field of neuropsychiatry, and the Court received Dr. Lu’s June 9, 2015 psychiatric report into evidence without objection. Dr. Lu then testified that, when King was arrested on April 1, 2015, King “was suffering from the form of mental disorder, which is called paranoid condition or paranoia. And [King’s] behavior and his act, the offense he committed was committed as a result of the mental disorder.” He explained that, because of this disorder, King holds grandiose beliefs about himself, and in his own mind, honestly believed that he owned DeJongh’s property.

[908]*908During its cross-examination of Dr. Lu, the People elicited the fact that the only source of information for Dr. Lu’s examinations was King himself, and that Dr. Lu did not consult any of King’s family members in order to diagnose King. The People also elicited the fact that Dr. Lu used only one test to diagnose King, but that he did not use two other available tests. Finally, Dr. Lu conceded that King’s act of gaining entry to a place from which he had been denied entry was evidence of a rational thought process.

On redirect-examination, Dr. Lu testified that, although King “understood the nature of the crime and offenses charged against him,” he still held the “expert opinion” that King was suffering from a mental illness on April 1, 2015, and that King’s acts on that date resulted from that illness.

On recross-exantination, the People returned to questioning Dr. Lu about the thought process behind gaining entry to a building by force. Dr. Lu clarified that throwing a rock through a window is “a goal oriented result,” and that the person throwing the rock could have done so “as a result of frustration, anger, not necessarily directly from the paranoid disorder.” The People then asked Dr. Lu whether a threat to burn a building down could be the product of anger rather than the product of a mental disorder. Dr. Lu responded that it could be. The People then concluded their recross-exantination, and King rested.

Before closing arguments, King stated that he had no objections to the proposed jury instructions, and did not request a specific jury instruction on the consequences of finding King not guilty by reason of insanity. The parties presented their closing arguments, and the Superior Court instructed the jury. King did not object to the instructions after they were given. The jury found King guilty on all counts.

On October 21, 2015, King moved for a judgment notwithstanding the verdict, arguing that the People had not proven his sanity beyond a reasonable doubt. After the Superior Court denied that motion during King’s November 6, 2015 sentencing hearing, it entered a November 18, 2015 judgment and commitment and sentenced King. King filed a timely notice of appeal on November 18, 2015. See V.I. R. App. P. 5(b)(1).

II. JURISDICTION

“The Supreme Court [has] jurisdiction over all appeals arising from final judgments, final decrees or final orders of the Superior Court.” [909]*9094 V.I.C. § 32(a). In a criminal case, the written judgment embodying the adjudication of guilt and the sentence imposed based on that adjudication constitutes a final judgment for purposes of this statute. Williams v. People, 58 V.I. 341, 345 (V.I. 2013) (collecting cases). Accordingly, the Superior Court’s November 18, 2015 judgment and commitment is a final judgment over which we may exercise jurisdiction. See Petric v. People, 61 V.I. 401, 407 (V.I. 2014) (citations omitted).

III. DISCUSSION

King challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his convictions, arguing that the People produced no evidence of his sanity during trial. King also challenges the propriety of the jury instructions given by the Superior Court, arguing that the Virgin Islands insanity statute obligates the Superior Court to instruct the jury on the consequences of entering a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity, but that the Superior Court gave no such instruction.

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Bluebook (online)
67 V.I. 903, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/king-v-people-virginislands-2017.