State of Maine v. Kandee A. Weyland

2020 ME 129, 240 A.3d 841
Supreme Judicial Court of Maine·Decided November 3, 2020·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

MAINE SUPREME JUDICIAL COURT Reporter of Decisions Decision: 2020 ME 129 Docket: Yor-19-459 Argued: September 15, 2020 Decided: November 3, 2020

Panel: MEAD, GORMAN, JABAR, HUMPHREY, HORTON, and CONNORS, JJ.

STATE OF MAINE

v.

KANDEE A. WEYLAND

HORTON, J.

[¶1] Kandee A. Weyland, also known as Kandee A. Collind, appeals from a judgment of conviction of murder, 17-A M.R.S. § 201(1)(A) (2020), entered by the trial court (York County, Douglas, J.) following her plea of guilty. She argues that the court abused its discretion when it denied her motion to withdraw her guilty plea. She also appeals her sentence of thirty-two years in prison, arguing that the court abused its discretion and misapplied sentencing principles in its decision. See State v. Weyland, No. SRP-19-460 (Me. Sent. Rev. Panel Jan. 2, 2020) (granting leave to appeal the sentence). We affirm the judgment and sentence.

I. BACKGROUND AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

[¶2] We draw the following facts from the State’s recitation of the evidence, which was undisputed except as noted below at the time of Weyland’s guilty plea. See M.R.U. Crim P. 11(b)(3), (e). Weyland and the victim were married and had two children, a son and a daughter, together. The couple separated in April 2016. On February 21, 2017, Weyland received in the mail notice of a judicial decision granting the victim primary physical residence of the children. She was upset by the decision and told her mother that she “wanted [the victim] dead.” At that time, family members convinced her not to confront the victim.

[¶3] The following day, Weyland and the children were driving to visit family members when the son called the victim. During the call, the victim told the son about the decision granting the victim custody of the children. Weyland became aware of the conversation, and when she realized what the victim had told their son, she changed direction and drove to the victim’s home. She exited the vehicle upon arriving and confronted the victim in his driveway. The victim began recording a video of her on his cell phone. Weyland then stabbed the victim in the chest, causing his death.

[¶4] The victim dropped his cell phone, and Weyland began stabbing it.

While the son attempted to provide emergency care to his father, he saw Weyland doing something by a nearby barn.1 Maine State Police eventually recovered the victim’s phone near the barn where the son had seen her.

[¶5] In February 2017, the State filed a criminal complaint charging Weyland with one count of knowing or intentional murder, 17-A M.R.S. § 201(1)(A), and one count of violation of a protective order (Class C), 19-A M.R.S. § 4011(4) (2020). In April 2017, a grand jury indicted her on the same charges.

[¶6] Weyland and the State eventually reached a plea agreement pursuant to which she would plead guilty to murder and the State would dismiss the count for violation of a protection order and recommend a term of imprisonment for the murder of between twenty-five and thirty-two years. See M.R.U. Crim. P. 11A(a)(1), (3), (d). On August 27, 2018, the court held a hearing, pursuant to Rule 11, at which Weyland entered an unconditional guilty plea to the charge of murder. During the Rule 11 hearing, the court asked Weyland whether she was taking any prescription medications. She replied that she was

1According to the State, Weyland was digging a hole and attempting to bury the phone in the hole. According to Weyland, “[s]he may have been kicking the phone there, but there was not digging going on as the State indicated.”

taking Zyprexa, an antipsychotic medication, Vistaril, an anti-anxiety and antidepressant medication, and Tylenol. A. Motion to Withdraw

[¶7] On October 26, 2018, before her sentencing, Weyland filed a motion to withdraw her plea. See M.R.U. Crim. P. 32(d). She asserted that she had not taken her prescribed medication on the day of the Rule 11 hearing and that she has limited cognitive capacity. Accordingly, she claimed that she had not entered a knowing plea because she did not understand the mens rea element of the murder charge.

[¶8] The court held an evidentiary hearing on her motion in June 2019.

It admitted two exhibits: Weyland’s medication records for August 2018 and a written summary of the phone calls she made while in jail. The evidence at the motion hearing focused on Zyprexa, Vistaril, and Topamax, a seizure medication. The State presented evidence that Weyland took her medications as prescribed during the days leading up to the Rule 11 hearing.

[¶9] In its written decision issued after the motion hearing, the court made the following findings of fact, which are supported by evidence in the record. See Wuestenberg v. Rancourt, 2020 ME 25, ¶ 8, 226 A.3d 227. The court found that Weyland was “coherent, engaged, cooperative, and responsive” at

the Rule 11 hearing. Further, the court noted that Weyland’s plea attorneys confirmed that they believed that she was entering a knowing and voluntary plea.

[¶10] The court found that Weyland had taken her medications as prescribed before the Rule 11 hearing and that she had not established that her medications, either alone or in combination, affected her ability to enter a knowing plea.2 She “demonstrated sufficient awareness during the Rule 11 proceeding to challenge portions of the State’s summary of facts [and] to question the court’s explanation of the mens rea element [of murder].”

[¶11] In its findings, the court noted that Weyland entered her plea roughly sixteen months after indictment and that she filed a motion to withdraw the plea fifty-seven days after entering it. Despite this delay, the court found that she had misgivings about her plea “almost immediately” after the Rule 11 hearing.

2 The court declined to credit the testimony of Weyland’s expert witness, who testified that, based on Weyland’s limited cognitive capacity and her allegations that she did not take her medication as prescribed, she was likely not aware of what was transpiring at the Rule 11 proceeding and was simply trying to give “socially acceptable” answers. The court had a reasonable basis for rejecting this testimony given that the witness did not attend the Rule 11 hearing and did not speak to Weyland about how she was feeling on the day of the hearing. See Wuestenberg v. Rancourt, 2020 ME 25, ¶ 11, 226 A.3d 227 (stating that “we . . . give due regard to the trier of fact’s determinations on credibility, weight and significance of evidence.” (quotation marks omitted)).

[¶12] Based on its findings, the court entered an order denying Weyland’s motion to withdraw her guilty plea. B. Sentencing

[¶13] The court held a sentencing hearing in October 2019. At the hearing, the court made oral findings as to Weyland’s commission of the offense. It determined that the basic sentence was forty-five years in prison. However, once the court weighed the aggravating and mitigating factors, it concluded that the maximum term of incarceration was thirty-two years. The court entered a judgment of conviction and sentenced Weyland to thirty-two years in prison.

[¶14] Weyland filed a timely appeal from the judgment of conviction, see 15 M.R.S. § 2115 (2020); M.R. App. P. 2B(b)(1), and an application to allow an appeal of her sentence, see 15 M.R.S. §§ 2151-2153 (2020); M.R. App. P. 20. The Sentence Review Panel granted leave to appeal the sentence. State v. Weyland, No. 19-SRP-460 (Me. Sent. Rev. Panel Jan. 2, 2020).

II. DISCUSSION

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State of Maine v. Kandee A. Weyland, 2020 ME 129, 240 A.3d 841 (Me. 2020).

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