State v. McLean

645 S.E.2d 162, 183 N.C. App. 429, 2007 N.C. App. LEXIS 1097, 2007 WL 1597848
Court of Appeals of North Carolina·Decided June 5, 2007·No. No. COA06-952.·Published·Cited by 1 cases

Opinion

McGEE, Judge.

Dwight McLean (Defendant) was convicted of first-degree murder, attempted robbery with a firearm, three counts of robbery with a firearm, and feloniously conspiring to commit robbery with a firearm. Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole on the first-degree murder charge and a minimum of twenty-five months to a maximum of thirty months in prison on the conspiracy charge. The trial court arrested judgment on the three counts of robbery with a firearm and the charge of attempted robbery with a firearm. Defendant appeals.

An armed robbery of night shift employees of the Sewer Maintenance Department of the Raleigh Public Utilities Department (the sewer department) occurred on 1 November 2002. The robbery resulted in the death of Robert Saiz (Saiz). The State charged multiple parties, including Defendant, and Defendant's uncle, Louis McLean, in the robbery. In a pretrial motion dated 16 September 2003, Defendant moved to compel Louis McLean's counsel to disclose to the trial court and to Defendant's counsel "the substance of any and all conversations and/or communications that [Louis McLean's counsel] have had with the co-defendant Louis McLean." In his motion, Defendant asserted that the communications between Louis McLean and Louis McLean's counsel concerned the culpability of a third-party and were not protected by attorney-client privilege pursuant to our Supreme Court's decisions in In re Investigation of Death of Miller, 357 N.C. 316, 584 S.E.2d 772 (2003) (Miller I), and In re Investigation of Death of Miller, 358 N.C. 364, 595 S.E.2d 120 (2004) (Miller II). Defendant requested that the trial court require counsel for all co-defendants to file an affidavit, to be reviewed in camera, revealing what their clients had said to them.

The trial court held a hearing regarding Defendant's motion on 3 November 2003. Counsel for each co-defendant was present at the hearing, and each indicated that their client did not waive the attorney-client privilege. The trial court ruled that the holdings of Miller I and Miller II were narrow and limited to situations in which the client was deceased. Since this was not the situation in the present case, the trial court denied Defendant's motion.

Decarus Vinson (Vinson), a supervisor at the sewer department, testified to the following: On the evening of 1 November 2002, Louis McLean worked for the sewer department on one of the night shift crews, and Vinson was his supervisor. Saiz was the supervisor of the other night shift crew working on the evening of 1 November 2002. Both crews were called out to a work site and returned to the sewer department at approximately 11:00 p.m. Louis McLean drove a separate truck to the site, and upon returning from the site, talked on the telephone. Several employees began "playing quarters" in the break room. At approximately 11:30 p.m., Vinson heard the door shaking. Thereafter, he heard shooting that "sounded like a pellet gun[.]" Saiz and another individual ran out of the room. Vinson laid down on the floor and "just kept [his] eyes on" the two men who had entered the room. Vinson testified that after Saiz and the other individual fled, the shooter fired two shots. Vinson stated that the shooter was wearing a "yellow shirt with writing on the side and something in the front." The second individual was smaller and wore a "hoodie[,]" a hooded sweatshirt. The shooter demanded wallets from the employees, and Vinson gave his wallet to the smaller man who was wearing the hoodie. Vinson saw three other employees give their wallets to the man. Vinson saw the two men leave the building, but the shooter re-entered the building, and then exited from another door.

Several people then called 911. Vinson left the building and saw Saiz lying on the ground outside. Saiz had a small red mark *164on his back, was spitting up blood, and gasping for air. Several days later, Vinson was presented with a photographic lineup and identified Defendant as the shooter.

Officer R.E. Nance (Officer Nance), with the canine unit of the Raleigh Police Department, testified that he responded to the sewer department on 1 November 2002 with his police dog. Officer Nance observed the dog respond in a way that suggested the dog had picked up a scent in the parking area outside the building. The dog became excited and led Officer Nance through a grassy area near the building where Officer Nance found a yellow shirt. Officer Nance notified another officer to secure the area and continued to follow the dog. Officer Nance and the dog continued for a few more feet and the dog located another shirt, "grayish or bluish" in color. Officer Nance noticed a strong odor of gunpowder coming from the shirt. The dog continued to lead Officer Nance forward, eventually to parking lots surrounding the Timberlake Apartments.

Two other members of the sewer department who were present during the robbery also testified. Johnny Moore (Moore) identified Defendant from a photo array as the shooter, and made an in-court identification of Defendant as the shooter. Lionel Dasy (Dasy) testified that Louis McLean and Saiz did not "like each other." Dasy also testified that after the employees were informed that Saiz had died, Louis McLean began deleting phone numbers in his cell phone. Dasy believed that someone who worked in the sewer department was involved with the robbery because it occurred near the end of the night shift, and on a Friday when employees were paid.

Ronald Newkirk testified that in November 2002, he lived in the Timberlake Apartments, which were located near the sewer department. He testified that he left his apartment close to midnight on 1 November 2002 to visit a friend who also lived in the apartment complex. He took his keys and his cordless apartment phone with him. While Newkirk was walking to his friend's apartment, he was approached by two young black men who asked to use his cell phone to call a cab. He told them he did not have a cell phone and directed them to a nearby pay phone. When presented with a photo array, Newkirk pointed out Defendant and said Defendant "appeared to look like" one of the men he talked with at the apartment complex.

The State presented additional testimony indicating that various calls were made from Louis McLean's cell phone to a pay phone located about fifteen minutes from the sewer department on the night of the shooting. The State also presented testimony regarding DNA evidence recovered from the yellow shirt that was found near the scene of the robbery.

Defendant testified that he was at his grandmother's house, where he lived, on the night of the robbery. He testified that he attended a party that his grandmother had for one of his uncles. This testimony was corroborated by other witnesses. Defendant presented conflicting DNA evidence and other evidence not relevant to the present appeal.

Defendant sought to offer the testimony of Dr. Brian Cutler (Dr.

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State v. McLean, 645 S.E.2d 162, 183 N.C. App. 429, 2007 N.C. App. LEXIS 1097, 2007 WL 1597848 (N.C. Ct. App. 2007).

645 S.E.2d 162 (State v. McLean) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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