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State v. Payne11/20/2002
s making his living by selling drugs and gambling and had been engaging in those activities since he was 15. He often went to the Aubra Street neighborhood to sell "dope," and was there selling drugs at the time the shooting occurred. He was armed with a .22 pistol, which he always carried with him, due to the nature of his business and the neighborhood which he frequented. The defendant testified that it is common for people in the drug trade to be armed. He said that he knew both Rogers and the victim from the neighborhood, and knew that they were also involved in the drug trade. He testified that Rogers was the supplier of most, if not all, of the drugs sold in the neighborhood and that the victim was one of his sellers. Although Rogers attempted to control all the drug activity in the area, the defendant did not work for him.
The defendant testified that he was smoking a marijuana cigarette and urinating against the side of the house when the victim and Rogers pulled up. He saw the victim get out of the car and then heard him arrange to sell a "dude" $100 worth of cocaine. When the victim ran upstairs to get the drugs, he stepped forward and "gave Dude a better deal." The victim came back down, learned from the drug buyer that the defendant had already sold him the drugs, became angry, and accused the defendant of stealing his sale. The defendant said that he answered by telling the victim, in effect, that he was just out there to make a living like everybody else. The victim responded by telling him that he should not be selling drugs in his area. The defendant said that he took offense and told the victim, "You have me f'd up." Next, the victim acted as if he were going to walk away, but then turned and reached for his gun.
The defendant testified that when he saw the victim reach for his gun, he grabbed the victim's hand and the two began "tussling." During the struggle, he picked the victim up and slung him down on the porch, causing the victim's gun to slide out of his hand. After he threw the victim down, he brought his gun out and shot him twice in rapid succession. When the victim began crawling toward his gun, he ran forward, grabbed the victim's gun, and shot him again. According to the defendant, the entire episode occurred within the space of seconds or, in his words, "all at once." He could not clearly remember everything that had occurred, but knew that he ran to the corner after the victim fell. When asked if he had intended to rob the victim, the defendant answered, "No, sir. I had too much money in my pocket. I had over fifteen hundred (1,500)." He said that he threw the victim's gun, along with his own, into the river as he drove across the bridge into Arkansas.
The defendant further testified that he had been using large amounts of marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol, and was under the influence of both cocaine and alcohol at the time the shooting occurred. He said that he "smoke weed like cigarettes," "dr nk wine like water . . . all day every day," and snorted " bout half an ounce a day" of cocaine. He began drinking and using drugs at the age of 4, when his uncles started giving him alcohol and marijuana to amuse themselves by watching him get high. Later, when they tried to get him to quit, it was too late. He said that he had lived in two treatment facilities as a child: MMHI, where he lived when he was 9 or 10, and Sequoia Center, where he lived for about two years. At both facilities, he was prescribed "a lot of drugs," whose names he could not remember. He first heard the term "intermittent explosive disorder" when he was about 5 or 6 and was put into treatment. Although he did not understand what the term meant, he remembered that he used to lose his temper
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