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North Carolina v. McKoy9/7/1988
Defendant was convicted of the first degree murder of Deputy William Kress Horne of the Anson County Sheriff's Department. The jury found as aggravating circumstances that defendant previously had been convicted of a felony involving violence and that the murder was committed against a deputy sheriff while engaged in the performance of official duties. It found as mitigating circumstances that defendant's capacity to appreciate the criminality of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law was impaired and that defendant has borderline intellectual functioning.
The jury recommended the death penalty, and the trial court sentenced accordingly. We find no error.
Haywood Haskell lived beside defendant outside of Wadesboro. On 22 December 1984, Haskell was working on his wife's car. He observed defendant fire two shots into the air. Haskell suggested that defendant's shooting could endanger the neighborhood children, but defendant responded that "everybody else is shooting" and "well, it's Christmas."
Haskell telephoned the Anson County Sheriff's Department, and Deputy Calvin Lambert responded. After discussing the situation with Haskell, Lambert walked onto defendant's porch and attempted to talk with him. Lambert asked defendant to step out onto the porch, but defendant remained inside. Lambert told defendant not to shoot his gun because he was drunk and might hurt someone. He then returned to his car and observed defendant's home for several minutes before leaving the area.
Later, Haskell saw defendant lying in front of his outhouse. Because defendant could not stand unaided, a neighbor helped him to his house. Defendant had locked himself out, and the neighbor helped him gain entry by prying open a window. A few minutes later defendant hailed Duke Cox, a neighborhood teenager, and asked Cox to help him fix the window. Cox attempted to help, but he soon left because defendant refused to provide a hammer. When Cox walked away, defendant accused him of stealing some money and fired three shots in his direction.
Prompted by this incident, Haskell again called the sheriff's department. Deputies Robert Usery and Kress Horne responded. They asked defendant to come outside; defendant responded by threatening to kill them if they did not leave. More officers arrived, and Usery decided to investigate in back of defendant's house while Horne stood behind the patrol car and continued to talk to defendant. While Usery circled behind defendant's house, Horne drew his revolver and braced himself across the patrol car. Defendant pushed open his screen door and fired one shot that hit Horne in the face. Horne later died from the resultant injuries.
The other officers surrounded the house, and Usery advised defendant that he would use tear gas if defendant did not come out. Hearing no response, Usery threw a tear gas canister into the house. After defendant fired two shots, the officers returned a short burst of fire. Defendant then walked out, and the officers took him into custody. Because defendant was bleeding from two wounds, the officers transported him to the Anson County Hospital.
There, Dr. Merceda Perry examined defendant. Perry found two bullet wounds, and he noticed a strong odor of alcohol. He treated a puncture wound on defendant's buttocks and a deep laceration on his forehead, which he closed with sutures. Initially,
Perry found that defendant responded incoherently to his questions. At approximately 6:30 p.m., Perry ordered a blood alcohol test which indicated that defendant's blood alcohol level was equivalent to a .26 reading on the breathalyzer scale. Although defendant rem
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