Posted on 06/17/2009 8:58:18 AM PDT by DCBryan1
Judge receives mental update in Pressly case
Slaying suspect has confessed three times, prosecutors say
BY JOHN LYNCH
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE
The Marianna man accused of killing TV news anchor Anne Pressly has “confessed” three times to the slaying, a Pulaski County prosecutor revealed during a court hearing Tuesday.
The claim by chief deputy prosecutor John Johnson prompted a challenge from defendant Curtis Lavelle Vance, who said his statements were made under duress because Little Rock police had threatened his life.
“That was under extreme pressure,” Vance said. “I had a gun in my face.”
Prosecutors denied Vance’s allegations of coercion after the hearing. The 28-year-old Marianna man has met with police three times to give statements. The first meeting was after his November arrest on a capitalmurder charge accusing him in the death of Pressly, who was found brutally beaten at her Little Rock home on Oct. 20. She died five days later.
Police say Vance initiated the next two interviews — in December and February — and has agreed every time to waive his rights to have his lawyers present during interviews.
The substance of those interviews hasn’t been revealed, but Vance’s lawyers, who have filed 37 motions in the case, haven’t challenged the legality of those statements.
Vance also faces rape, residential burglary and theft charges in the attack on 26-year-old Pressly during a break-in at her home in Little Rock’s Heights neighborhood.
Vance could face the death penalty, though prosecutors have not said if they intend to pursue that sentence.
Authorities say they linked Vance to the killing after finding his DNA, in the form of hair, at the crime scene and that Vance had initially denied being in Little Rock when Pressly was attacked.
Vance’s hour-long appearance Tuesday in circuit court was for Judge Chris Piazza to be apprised of the results of a mental evaluation conducted at the request of Vance’s attorneys. A state psychiatrist reported that Vance declined to cooperate with examiners but that she found him competent to stand trial after speaking with him about his refusal.
The judge set a July 9 hearing to rule on Vance’s fitness for trial. The hearing will feature testimony of a Georgia psychiatrist working for the defense who has met with Vance.
Vance’s defense team had hoped to persuade Piazza to order their client committed to the State Hospital for at least a month, describing state psychiatrist Stacy McBain’s findings as “inadequate.” Attorney Katherine Streett said McBain spent only 15 minutes with Vance, didn’t perform any tests and didn’t take notes.
But Johnson countered that Vance has had all the examination he’s entitled to under the law. He accused Vance of deliberately trying to delay proceedings because he feared the outcome.
“Mr. Vance is trying to hold everyone back because he doesn’t like what he’s being told about his chances by his counsel,” Johnson said. “It’s my opinion that his rights have been protected.”
Johnson argued that defense attorneys have already had Vance examined by at least one psychiatrist. Streett disputed that Vance has been formally examined by a defense doctor, but she did acknowledge that the Georgia doctor met with Vance sometime before a February hearing during which the defense initially declined a State Hospital evaluation. Streett said the defense isn’t planning an insanity defense, but Vance’s defenders don’t think he’s competent for trial.
“We have indications based on our interactions with our client that he’s not fit,” she said. Streett said Vance probably wouldn’t cooperate with doctors if he was committed for a month, but she said their observations of Vance would help determine if he’s mentally sound.
Piazza refused to hospitalize Vance, saying he didn’t think it would be productive.
“If he’s unwilling to cooperate ... then I don’t think society or the state should wait until Mr. Vance is so inclined to participate” in a mental examination at the State Hospital, the judge said.
Piazza also overruled defense objections that Vance’s attorneys turn over to prosecutors any medical and psychiatric records they have on Vance.
Prosecutors want state doctors to review those records, if they exist, in advance of next month’s hearing. Defense attorneys wouldn’t say whether they have any records but argued that they shouldn’t have to divulge them to prosecutors unless they mount an insanity defense.
But Piazza did agree to a defense motion to keep prosecutors from immediately seeing “voluminous” records from the Arkansas Department of Human Services about Vance and his family. The defense sought the records to use as potentially mitigating evidence to show a jury considering ordering Vance’s execution.
A Department of Human Services attorney, Charles Thompson, presented the records to the judge and said the agency is still searching for more. The nature of the records wasn’t disclosed. The defense will review them, then challenge any records they think might be considered confidential, possibly revealing protected medical and legal information. Piazza will ultimately decide what prosecutors will see.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Vance again complained about his attorneys, saying they still haven’t shown him the DNA evidence against him.
“There’s nothing to show my guilt in this,” Vance told the judge, leading Johnson to counter that Vance has admitted to attacking Pressly.
Vance showed the judge a crumpled piece of paper that he said was proof that DNA evidence hasn’t been provided to him. The paper, read out loud in part by the judge, turned out to be part of an arrest affidavit from Lee County where he’s charged with rape in the April 2008 attack on a Marianna schoolteacher. The teacher, Kristen Edwards, attended Monday’s hearing.
“I haven’t seen no facts from the [Arkansas Crime Laboratory],” complained Vance, who was wearing handcuffs and leg shackles that had been tied together with a long leather strap.
His outburst prompted his attorneys to enter a whispered conversation with the judge and prosecutors at the bench without Vance. After about five minutes, the judge called Vance up to join them.
The hushed discussions couldn’t be heard clearly, but Piazza asked Vance, “Is there some reason you don’t trust them?” The judge also told Vance that his defense attorneys are good lawyers and that Vance should give them a chance. The exchange lasted about two minutes.
Vance’s defenders said they’ve received about 6,000 pages of documentation from prosecutors and that they expected to receive all of the available DNA evidence soon. Piazza used the exchange to again address the defendant, telling Vance that he will eventually see all of the evidence against him.
“They’re going to give you all of this information and sit down with you,” the judge said.
“Yes sir,” Vance responded.
Rest in Peace, Anne!
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEVE KEESEE Curtis Lavelle Vance, charged in last year’s slaying of Little Rock news anchor Anne Pressly, heads for an hour-long hearing Tuesday in the Pulaski County Courthouse.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STEVE KEESEE Curtis Vance (center) appears Tuesday in a court hearing, during which the judge was apprised of the results of Vance’s mental evaluation. A hearing to determine his mental fitness is set for July 9.
Strange headline. Do judges often get mental updates in AR?
But I think I know who he is. We'll see if I'm right. He's a gun for hire and will testify that any criminal is insane - for a fee.
Makes me wonder what happened to that Iowa anchorwoman from like 15 years who ago who just disappeared.
What a sorry POS.......oh Lord, I wish they’d bring the electric chair back.....I’d be the first in line for the job of “switch puller”. :(
bttt
*
Years ago, I encountered a Macon area headshrinker named Thomas Sachy who seemed to fit the "gun for hire" description. He was certainly a publicity hound. Is that the guy you're thinking of?
But he testified in my ex-brother-in-law's murder trial that he was crazy. Jury didn't buy it, took 20 minutes for them to find him sane.
So how is the judge's mental state? The article doesn't say.
Fry the piece of human debris.
What, no “Hate Crime” prosecution? Oh wait, never mind...
Has the state asserted a motive for the murder, or are they claiming that it was an opportunity crime?
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