Date: 08-14-2024

Case Style:

The State of South Carolina v. Kierin Marcellus Dennis

Case Number:

Judge: Eugene C. Griffith, Jr.

Court: Circuit Court, Lexington County, South Carolina

Plaintiff's Attorney: Lexington County South Carolina Solicitor's Office

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description:

Lexington, South Carolina murder defense lawyer represented the Defendant.

Dennis, at the time a recent graduate of Lexington High School (LHS), was indicted for murder based on the stabbing of a student from the rival school, Dutch Fork High School (DFHS), after a basketball game on February 17, 2014. The stabbing occurred in the parking lot of a Cook-Out restaurant while Dennis was in his vehicle. A pre-trial hearing on Dennis's entitlement to immunity under the Act was held in November of 2014 before the Honorable Thomas Russo (the first immunity hearing). Dennis and numerous LHS students testified, generally supporting Dennis's claim of immunity. Numerous DFHS students testified, generally not supporting the claim.

By order filed February 10, 2015, the court denied Dennis's request for immunity under the Act, finding Dennis had not met his burden of proving the victim was in the process of entering, or had entered, Dennis's vehicle. In addition, the court found Dennis's allegation of such an entry or attempt to enter was not credible. The court also concluded Dennis failed to establish the elements of self-defense. Thus, the court denied Dennis immunity under the Act.

Dennis was tried in October of 2016. The jury deadlocked, was given an Allen[2]charge, and remained deadlocked after more than ten hours of deliberation. The Honorable Eugene C. Griffith Jr. declared a mistrial.

In June of 2017, Dennis again filed a motion for immunity under the Act. Dennis argued there was new evidence by Elizabeth Bettini and a manager at Cook-Out, neither of whom were related to either school and both of whom witnessed the events. Dennis also alleged there was new evidence from the pathologist, which was introduced at trial, and new evidence of a 911 recording never produced at trial and evidence from Ervin Meggett, a friend of the victim, who told investigators in August of 2016 that the victim was the aggressor. At a hearing on the motion held in August of 2017 before the Honorable Robert E. Hood (the second immunity hearing), Dennis argued he was entitled to a new hearing based on the new witnesses and evidence. He also argued the previous trial was a mistrial, final, and "we start all over again."

The court refused to allow Dennis a new immunity hearing; however, it ruled Dennis could proffer the new testimony. Dennis called new witnesses to support his claim of immunity. Officer Caitlin Voravudhi, of the Lexington County Police Department, testified she responded to a call at the Cook-Out the night in question and there were approximately forty students there. With her vehicle camera recording and audio being recorded from a microphone she wore, she began interviewing people. She identified Bettini as one of the people and took a statement. Bettini stated she was in the drive-through, saw about thirty teenagers in the parking lot, heard cussing and screaming, and witnessed Dennis's vehicle stop. She stated she then heard him yell, saw a guy ran to his vehicle and throw a drink at him, and then saw about ten male teenagers run toward the vehicle, which then pulled out. A small car then followed it. She called 911 and saw a third car leave. Voravudhi never verified the 911 call, stating she passed the statements on to an investigator. On her recording, a voice can be heard stating, "I saw everything that happened" and "Somebody threw a drink." An employee of Cook-Out can be heard saying he came out for a break and saw someone throw a cup at and lean into Dennis's vehicle. Voravudhi also got a statement from the Cook-Out employee, Zachary Lynch, in which he stated he saw a guy in a white shirt walk to Dennis's car, "reach[] in the car as if to stab somebody." Lynch then saw another guy walk up to the vehicle and throw a cup, followed by two guys getting in the vehicle and the vehicle then leaving.

Janice Edwards Ross was qualified as an expert in forensic pathology. Based on the direction of the knife wound, she testified the victim could have been leaning over at the time he was stabbed. She opined the victim would have had to have been bent over, almost parallel to the ground. She also opined there were many scenarios that would have fit the wound, including if the victim had been standing, the knife would have had to come up and down and if the victim had been stooped over, it would have had to "go kind of straight parallel to the ground." Ross testified it depended on how much the window was down and how tall the victim was as to whether someone leaning in the window was consistent with the autopsy findings.

Bettini testified she turned into Cook-Out and saw three kids in the road, describing "they did not have happy faces." She looked to her right and saw between thirty and forty teenagers, "hollering, cussing, [and] acting crazy." She saw Dennis's SUV drive up, but kids blocked the road and called the driver names, saying "I'm gonna f***ing kick your ass." They were running at his car and throwing drinks at it. Bettini testified she called 911 and told the dispatcher there was about to be a fight and when the car got stopped, the kid looked scared to death. Bettini was afraid the students would hurt Dennis. She denied seeing a knife, and told the dispatcher, "I just told you that I saw Cook[-]Out trays and a drink being thrown . . . ." She next told the dispatcher she heard sirens, which she assumed was why the kids backed away from Dennis's vehicle and he took off. She testified she heard Dennis say either, "Y'all leave me the f*** alone," or "get the f*** away from me." She described the kids as constantly moving around his car and the scene as complete chaos. She assumed the reason Dennis did not leave was because he would have run students over. She also testified that once the police were on the scene, some of the students still in the parking lot were "cussing [her] out and telling [her] that [she was] trying to get their friend in trouble . . . ." She concluded, "All I remember is I looked at [Dennis's] face. He was stopped and there [were] kids and they would not let him leave the parking lot." Bettini wrote her statement as requested and never heard from anyone again until two years later when the first trial was about to begin. At that time, the police called her and asked her not to speak to the media if she was contacted. She next met with the solicitor and was told the 911 tape had been lost.

Lynch testified he was working at Cook-Out that night and gave a statement similar to Bettini's statement. When he heard people yelling, "He just got stabbed," Lynch thought it was Dennis who got stabbed by the victim because the victim leaned in the car window, hand forward. Lynch gave a second statement the following morning. He described the victim leaning in with his right hand, not his whole body but from his stomach up. He testified the window was "quite low" but up a little bit. Lynch testified Dennis could have left, but he probably would have run somebody over.

The first 911 call was from the restaurant manager. A 911 Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) event was created. The second 911 call was from Bettini; however, no CAD event was created. Nikki Rodgers, of Lexington County 911, testified her office received the calls the night of the incident. She explained some calls were left off the relevant CAD report because the calls were associated with different addresses. Years later, her office received a request for information on calls that night and used a management information system that found eight relevant calls. Several of the eight calls, including Bettini's, were not recorded.

The State recalled Alexis Brunson and Devon Chatman, of DFHS. Dennis objected, arguing if the court was going to rely on the transcript of the first immunity hearing for Dennis's witnesses, the State should not have the opportunity to present its witnesses in person for the second immunity hearing. The court allowed the State to continue.

The court then heard arguments on the merits of Dennis's motion, which it described as "a motion to essentially have a second stand your ground hearing . . . ." By order filed October 16, 2017, the court denied the motion for immunity, finding Dennis was not without fault in bringing on the difficulty because he sought out the DFHS students, chose the situation, and chose not to leave via the other exits available to him. The court also found the testimony of Dennis's fear was in direct contradiction to the testimony of the DFHS students, and if he was in fear, it was not a belief a reasonably prudent person would have entertained. The court next found Dennis did not prove he had no other means to avoid the danger. The court concluded,

Under the facts before this Court, [Dennis's] claim of self-defense presents a quintessential jury question. . . . The direct contradiction between witnesses creates an issue for a jury to decide, not the trial court. Therefore, immunity does not apply because [Dennis] has not proven[,] beyond a preponderance of evidence standard[,] . . . self-defense. The Court finds that [Dennis] has not established the elements of self-defense by the greater weight of the evidence.

Outcome: Defendant was convicted and sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Reversed.

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