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MCLEAN, DERRICK (B/M)
DOB: 05/21/1977
9th Judicial Circuit, Orange County Case # 48-04-CF-015923
Sentencing Judge: The Honorable Julie O’Kane
Attorney, Trial: Patricia Cashman – Public Defender
Attorney, Direct Appeal: George D. E. Burden – PublicDefender’s Office
Attorney, Collateral Appeals: Christopher S. Quarles –Public Defender’s Office
Date of Offense: 11/24/2004
Date of Sentence: 11/30/2007
Circumstances of Offense:
On 11/24/04, DerrickMcLean, his cousin, Maurice Lewin, and an acquaintance, James Jaggon, robbedthe apartment of the victim, 15-year-old Jahvon Thompson, with the intent oftaking marijuana or money or both. Prior to the robbery, the three men decidedthat McLean and Jaggon would commit the robbery, and Lewin would wait in thecar. McLean and Jaggon both carried guns, but they did not intend to killanyone.
When Thompson answeredthe door, McLean and Jaggon rushed inside the apartment. Thompson’s neighbor,Theothlus Lewis, had heard loud noises coming from Thompson’s apartment andthought that it might be music. Lewis informed his girlfriend that he was goingto ask Thompson to turn down the music. McLean answered the door, showed Lewishis gun, and directed him into the apartment. McLean asked Lewis for money, butLewis did not have any.
Thompson and Lewis wereordered to sit on the couch while Jaggon held them at gunpoint. Meanwhile,McLean searched the apartment. At some point during the robbery, McLean gaveJaggon a blue pillow sham, told him to wait outside the apartment to make surethat the woman next door did not enter, and to shoot her if necessary. Lewiscould tell the situation was dangerous by the look in McLean’s eyes. He dove tothe floor and attempted to crawl to the back of the apartment. This action promptedMcLean to shoot Lewis in the back, and fatally shoot Thompson several times inthe chest. Although Lewis was wounded, he waited for McLean to leave before hewent back to his apartment. His girlfriend and her daughter had already called911.
Lewin and Jaggon left thescene by car, and McLean took off on foot. They all met at a restaurant nearby.McLean was carrying the pillow sham he had previously given to Jaggon. He gotin the car with Lewin and Jaggon, and they pulled out of the restaurant. A policeofficer in the area, who was driving an unmarked car, had been notified of theshooting. He saw the car pass, turned on his lights, and began to pursue it.Lewin increased his speed to get away from the officer, but he crashed into asheriff’s deputy’s marked patrol car, who had been investigating an unrelatedincident nearby. The deputy attempted to get out of the way when he saw Lewin’scar approaching. Lewin’s car hit the patrol car, and the patrol car hit thedeputy in the hip, throwing him 15 to 20 feet. He managed to see Jaggon in thepassenger’s seat and McLean running from the car.
Additional officers cameto assist with the crash and to search the area. They found a batting glove,black baseball cap, Nokia cell phone, shirt, and handgun in the woods near thecrash. A blue pillow sham with marijuana was found in the back seat of Lewin’scar. McLean’s DNA was later found on the shirt, pillow sham, and batting glove,and the cell phone was registered to McLean’s girlfriend. Cell phone records showedthat calls had been made from the Nokia phone and Lewin’s phone the day thecrime was committed. The Nokia phone also had pictures of a semiautomaticfirearm. The images of the firearm matched a .380 Hi-Point semiautomatic thatwas found six months later in the woods approximately 15 feet from the roadwhere the crash took place. Also, Lewin and Jaggon testified during the trialthat McLean used a .380 semiautomatic gun to murder Thompson. Law enforcementfound eight shell casings from a .380 Hi-Point semiautomatic in the victim’sapartment as further evidence of McLean being the shooter.
Lewis helped the policeto sketch a composite of the shooter the day after the crime. The OrlandoPolice Department arranged several photo lineups, none of which includedMcLean. Lewis did not identify his shooter in any of them. On 12/01/04,Jaggon’s father implicated McLean in the crime. Also, a tip from a crime linelinked McLean to the crime and provided information about his place ofresidence. The police were then able to identify McLean as a suspect andinclude him in a lineup on 12/09/04. Lewis did identify McLean as his shooterin the lineup this time.
Codefendant Information:
James Jaggon wassentenced to 23 years in prison for both Second-Degree Murder and AttemptedRobbery with a Deadly Weapon. Maurice Lewin was sentenced to 20 years in prisonfor Attempted Robbery with a Deadly Weapon and 15 years for Burglary.
Trial Summary:
01/10/05 Indictedas follows:
CountI: First-Degree Murder
CountII: Home Invasion Robbery (Attempted)
CountIII: First-Degree Murder (Attempted)
CountIV: Kidnapping with intent to commit a felony
CountV: Robbery with a firearm (Attempted)
09/06/07 Juryreturned guilty verdicts on all counts of the indictment
09/10/07 Juryrecommended death by a vote of 9-3
11/30/07 Sentencedas follows:
CountI: First-Degree Murder – Death
CountII: Home Invasion Robbery (Attempted) – 25 years
CountIII: First-Degree Murder (Attempted) – Life
CountIV: Kidnapping with intent to commit a felony – Life
CountV: Robbery with a firearm (Attempted) – 25 years
Appeal Summary:
Florida Supreme Court – Direct Appeal
FSC# 07-2297
29So.3d 1045
12/12/07 Initialappeal filed
10/08/09 Oralarguments held
02/11/10 FSCaffirmed conviction and sentence
03/11/10 Mandateissued
United States Supreme Court – Petition for Writ ofCertiorari
USSC# 09-11176
131S.Ct. 153
05/12/10 Petitionfiled
10/04/10 Petitiondenied
Case Information:
On 12/12/07, McLean filed a Direct Appeal in the FloridaSupreme Court. McLean raised four claims: the trial court erred by admittingphotographic and live lineup identifications when law enforcement did not offerassistance of counsel; the trial court erred in conducting a portion of the Nelsonhearing in camera, outside McLean‘s presence; the trial court erred ininstructing the jury on the avoid-arrest aggravator; and the deathsentence is disproportionate to the nature of the crime committed. Oralarguments were held on 10/08/09, and on 02/11/10 the Florida Supreme Courtaffirmed McLean’s conviction and sentence. A mandate was issued on 03/11/10.
McLean filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the UnitedStates Supreme Court on 05/12/10. This petition was denied on 10/04/10.
Institutional Adjustment:
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Report Date: 02/23/10 EMJ
Approved: 02/24/10 RM
Updated: 02/07/11 EMJ