State v. Lumpkin

Rule of Law:

A defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on the defense of premises only when there is evidence to support an objectively reasonable belief that an intruder is attempting to unlawfully enter to commit a felony, such as burglary. A defendant's subjective belief, without an evidentiary basis, is insufficient to warrant the instruction.

Facts:

• On October 25, 1989, undercover police officer Herbert Robinson purchased crack cocaine from a woman at a house located at 5840 Wabash.
• A week later, on November 2, 1989, Robinson returned to the house to make a second drug purchase to verify it was still a 'drug house' before a tactical team executed a search warrant.
• Robinson, wearing civilian clothes with a concealed gun and radio transmitter, knocked on the door.
• Michael Lumpkin answered the door holding a gun. Robinson asked to buy a '$20 rock'.
• Another man, Tony Barrett, came to the door, yelled at Robinson, pushed him, and then struck him with his fist.
• While Robinson was still on the porch and had not drawn his weapon, Lumpkin shot him in the shoulder.
• After the shooting, Lumpkin fled out the back of the house and discarded the gun in the backyard.

Procedural Posture:

• Michael Lumpkin was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in a Missouri trial court.
• At trial, Lumpkin's request for a jury instruction on defense of premises was denied, though an instruction on self-defense was given.
• The jury found Lumpkin guilty on both counts.
• The trial court sentenced Lumpkin, as a prior and persistent offender, to consecutive prison terms of twenty and ten years.
• Lumpkin filed a Rule 29.15 motion for postconviction relief, claiming ineffective assistance of counsel, which the motion court denied without a hearing.
• Lumpkin appealed both his convictions from the jury trial and the denial of his postconviction motion to the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District.