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Carlton
Eric DOTSON Jr.
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics:
Former college basketball player
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: June 11, 2003
Date of arrest:
July 21, 2003
Date of birth: June 1, 1982
Victim profile: Patrick Dennehy. 21 (his
teammate)
Method of murder:
Shooting
Location: Waco, Texas, USA
Status:
Pleaded guilty.
Sentenced to 35 years in prison on June 15, 2005
Carlton Eric Dotson, Jr.
(born June 1, 1982) is an American former college basketball player
who is currently serving a 35-year prison term for murdering Patrick
Dennehy, one of his teammates.
Basketball career
Dotson attended North Dorchester High School. He
played at University at Buffalo and Paris Junior College before
transferring to Baylor in the summer of 2002, where he played one
season as a forward.
Dennehy's murder
In the summer of 2003, Dennehy and Dotson indicated
that they were concerned about their safety. They had purchased two
pistols and a rifle and practiced firing them at a farm north of Waco.
On June 14, Dennehy told friend Daniel Okopnyi that he was worried
about threats made to Dotson by two fellow teammates. Dennehy also
indicated that he and Dotson would be at a party the following day at
which neither appeared.
Over the next few days, there were indications that
something had gone wrong: Dennehy's mother and stepfather, Valorie and
Brian Brabazon, were concerned that they had received no calls on
Father's Day, Dennehy's roommate, Chris Turk, returned from an out-of-town
trip to find that Dennehy's dogs had not been fed in days. On June 19,
the Brabazons filed a report with the Waco Police Department that
Dennehy was missing.
On June 25, Dennehy's Chevrolet Tahoe SUV was found
in the parking lot of a shopping mall in Virginia Beach, Virginia,
with its license plates removed.
An affidavit filed on June 23, which was unsealed
on June 30, seeking a search warrant for Dennehy's computer says that
an informant in Delaware told police that Dotson, who by now was at
home in Hurlock, Maryland, told a cousin that he had shot and killed
Dennehy during an argument while firing guns in the Waco area. On July
21, Dotson was charged with murdering Dennehy and taken into custody
by Corporal Keith Benton and Sgt. Henry Hernandez of the Dorchester
County, Maryland, Sheriff's Office.
The search for Dennehy continued for several weeks
until July 25, when a badly-decomposed body was found in a gravel pit
near Waco and was taken to Dallas for an autopsy. The following day,
medical examiners identified the body as being Patrick Dennehy. On
July 30, his death was ruled a homicide after a preliminary autopsy
report showed that Dennehy died of gunshot wounds to the head. Dennehy
was buried in San Jose, California, on August 7.
Trial and appeals
On October 28, 2004, Dotson was declared
incompetent to stand trial by District Judge George Allen and was sent
to a state mental hospital to be reevaluated in four months' time.
Three psychiatrists, including one appointed by the court, said that
Dotson appeared to be suffering from hallucinations and psychosis, but
that should he regain competency in the future, he would be made to
stand trial.
However, in February 2005, Dotson was returned to
jail after psychologists deemed him competent to stand trial but that
he must continue taking his anti-psychotic medication. The
psychologist also said that Dotson's accounts of hallucinations and
hearing voices were "suspect."
On June 8, 2005, five days before his trial for
murder was to begin, Dotson unexpectedly pleaded guilty to killing
Dennehy. On June 15, Dotson was sentenced to 35 years in prison. He
will be eligible for parole in 2021, after serving roughly half his
sentence.
In January 2006, Dotson attempted to appeal his
conviction. However, his request for an appeal was denied on the
grounds that he surrendered his right to appeal when he pleaded guilty,
Wikipedia.org
Dotson
sentenced to 35 years in Dennehy murder case
By Rod Aydelotte -
Usatoday.com
June 15, 2005
WACO, Texas (AP) — Former Baylor basketball player
Carlton Dotson was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday, a week
after he unexpectedly pleaded guilty to murdering his teammate two
years ago.
Dotson, 23, faced from five
years to life in prison for charges of killing Patrick Dennehy. The
21-year-old who dreamed of playing in the NBA was missing for six
weeks before his body was found in July 2003 in a field where the best
friends had gone to shoot guns at targets.
On June 8, five days before his
murder trial was to start, Dotson pleaded guilty without a sentencing
deal with prosecutors. Dotson will be eligible for parole after
serving about half of the sentence.
After the sentencing, Dennehy's
stepfather, Brian Brabazon, called Dotson an "instrument of the devil"
and said he killed the Dennehy family's dreams when he pulled the
trigger.
"Carlton, Patrick was someone
who cared for you, who you laughed with, who was there by your side,"
Brabazon said, at times glaring and pointing at Dotson, who showed no
expression. "He would not leave you no matter how tough times got. ...
Carlton Dotson, you killed a beautiful young man: James Patrick
Dennehy II, a loving son, a loving brother, a loving boyfriend, a
human being."
As Dotson was led out of the
courtroom, Brabazon held up a framed picture of Dennehy and shouted "Remember
him! Remember his face!" to Dotson.
No witnesses were called
Wednesday. State District Judge Ralph Strother ruled based on
documents filed by prosecutors and defense attorneys. Strother said he
considered the senseless nature of the crime, Dotson's mental problems,
age and lack of previous criminal record.
"I suspect there is no way in
the world for these two families who have suffered in this situation
to appreciate the suffering that each has undergone," Strother said.
"I hope that as time goes by, that they will understand that there but
by the grace of God could go I."
After the brief hearing,
Dennehy's mother, Valorie Brabazon, wiped away tears and said she
wanted a longer sentence. She said the family would attend all parole
board hearings and urge that Dotson "doesn't walk the streets again."
Defense attorney Russ Hunt Sr.
said the punishment was fair and that Dotson was remorseful. Dotson
told his attorneys that in the months before he shot Dennehy, he was
paranoid that people were trying to kill him.
"Patrick started shooting at
cans and things; he had a gun in his hand. At that time Carlton
thought, 'He's going to kill me. I know he's going to kill me. I've
got to kill him first.' And he killed him first," Hunt said.
Dotson's mother, Gilreatha
Stoltzfus, who shook hands with Dennehy's relatives in the courtroom,
said she urged her son to plead guilty. She also said Baylor should be
held responsible for not supervising the athletes.
Part of the prosecution's
report to the judge included FBI documents detailing Dotson's
confession, in which he said "a higher power told him to talk to the
FBI" and told authorities where to look for Dennehy. The body was
found a few days later.
Dotson told agents that he
thought people were trying to kill him because "he is Jesus, the son
of God." Dotson, who moved in with Dennehy in May 2003, said the two
bought guns for protection after receiving threatening phone calls.
He told FBI agents that on June
11, Dennehy pointed a gun at him after the pair went to gravel pits
for target practice. When Dennehy's gun jammed, Dotson said "Father,
please forgive me," and shot his friend. He then packed his belongings,
called a relative to wire him money and drove home to Maryland,
throwing the gun in a lake along the way.
But the autopsy doesn't support
his self-defense claim. Dennehy was shot twice: once above the right
ear and once behind it toward the back of the head.
Last fall, Dotson was found
incompetent to stand trial and was sent to a state mental hospital. He
was returned to jail in February after a hospital psychologist said
Dotson was competent but must keep taking anti-psychotic medication.
The psychologist also said
Dotson's accounts of hearing voices and seeing things were "suspect."
His attorneys later said they
would not use an insanity defense.
Meanwhile, Baylor is waiting on
the expected summer release of an NCAA report on whether the school
faces more sanctions in addition to Baylor's self-imposed penalties.
Allegations of NCAA violations
surfaced after Dennehy's disappearance and death, and men's coach Dave
Bliss and athletic director Tom Stanton later resigned.
An internal Baylor
investigative committee later found that Bliss improperly paid up to
$40,000 in tuition for Dennehy and another player, and that the
coaching staff didn't report players' failed drug tests. Bliss also
asked players and an assistant coach to lie to investigators by saying
Dennehy paid his tuition by dealing drugs.
