War vet accused of murder; pleads not guilty by reason of insanity

An Iraqi war veteran had post-traumatic stress disorder, his lawyer says, and killed his girlfriend because he thought she was part of a terrorist attack on America.

Davon Londell Thomas, accused of killing his 23-year-old girlfriend in November 2009, on Tuesday pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Tigist Yemane, who originally came to Charlotte from Ethiopia for an operation to fix a heart defect, was shot to death in Thomas' parents' house in the Reedy Creek community. Police have said Thomas shot Yemane several times.

Defense attorney Jean Lawson, in a court document filed in Mecklenburg Superior Court, put prosecutors on notice that Thomas intended to raise the insanity defense.

"Davon Thomas volunteered to serve in the North Carolina Army National Guard, was deployed to active combat duty in Iraq and developed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder," Lawson wrote in the document.

"At the time of the offense, Davon Thomas was in a delusional state and believed that a terrorist attack on the people of the United States of America had commenced and that the deceased was a member of a hostile military force whom he was obliged to kill."

Lawson called post-traumatic stress disorder a mental illness.

"The defense contends that Davon Thomas did not have the requisite mental state for the offenses charged," the defense lawyer wrote.

If a jury decides Thomas is not guilty by reason of insanity at the time of Yemane's killing, he will be sent to a state mental hospital. He would not be released from the hospital unless a judge decided he no longer had a mental illness or was no longer a danger to others.

Thomas' mother told the Observer on Tuesday that she saw her son fatally shoot Yemane.

"That was the most horrifying thing I ever witnessed in my life," said his mother, who didn't want her name used. "I prayed to get those visions out of my head.

"That was the most traumatic thing anybody could see. That beautiful young girl. I loved and cared about her."

Loretta Caldwell, who runs a ministry for women and children and knew the victim, called Thomas' insanity defense "awful." She worries that Thomas, if found not guilty by reason of insanity, will someday go free.

"He'll be able to get out eventually," Caldwell said.

Caldwell, whose ministry takes in homeless and abused women, said Yemane lived with her for four years.

"Tigist called me mom," she said. "I feel that justice needs to protect Tigist. Nobody was there to protect her when she was killed. We can't bring Tigist back. Nobody can. I want closure. I want Tigist's family in Ethiopia to get some peace and move on."

At Tuesday's hearing, Superior Court Judge Yvonne Mims Evans found that Thomas was competent to stand trial. She made the finding after asking Thomas a series of questions, including whether he understood the charges against him, the penalties if convicted and if he could assist his lawyer in his defense. Thomas answered that he could.

Assistant District Attorney Gabrielle Macon said the trial will likely be held next year.

Thomas, 29, is charged with first-degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon. If convicted of first-degree murder, he would be sentenced to life in prison without parole.

In 2008, Thomas pleaded guilty to assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill. His sentence was suspended and he was placed on probation until 2011. In October 2009, Thomas pleaded guilty to resisting an officer and was placed on probation and ordered to perform community service. The judge ordered him not to possess any firearms.

In an interview Tuesday, Thomas' mother described her son, before he went to war in 2004, as "a very well-mannered beautiful young man - loving life and helping people." She said he speaks five languages, including Arabic and Spanish, and played classical music on the piano.

Her son was not the same when he returned from Iraq, she said. He started having mental health problems, she said, and was paranoid and sometimes on edge and angry. She said the family sought repeatedly to get help through the Veterans Administration and the military. Their efforts, she said, were unsuccessful.

"They abandoned him and outright denied him any mental health or medical assistance."

On the day of Yemane's killing, she said, her son was delusional. "He was back in Iraq," she said. "He thought she was a terrorist suicide bomber."

Thomas' mother said she is praying for Yemane's family.

"We are totally sorry for what happened," she said. "Our hearts and prayers go out to Tigist's family and friends and anyone else my son has harmed since his return from Iraq.

"My son is sorry too. He doesn't remember what happened."

 http://www.charlotteobserver.com