Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2003 | 11:02 a.m.
Jurors this morning settled on a punishment for the man who killed a mother of four and then attacked a prosecutor in a Clark County courtroom.
At presstime, the verdict had not been announced. Jurors decided whether to sentence Taiwan Allen to life in prison without parole or life in prison with parole possible after 40 years, or whether to choose a sentence of 40 to 100 years in prison. Prosecutors had not sought the death penalty for Allen.
The same jury convicted Allen of first-degree murder Monday in the death of his girlfriend, 30-year-old Yashoma Clemons.
Moments after Tuesday's guilty verdict was announced, Allen, 29, lunged at Deputy District Attorney David Stanton, punching him in the back of the head. The attack occurred as Allen was being led from the courtroom.
Stanton was taken to University Medical Center by ambulance, where he was treated and released. The extent of Stanton's injuries was not known.
Jurors learned about the attack Tuesday during the penalty phase of Allen's trial. District Attorney David Roger stood in for Stanton during the hearing.
They urged jurors to return a sentence of life in prison without parole. They described Allen as a violent man who had a long history of violence toward women.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Vickie Monroe said Allen's attack on Stanton was only the latest example of Allen's rage.
"Yesterday, the defendant displayed the temper the defendant has displayed throughout the majority of his relationships," she said.
But defense attorney Frederick Santacroce begged jurors to show mercy.
"I believe there is redeeming value in this individual," he said. "This young man made a poor decision."
During Tuesday's hearing, Allen wore a react belt, or stun belt, around his waist hidden underneath his shirt. A nearby corrections officer controlled the wireless device.
Allen initially wore handcuffs and leg irons, but those were removed before jurors entered the courtroom. Two bailiffs sat next to Allen and another bailiff sat behind him.
Santacroce had argued unsuccessfully for a weeklong continuance in the matter, saying a psychologist should examine his client.
He implied that Allen's "mental problems" are related to a gunshot wound he sustained to the head. Santacroce claims Allen was shot during the confrontation with Clemons.
"There's a bullet in his head close to his brain," he said. "There is pressure on his brain."
But Roger argued that rage, and not mental illness, sparked Monday's attack.
"The pressure was the verdict of murder in the first degree," Roger said. "It's his anger management that is at issue."
Court administrator Chuck Short said court officials have launched an investigation into whether law enforcement officials erred in the way Allen was transported from the courtroom on Monday.
"We are reviewing this matter with the Clark County Detention Center to ensure that our bailiffs and their corrections officers are in the right places at the right time in the courtroom in any jury trial," he said.
Short said corrections officers from the jail are responsible for controlling defendants while bailiffs are responsible for overall safety in the courtroom.
Three bailiffs and two corrections officers were in the courtroom when Stanton was attacked, Short said. The law enforcement officials tackled Allen to the ground immediately.
Short said devices such as the react belt are used only when a defendant has shown violent behavior or poses an escape threat.
"It's a way of providing additional control without it being obvious to the casual observer," he said.
Roger said he expects to file additional charges against Allen for the attack on Stanton.
During the penalty hearing, Chief Deputy District Attorney Ed Kane, who witnessed that attack, described for jurors how it unfolded late Monday.
Kane said he saw Allen mumble a few words to Stanton and then draw his fist back and strike Stanton in the back of the head. Stanton was blind-sided as he stood with his back partially toward Allen, Kane said.
"(Allen) drew his right arm back as far as he could. Then he sort of launched himself at Mr. Stanton."
Kane said Allen struck Stanton "with what looked like all of his strength." As Stanton fell into a table, Allen fell on top of him, "and attempted to punch (Stanton) repeatedly," Kane said.
Kane said the attack occurred when Santacroce stepped back in order to let Allen pass in front of him to exit out of a side door of the courtroom. That motion allowed Allen into the small area between the defense table and the prosecution table, Kane said.
"That was unusual enough that I noticed it right away," he said.
Under cross-examination, Santacroce implied that Stanton had made a face at Allen or that the two had exchanged words before the attack. Kane denied that was the case.
Jurors also heard testimony detailing Allen's prior history of violence toward women. Allen's ex-wife, Monique Allen, said Allen was violent and abusive toward her throughout their two-year marriage.
She said she was six months pregnant with the couple's son when Taiwan Allen became angry and struck her in the head about 10 times.
"I covered my belly so he wouldn't hit it," she said. "I feared for my life and for my son."
She said she still remembered Taiwan Allen's words as police led him out of the couple's home in handcuffs.
"I remember him saying, 'Had I known I was going to jail I would have killed the (expletive). I should have broken her neck.' "
Monique Allen said she spoke to Clemons in September 2002 and warned her about Taiwan Allen's abusive behavior. She told Clemons that Taiwan Allen would abuse her too, she said.
But Clemons didn't believe her, she said.
"She said, 'He would never do that to me. I wouldn't tolerate it.' She kind of laughed it off and that was it."
During the trial, prosecutors said Allen gunned Clemons down in a jealous rage on April 14 after Clemons told him she wanted to reunite with her ex-husband. Clemons was shot once in the chest and twice in the head.
Santacroce had argued that Allen shot Clemons in self-defense after the two engaged in a gun battle in the master bedroom of the home they shared near Hollywood Boulevard.
On Tuesday, Clemons' family members told jurors how their life has changed since Clemons' slaying.
Clemons' grandmother, Lodia Fluellen, sobbed openly while on the witness stand. She said she'd already purchased a grave next to her granddaughter's.
"It's like a nightmare. She was my pride and joy," she said. "She meant the world to me."
Clemons' 9-year-old daughter, who witnessed her mother's killing, also testified.
"It's like a big chunk of my life just fell out and now I just can't find it," the girl said.
But Allen's family members asked jurors to show him mercy. They echoed Santacroce's argument that Clemons fired shots at Allen as well.
"He's not the monster that everybody has made him out to be," Allen's sister, Chantal Oloyo, said. "Any adult knows there are two sides to every story."
"He made some mistakes. Some of those mistakes are relationships and people he's involved with."
Allen's dad, Isaac Allen, said his son was a good man who was raised to respect authority.
"He's a wonderful person, I think," he said. "I would hope the jury would show some mercy because my son was injured as well."
archive
