First-degree murder charges for 2017 homicide dismissed
Click here for updates on this story
Asheville, NC (WLOS) — The first-degree murder charges related to the June 2017 homicide of an Asheville homeless man have been dropped.
Joshua Christopher Stebbins, 46, was found dead on Thursday, June 29, 2017, behind a gas station on Patton Avenue in Asheville.
Stebbins’ cause of death was determined to be blunt force trauma to the head and body.
The following day, Asheville police arrested Buford James Penley, of Asheville, and charged him with first-degree murder.
On Wednesday, May 13, 2020, District Attorney Todd Williams announced the charges against Penley had been dismissed after evidence was presented showing Penley to be incapable of proceeding to trial and that his capacity to proceed could not be restored.
Penley has been housed at Broughton Hospital to be assessed for his capacity to proceed and for his potential restoration to proceed for most of the past two years.
The capacity determination was made by multiple psychological professionals. The State’s own expert from Central Regional Hospital concurred with the opinion of independent experts that Penley was incapable of the proceeding and that his capacity to proceed could not be restored.
While the Court’s dismissal was mandatory under state law, it was issued without prejudice to refiling. Therefore, should Penley ever regain the capacity to proceed, the State may refile the murder charge.
In a press release, Williams said:
The District Attorney’s Office is frustrated that we are not able to present evidence to a jury and seek justice for Joshua Stebbins. We also recognize that state of our current law regarding capacity to proceed and ask the NC State Legislature to consider statutory revisions to prevent this circumstance from happening again.
After the hearing, Penley was involuntarily committed and will return for inpatient commitment to Broughton State Hospital in Morganton, NC.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
