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Defendant Excused From Trial Over Strange Behavior

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 13, 2008

TAMPA - Robert Sinclaire Lee is noticeably absent from the attempted murder trial against him today.

He didn't want to be in court and was excused this morning after he refused to change out of his orange jumpsuit, repeatedly kicked a door in his holding cell and began to disrobe, Assistant State Attorney Dereck Capaz said.

Robert Sinclaire Lee

This isn't Lee's first outburst as a defendant. He previously has cut himself with a smuggled razor and rubbed feces on his face.

Prosecutors say he is faking mental illness and that doctors have found him mentally competent to proceed. Capaz hopes to convict Lee this week on charges of attempted murder, aggravated assault and robbery.

In October 2006, prosecutors say, Lee and an accomplice tried to rob the Panda Express restaurant in Temple Terrace. His accomplice held an employee at gunpoint outside the Chinese restaurant while Lee held other employees at gunpoint inside, Capaz said.

Another employee returned from a delivery and fired his own gun at the accomplice, Capaz said. The accomplice ran.

When the delivery man went inside the restaurant, he and Lee exchanged gunfire, Capaz said. Lee was shot in a testicle. The employees were not injured.

The case is going on as scheduled today, with witnesses and police officers saying what they think happened that October day.

Lee's public defender, Ronnie James, declined to comment today.

Monday, when court bailiffs retrieved Lee, 27, from a holding cell to bring him to the courtroom, they found feces in his jacket pocket. Circuit Judge Robert Foster warned Lee that his antics would not be tolerated.

In one of Lee's first court hearings, he smuggled the blade from a facial razor inside his mouth, Capaz said. He began to cut his wrist when proceedings began.

If convicted, Lee faces up to life in prison.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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