Gann v. State

Birdsong, Judge.

Melvin Gann and Jimmy Lee Jackson were tried jointly for armed robbery, found guilty of the lesser offense of robbery, and each sentenced to serve 15 years, ten years incarcerated and five years probated.

The alleged victim of the robbery, 35-year-old Ronald Ivey, from Sparta, North Carolina, suffers from severe epilepsy which requires him to take several medications constantly; because of his illness, he has never held a job. When he drinks alcohol, he is subject to grand mal seizures during which his strength is greatly magnified and he is unaware of his movements.

The robbery…