State v. Harding , 258 N.C. App. 306 ( 2018 )

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA
No. COA17-448
Filed: 6 March 2018
Buncombe County, Nos. 13 CRS 63940, 63942
STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
v.
NICHOLAS NACOLEON HARDING
Appeal by defendant from judgments and orders entered 18 August 2016 by
Judge Marvin P. Pope, Jr. in Buncombe County Superior Court. Heard in the Court
of Appeals 1 November 2017.
Attorney General Joshua H. Stein, by Special Deputy Attorney General Anne J.
Brown, for the State.
Yoder Law PLLC, by Jason Christopher Yoder, for defendant.
ELMORE, Judge.
Defendant Nicholas Nacoleon Harding appeals from judgments entered after
a jury convicted him of first-degree sexual offense, first-degree kidnapping, assault
on a female, and assault inflicting physical injury by strangulation. He also appeals
the trial court’s orders requiring him to enroll in lifetime sex offender registration
and lifetime satellite-based monitoring (SBM).
Defendant contends the trial court erred by (1) instructing the jury on two
unindicted first-degree kidnapping elements; (2) sentencing him, on double jeopardy
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Opinion of the Court
grounds, for both kidnapping based on sexual assault and for first-degree sexual
offense; (3) sentencing him for both assaults in violation of a statutory mandate
requiring that only one sentence be imposed for the same conduct; (4) denying his
motion to dismiss the first-degree sexual offense charge for insufficient evidence; and
(5) ordering he enroll in lifetime registration and SBM on grounds that the trial
court’s findings do not support its orders, and that the trial court failed to determine
the reasonableness, under the Fourth Amendment, of imposing SBM pursuant to
Grady v. North Carolina, ___ U.S. ___, 135 S. Ct. 1368, 191 L. Ed. 2d 459 (2015).
Defendant also advances (6) five separate claims of ineffective assistance of counsel
(IAC) that allegedly occurred during sentencing.
We hold that defendant’s first four alleged errors are meritless and thus that
he received a fair trial, free of error, and the sentences imposed based upon the jury
convictions were proper. However, based on the first issue of defendant’s fifth alleged
error, we reverse the trial court’s registration and SBM orders and remand for further
proceedings, including a new SBM hearing. We dismiss defendant’s numerous IAC
claims without prejudice to his right to reassert them in a subsequent motion for
appropriate relief (MAR) proceeding.
I. Background
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On 8 September 2014, defendant was indicted for first-degree sexual offense,
first-degree kidnapping, assault on a female, and assault inflicting physical injury by
strangulation. At trial, the State’s evidence showed the following facts.
During the afternoon of 7 December 2013, Anna,1 a twenty-two-year-old,
ninety-five-pound female, was waiting at a bus stop when a stranger, defendant,
struck up a conversation with her. Defendant followed Anna onto the bus, after she
changed buses, and after she got off at a bus stop on Brevard Road in Asheville. Anna
had never taken this route home before and started walking down Pond Road, in a
non-residential and “somewhat . . . deserted” area. Defendant followed about ten feet
behind. Eventually, defendant caught up to Anna, and the two began walking
together and talking. As they continued walking down this isolated stretch of road,
they came to an area surrounded by excavation machinery and overlooking a creek
about twenty feet below, and Anna stopped to take off her fleece jacket.
Unexpectedly, defendant “grabbed [Anna’s] hair and then . . . tossed [her] over
the [em]bank[ment].” When Anna got up, she tried to run away, but defendant
“grabbed [her] and started beating [her] face.” Anna screamed for help as she fell to
the ground. Defendant pinned her body down, grabbed her throat, and “kept choking
. . . and hitting [her] until [she] stopped trying to fight him.” Defendant agreed to
stop his physical assault if Anna quit screaming and resisting. Anna calmed down
1 A pseudonym is used to protect the victim’s identity.
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briefly and begged defendant not to hurt her. Defendant warned Anna that he was a
“mob boss,” but instructed her that as long as she did what he demanded, everything
would be okay. Anna started screaming again. Defendant “hit [her] in the head” and
covered her mouth. When Anna bit defendant’s hand, he “hit [her] again in the head
multiple times.” Eventually, Anna stopped resisting and defendant let her up. After
threatening Anna’s and her one-year-old child’s life, defendant forced Anna to
perform fellatio on him.
Defendant then instructed Anna to sit on a nearby rock near the creek with
him while she calmed down. He eventually let Anna retrieve her cell phone and
watched as she texted her partner that she was going to be late coming home.
Defendant demanded that Anna meet him the next day at 11:00 a.m. in front of the
post office downtown and that, if she did not, he “would send somebody to take care
of [her] and [her] child.” Defendant then instructed Anna to stay put until he walked
away and demanded her not to call the police. Once defendant was out of sight, Anna
immediately called 9-1-1. Responding officers found defendant walking down a
nearby road and arrested him.
The State also presented Rule 404(b) evidence through the testimony of two
other witnesses, Cindy and Lisa.2 According to Cindy and Lisa, defendant had also
attempted, unsuccessfully, to force himself on them only a few days apart from the
2 Pseudonyms.
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incident with Anna. Defendant similarly targeted these women in the afternoon,
while they were alone, attempted to befriend them and bring them to an isolated
location, and demanded sexual favors. Defendant similarly warned these women that
he was a “mob boss” when they refused his demands, and threatened their lives if
they continued to deny him.
Defendant presented no evidence, and the jury convicted him on all counts.
The trial court consolidated the first-degree-sexual-offense and assault-on-a-female
convictions into one judgment, imposing an active sentence of 276 to 392 months in
prison; it consolidated the first-degree-kidnapping and assault-by-strangulation
convictions into another judgment, imposing a consecutive sentence of 83 to 112
months. The trial court also ordered, inter alia, that defendant enroll in lifetime sex
offender registration and SBM. Defendant appeals from the judgments, and from the
registration and SBM orders.
II. Alleged Errors
On appeal, defendant contends the trial court erred by (1) instructing the jury
on two first-degree kidnapping elements which were not charged in the indictment;
(2) sentencing him for both first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual offense on
the double jeopardy grounds that the kidnapping conviction was based on the
underlying sexual offense; (3) sentencing him for both assault on a female and assault
by strangulation in violation of statutory mandates requiring only one punishment
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for the same conduct; (4) denying his motion to dismiss the first-degree sexual offense
charge for insufficiency of the evidence; and (5) ordering he enroll in lifetime sex
offender registration and SBM on the grounds that the trial court’s findings were
inadequate to support such orders, and a proper Grady hearing on the reasonableness
of SBM was never conducted. Defendant also asserts (6) he was denied effective
assistance of counsel several times.
III. Instructing on Unindicted First-Degree Kidnapping Elements
Defendant first contends the trial court plainly erred by instructing the jury it
could find him guilty of first-degree kidnapping based on all three elevating elements
of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-39(b) when the indictment only charged the subsection (b)
element of sexual assault. We disagree.
A. Issue Preservation
Defendant concedes his counsel failed to object to the instructions at trial and
is thus entitled only to plain error review of this alleged error. See N.C. R. App. P.
10(b)(2), (c)(4). The State argues that defendant is precluded from plain error review
in part under the invited-error doctrine because he failed to object, actively
participated in crafting the challenged instruction, and affirmed it was “fine.” We
disagree.
Even where the “trial court gave [a] defendant numerous opportunities to
object to the jury instructions outside the presence of the jury, and each time [the]
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defendant indicated his satisfaction with the trial court’s instructions,” our Supreme
Court has not found the defendant invited his alleged instructional error but applied
plain error review. See State v. Hooks, 353 N.C. 629, 633, 548 S.E.2d 501, 505 (2001)
(acknowledging that the defendant at multiple times failed to object and approved
the challenged instruction but nonetheless electing to review his alleged instructional
error for plain error). Further, the transcript excerpt the State cites to support its
participating-in-crafting-the-instructions argument concerned the subsection (a)
purpose element of kidnapping, not any subsection (b) elements. Accordingly, we
conclude this alleged instructional error is not precluded from plain error review.
B. Review Standard
For error to constitute plain error, a defendant must
demonstrate that a fundamental error occurred at trial. To
show that an error was fundamental, a defendant must
establish prejudice—that, after examination of the entire
record, the error had a probable impact on the jury’s
finding that the defendant was guilty. Moreover, because
plain error is to be applied cautiously and only in the
exceptional case, the error will often be one that seriously
affects the fairness, integrity or public reputation of
judicial proceedings[.]
State v. Lawrence, 365 N.C. 506, 518, 723 S.E.2d 326, 334 (2012) (citations, internal
quotation marks, and brackets omitted).
C. Discussion
Kidnapping is the unlawful confinement, restraint, or removal, from one place
to another, of any person over 16 years old without their consent, for one of six
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statutorily enumerated purposes. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-39(a) (2013). Kidnapping is
elevated to the first-degree if the defendant (1) did not release the victim in a safe
place, (2) seriously injured the victim, or (3) sexually assaulted the victim. N.C. Gen.
Stat. § 14-39(b) (2013). “[T]he language of [N.C. Gen. Stat. §] 14-39(b) states essential
elements of the offense of first-degree kidnapping . . . .” State v. Jerrett, 309 N.C. 239,
261, 307 S.E.2d 339, 351 (1983). Thus, “to properly indict a defendant for first-degree
kidnapping, the State must allege the applicable elements of both subsection (a) and
subsection (b).” Id. (citation omitted).
“[I]t is error, generally prejudicial, for the trial judge to permit a jury to convict
upon a theory not supported by the bill of indictment.” State v. Brown, 312 N.C. 237,
248, 321 S.E.2d 856, 863 (1984) (citations omitted); see also id. at 249, 321 S.E.2d at
863 (awarding new first-degree kidnapping trial under plain error review where trial
court instructed on an different subsection (a) purpose theory, for which the State
presented no supportive evidence, and a different subsection (b) elevating element,
than those charged in the indictment). However, our Supreme Court has “found no
plain error where the trial court’s instruction included the [subsection (a)] purpose
that was listed in the indictment and where compelling evidence had been presented
to support an additional element or elements not included in the indictment as to
which the court had nevertheless instructed.” State v. Tirado, 358 N.C. 551, 575, 599
S.E.2d 515, 532 (2004) (citing State v. Lucas, 353 N.C. 568, 588, 548 S.E.2d 712, 726
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(2001)); see also id. at 575–76, 599 S.E.2d at 532–33 (finding no plain error where the
trial court instructed on the subsection (a) kidnapping purpose theory charged in the
indictment in addition to an unindicted purpose theory, on grounds that “the evidence
supported both the theory set out in the indictment and the additional theory set out
in the trial court’s instructions”).
Here, the indictment only charged the subsection (b) elevating element of
sexual assault. Yet the trial court instructed the jury that it could find defendant
guilty if it found “the [victim] was not released by the defendant in a safe place and/or
had been sexually assaulted and/or had been seriously injured.” Thus, the jury was
instructed on the indicted subsection (b) elevating element of sexual assault, as well
as the two remaining subsection (b) elements not charged in the indictment. The jury
was then supplied a special verdict sheet that separately listed all three subsection
(b) elements, and the jury indicated it found defendant guilty of first-degree
kidnapping based on each individual subsection (b) element.
Because the instruction contained subsection (b) elements not charged in the
indictment, it was erroneous. See Brown, 312 N.C. at 247, 321 S.E.2d at 862 (finding
error where the judge “instructed the jury that to convict of first-degree kidnapping
they must find that defendant ‘sexually assaulted’ the victim, rather than that he
failed to release her in a safe place” as the indictment charged). However, after
carefully examining the record, the instruction, and the jury’s verdict, we hold that
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defendant failed to satisfy his burden of demonstrating this instructional error
amounted to plain error. The State presented compelling evidence to support the
subsection (b) element of not released in a safe place, and the jury separately found
defendant guilty of first-degree kidnapping based on all three subsection (b) elements.
The subsection (b) element of not released in a safe place for first-degree
kidnapping “require[s] a conscious, willful action on the part of the defendant to
assure that [the] victim is released in a place of safety.” State v. Garner, 330 N.C.
273, 294, 410 S.E.2d 861, 873 (1991) (citing Jerrett, 309 N.C. at 262, 307 S.E.2d at
351). Merely departing a premises is insufficient to effectuate a “release.” See State
v. Love, 177 N.C. App. 614, 626, 630 S.E.2d 234, 242 (2006) (rejecting an argument
that “release” merely requires a relinquishment of dominion or control over the
victim, reasoning: “[I]n fact defendants may have physically left the premises, but
through their active intimidation, they left the victims with a constructive presence”);
see also State v. Anderson, 181 N.C. App. 655, 658–60, 640 S.E.2d 797, 800–02 (2007)
(finding victim not released in a safe place when kidnapper left victims bound in their
home after shooting his gun in the air and running out the back door, reasoning that
he remained constructively present, since the victims, and later the police, were
uncertain as to whether kidnapper actually relinquished the victims or vacated the
premises). Additionally, an isolated location is generally not a “safe place.” See State
v. Burrell, 165 N.C. App. 134, 141, 598 S.E.2d 246, 250 (2004) (finding adult victim
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not released in a safe place when kidnappers pushed him out of their vehicle around
1:30 a.m. onto the side of an interstate located in an “isolated and wooded” area).
Here, the State’s evidence showed that after defendant finished his assaults,
he demanded Anna to meet him the next day and threatened that, if she refused, he
would “send somebody to take care of [her] and [her] child.” Defendant then merely
departed the scene on foot, leaving Anna alone at the bottom of a rocky creek
embankment under a bridge near a deserted stretch of road. Anna testified that after
she watched defendant walk away, she continued to feel unsafe because she “didn’t
know whether [defendant] was going to come back or not.” Anna further testified
that when she called the police, they seemed to take a long time to arrive because she
had difficulty explaining her location. No evidence indicated a conscious, willful effort
on defendant’s part to release Anna in a place of safety. Rather, compelling evidence
was presented that, based on defendant’s current and future threats, and Anna being
uncertain of his whereabouts after he left, defendant may have left Anna’s proximate
location but remained constructively present. Compelling evidence was also
presented that defendant left Anna in an isolated location. This evidence supported
the subsection (b) element of not released in a safe place. Further, the jury indicated
on its special verdict sheet that it separately found defendant guilty of first-degree
kidnapping based on all three subsection (b) elements.
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Based on the overwhelming and uncontroverted evidence, and the jury’s
special verdict sheet indicating it found him guilty based on all three subsection (b)
elements, defendant has failed to show this instructional error “had a probable impact
on the jury’s finding that the defendant was guilty” of first-degree kidnapping.
Lawrence, 365 N.C. at 518, 723 S.E.2d at 334 (citations and quotation marks omitted).
We thus hold that the trial court’s instructional error did not amount to plain error.
IV. Sentencing on Both Kidnapping and Sexual Offense
Defendant contends the trial court erred by imposing sentences for both first-
degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual offense on double jeopardy grounds. The
State retorts this issue is unpreserved because defendant failed to object and raise
this constitutional double jeopardy argument below. We agree.
A defendant’s failure to object below on constitutional double jeopardy grounds
typically waives his or her right to appellate review of the issue. See, e.g., State v.
Davis, 364 N.C. 297, 301, 698 S.E.2d 65, 67 (2010) (“To the extent defendant relies on
constitutional double jeopardy principles, we agree that his argument is not
preserved because constitutional questions not raised and passed on by the trial court
will not ordinarily be considered on appeal.” (citations, internal quotation marks, and
brackets omitted)). Further, our Rules of Appellate Procedure require a defendant to
make “a timely request, objection, or motion [below], stating the specific grounds for
the [desired] ruling” in order to preserve an issue for appellate review. N.C. R. App.
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P. 10(a)(1). Additionally, despite defendant’s argument to the contrary, this Court
recently reaffirmed that Rule 10(a)(1)’s issue preservation requirements apply to
alleged errors at sentencing. See State v. Meadows, ___ N.C. App. ___, ___, ___ S.E.2d
___, ___, slip op. at 33 (No. 16-1207) (Oct. 17, 2017) (deeming waived under Rule
10(a)(1) the defendant’s alleged constitutional error that arose during sentencing
based on her “fail[ure] to object at sentencing” (citation omitted)).
Nonetheless, defendant asks us to invoke Rule 2 of our Rules of Appellate
Procedure to address the merits of his unpreserved constitutional double jeopardy
argument. See N.C. R. App. P. 2 (granting this Court discretionary authority under
exceptional circumstances to vary or suspend any of the appellate rules, including
Rule 10(a)(1)’s issue-preservation requirement). After thoughtfully considering the
record and this argument, we conclude that defendant has failed to satisfy his heavy
burden of demonstrating that his is the “rare case meriting suspension of our
appellate rules . . . .” State v. Campbell, 369 N.C. 599, 603, 799 S.E.2d 600, 603 (2017).
We thus decline to invoke Rule 2 and dismiss this unpreserved argument.
V. Sentencing on Both Assaults
Defendant contends the trial court erred by sentencing him for both assault on
a female and assault by strangulation. The State does not address the merits of
defendant’s argument but contends this issue is not preserved for appellate review.
A. Issue Preservation
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Defendant concedes his trial counsel failed to object below but claims a right
to appellate review on statutory mandate grounds. He argues in relevant part that
the assault on a female statute contains a mandatory prefatory clause, see N.C. Gen.
Stat. § 14-33(c) (2013) (“Unless the conduct is covered under some other provision of
law providing greater punishment, any person who [assaults a female] is guilty of a
Class A1 misdemeanor . . . .” (emphasis added)), which prohibited the trial court from
punishing him for that offense since he was also punished for the higher class offense
of assault by strangulation based on the same conduct. The State argues N.C. Gen.
Stat. § 14-33(c) does not impose a “statutory mandate” for issue preservation
purposes.
“When a trial court acts contrary to a statutory mandate, the defendant’s right
to appeal is preserved despite the defendant’s failure to object during trial.” State v.
Braxton, 352 N.C. 158, 177, 531 S.E.2d 428, 439 (2000) (citations and quotation marks
omitted). This Court has interpreted N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-33(c)’s prefatory clause as
imposing a statutory mandate that preserved for appellate review an analytically
identical argument notwithstanding the defendant’s failure to object below. See State
v. Jamison, 234 N.C. App. 231, 237, 758 S.E.2d 666, 671 (2014) (deeming preserved,
absent an objection below and on statutory mandate grounds, the defendant’s
argument that he was improperly sentenced for both assault on a female, and for the
higher class offense of assault inflicting serious bodily injury based on the same
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underlying conduct). While this argument implicates similar double jeopardy
principles as the unpreserved allegation of constitutional error we dismissed above,
under Jamison, this argument is preserved for our review. See In re Civil Penalty,
324 N.C. 373, 384, 379 S.E.2d 30, 37 (1989) (citations omitted).
B. Discussion
We review de novo statutory construction and application issues. Jamison, 234
N.C. App. at 238, 758 S.E.2d at 671 (citation omitted). While the prefatory clause of
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-33(c) mandates that a person cannot be punished for both assault
on a female and for the higher class offense of assault by strangulation, this mandate
is triggered only if both assaults were based on the same “conduct.”
Additionally, where multiple assaults occur during one altercation may be
“deemed separate and distinct,” multiple sentences based on those assaults may be
imposed. State v. Littlejohn, 158 N.C. App. 628, 635, 582 S.E.2d 301, 307 (2003)
(explaining that where multiple assault convictions arise from “one transaction, the
evidence must establish ‘a distinct interruption in the original assault followed by a
second assault[,]’ so that the subsequent assault may be deemed separate and distinct
from the first” (citation omitted)).
In State v. Rambert, our Supreme Court identified three factors it considered
in rejecting the defendant’s double jeopardy argument that he was improperly
sentenced for three counts of discharging a firearm into occupied property that arose
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from three gunshots he fired at the victim’s car during a single altercation. 341 N.C.
173, 459 S.E.2d 510 (1995); see also id. at 176, 459 S.E.2d at 512 (concluding that
“defendant was not charged three times with the same offense for the same act but
was charged for three separate and distinct acts”). Those three factors follow: (1)
“[e]ach shot . . . required that [the] defendant employ his thought processes each time
he fired the weapon”; (2) “[e]ach act was distinct in time”; and (3) “each bullet hit the
vehicle in a different place.” Id. at 176–77, 459 S.E.2d at 513 (citation omitted).
In State v. Wilkes, we applied the Rambert Court’s separate-and-distinct-act
analysis in the assault context. 225 N.C. App. 233, 239, 736 S.E.2d 582, 587, aff’d,
367 N.C. 116, 748 S.E.2d 146 (2013) (per curiam). There, the defendant was convicted
and sentenced for both assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting
serious injury, and for assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, based
on a single brutal altercation with his wife. Id. at 236, 736 S.E.2d at 585. On appeal,
the defendant similarly argued that he was improperly convicted and sentenced for
both assaults on double jeopardy grounds. Id. at 238, 736 S.E.2d at 586–87. We
applied Rambert’s three factors to reach our holding that, because certain assault
conduct required a separate thought process, they were distinct in time, and the
victim sustained injuries to different parts of her body, the defendant had committed
two distinct assaults. Id. at 239–40, 736 S.E.2d at 587–88. We thus held the
defendant’s two assault convictions did not violate his double jeopardy rights. Id.
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Here, the assault on a female and the assault by strangulation convictions
were based on different conduct. Defendant’s act of pinning down Anna and choking
her throat with his hands to stop her from screaming supported the assault by
strangulation conviction. Defendant’s acts of grabbing Anna by her hair, tossing her
down the rocky embankment, and punching her face and head multiple times
supported the assault on a female conviction. The trial court specifically instructed
the jury on assault on a female based on this evidence.
Furthermore, when applying Rambert’s three factors, the two assaults were
sufficiently separate and distinct to sustain both convictions. First, defendant’s
assaults required different thought processes. Defendant’s decisions to grab Anna’s
hair, throw her down the embankment, and repeatedly punch her face and head
required a separate thought process than his decision to pin down Anna while she
was on the ground and strangle her throat to quiet her screaming. Second, the
assaults were distinct in time. After defendant’s initial physical assault, and then
the strangulation, he briefly ceased his physical assault after Anna stopped
screaming and resisting. But after defendant informed Anna that he was a “mob
boss” and threatened her life if she refused his sexual demand, Anna screamed again,
and defendant “hit [her] again in the head multiple times.” Third, Anna sustained
injuries to different parts of her body. The evidence showed that Anna suffered two
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black eyes, injuries to her head, and bruises to her body, as well as pain in her neck
and hoarseness in her voice from the strangulation.
The trial evidence here shows that both convictions arose not from the same
conduct but from separate and distinct acts constituting different assaults.
Accordingly, the trial court did not violate N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-33(c)’s mandate by
imposing sentences based on the two assault convictions. Furthermore, both assaults
were consolidated with a higher class offense, and the sentences imposed were based
on those higher class offenses. Thus, even assuming the two assault convictions could
not support two sentences on the ground they were based on the same conduct,
defendant cannot establish prejudice from this alleged sentencing error.
VI. Denying Motion to Dismiss Sexual Offense Charge
Defendant contends the trial court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the
first-degree sex offense for insufficiency of the evidence. We disagree.
A. Review Standard
We review de novo the denial of a motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence.
State v. Barnett, 368 N.C. 710, 713, 782 S.E.2d 885, 888 (2016) (citation omitted).
Such a motion is properly denied if “there is substantial evidence (1) of each essential
element of the offense charged and (2) that defendant is the perpetrator of the
offense.” State v. Denny, 361 N.C. 662, 664, 652 S.E.2d 212, 213 (2007) (citations and
quotation marks omitted). “Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a
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reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion.” State v. Brown,
310 N.C. 563, 566, 313 S.E.2d 585, 587 (1984) (citation omitted). All evidence must
be viewed “in the light most favorable to the State and . . . all contradictions and
discrepancies [resolved] in the State’s favor.” State v. Harris, 361 N.C. 400, 402, 646
S.E.2d 526, 528 (2007) (citation omitted).
B. Discussion
Defendant was charged with first-degree sexual offense under N.C. Gen. Stat.
§ 14-27.4 (2013) (recodified as N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-27.26 by S.L. 2015-181, § 3(a), eff.
Dec. 1, 2015). Relevant here, one essential element of that crime is that the defendant
“inflict[ ] serious personal injury upon the victim . . . .” Id. § 14-27.4(a)(2)(b). Serious
personal injury may be proved by showing physical injury, or mental or emotional
injury, see State v. Baker, 336 N.C. 58, 64, 441 S.E.2d 551, 554 (1994) (citation
omitted), or a combination of both, see State v. Ackerman, 144 N.C. App. 452, 461, 551
S.E.2d 139, 145 (2001).
[I]n order to prove a serious personal injury based [solely]
on mental or emotional harm, the State must prove that
the defendant caused the harm, that it extended for some
appreciable period of time beyond the incidents
surrounding the crime itself, and that the harm was more
than the ‘res gestae’ results present in every forcible rape.
Res gestae results are those so closely connected to [an]
occurrence or event in both time and substance as to be a
part of the happening.
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State v. Finney, 358 N.C. 79, 90, 591 S.E.2d 863, 869 (2004) (internal quotation marks
omitted) (quoting Baker, 336 N.C. 58, 62–63, 441 S.E.2d 551, 554). “In determining
whether serious personal injury has been inflicted for purposes of satisfying the
elements of first-degree rape, the court must consider the particular facts of each
case.” State v. Richmond, 347 N.C. 412, 429, 495 S.E.2d 677, 686 (1998) (citation and
internal quotation marks omitted).
Here, evidence was presented that defendant, a forty-three-year-old male,
approximately 5’10” tall with a medium build, physically and sexually assaulted
Anna, a twenty-two-year-old female, approximately 5’1” tall, and weighing only
ninety-six pounds. After what Anna perceived was a friendly conversation, defendant
unexpectedly grabbed her and threw her down a steep, rocky embankment about ten
to twelve feet below. Defendant punched Anna’s face and head numerous times,
straddled her when she fell to the ground, and pinned her down as he strangled her
throat. After Anna stopped resisting, defendant briefly stopped his physical assault,
but after she started screaming and resisting again, defendant continued punching
Anna’s face and head again before finally forcing her to perform oral sex on him.
The State presented evidence that Anna was diagnosed with a head injury at
the hospital, and that for days after the incident, Anna experienced pain throughout
her body. Her head hurt “extremely bad,” her neck and shoulders hurt, she suffered
two black eyes and bruises on her body, she had hoarseness in her voice from the
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Opinion of the Court
strangulation, and she had “an extremely difficult time concentrating on things.” The
incident occurred on 7 December 2013. As of Anna’s trial testimony on 15 August
2016, she continues to have a hard time trusting people, has difficulty opening up to
others, and is unable to maintain many friendships. Additionally, the State’s
evidence showed that Anna still is unable to concentrate as effectively, has difficulty
remembering things, and suffers from short-term memory loss as a result of the
attack, all of which have caused her problems at work.
Viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the State and giving it the
benefit of all reasonable inferences arising therefrom, we conclude that the State
presented substantial evidence to support the challenged element of inflicting serious
personal injury. The trial court thus properly denied defendant’s dismissal motion.
VII. Ordering Lifetime Registration and SBM
Defendant next contends the trial court erred by ordering him to enroll in
lifetime sex offender registration and lifetime SBM on grounds that the trial court’s
findings do not statutorily support such orders, and that it never made a
determination as to the reasonableness of SBM under the Fourth Amendment
pursuant to Grady. The State does not address the merits of either argument but
contends that because defendant failed to object at sentencing, he failed to preserve
these issues for appellate review.
A. Grounds for Appellate Review
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Opinion of the Court
As an initial matter, defendant gave oral notice of appeal at the 19 August
2016 sentencing hearing but failed to file a written notice of appeal as required to
preserve his right to appeal from an SBM order. See State v. Brooks, 204 N.C. App.
193, 194–95, 693 S.E.2d 204, 206 (2010) (holding oral notice of appeal at SBM hearing
is insufficient to confer appellate jurisdiction to review SBM order and requiring a
defendant to file written notice of appeal pursuant to N.C. R. App. P. 3(a)).
However, on 2 May 2017, defendant filed a petition for a writ of certiorari to
preserve his right to appellate review of the registration and SBM orders despite his
failure to file a timely written appeal. Under Appellate Rule 21, this Court may issue
a writ of certiorari “in appropriate circumstances . . . to permit review of the
judgments and orders of trial tribunals when the right to prosecute an appeal has
been lost by failure to take timely action[.] . . .” N.C. R. App. P. 21(a)(1). Because we
deem defendant’s first challenge concerning the sufficiency of the trial court’s findings
to support its registration and SBM orders to be meritorious, in our discretion, we
allow defendant’s petition to review these orders.
B. Issue Preservation
In State v. Johnson, we held that despite the defendant’s failure to object at
sentencing, his right to appeal an SBM order was nonetheless preserved on statutory
mandate grounds because we determined the issue he raised, that the trial court’s
erroneous “aggravating offense” finding did not support the imposition of lifetime
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Opinion of the Court
registration, implicated the trial court’s failure to follow N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.23’s
mandate as to when a defendant “shall” maintain lifetime registration. ___ N.C. App.
___, ___, 801 S.E.2d 123, 128 (2017). Accordingly, under Johnson, notwithstanding
defendant’s failure to raise this issue at sentencing, his argument that the trial
court’s findings were insufficient to support its lifetime registration and SBM orders
is preserved for appellate review. Because we hold that the registration and SBM
orders must be reversed and remanded for resentencing based on this error,
defendant’s Grady argument becomes moot.
C. Discussion
Defendant contends that although the trial court found that he was neither a
(1) sexually violent predator, nor (2) a recidivist, and that (3) none of his convictions
were “aggravated offenses” under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 16-208.6(1a), nor (4) involved a
minor, it nonetheless erroneously ordered him to enroll in lifetime sex offender
registration and SBM.
“On appeal from an order imposing satellite-based monitoring, this Court
reviews ‘the trial court’s findings of fact to determine whether they are supported by
competent record evidence, and we review the trial court’s conclusions of law for legal
accuracy and to ensure that those conclusions reflect a correct application of law to
the facts found.’ ” State v. Springle, 244 N.C. App. 760, 765, 781 S.E.2d 518, 521–22
(2016) (citations omitted). Additionally, “[a]lleged statutory errors are questions of
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Opinion of the Court
law and as such, are reviewed de novo.” Johnson, ___ N.C. App. at ___, 801 S.E.2d at
128 (citation and quotation marks omitted).
Where, as here, a trial court finds a person was convicted of a “reportable
conviction,” it must order that person to maintain sex offender registration for a
period of at least thirty years. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.7(a) (2013). If a trial court
also finds that the person has been classified as a sexually violent predator, is a
recidivist, or was convicted of an aggravated offense, it must order lifetime
registration. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.23 (2013). Where a trial court enters an order
imposing lifetime registration based upon an erroneous finding that a conviction
constituted a statutory aggravating offense, we have reversed the order and
remanded to the trial court “for entry of a registration order based upon proper
findings.” Johnson, ___ N.C. App. at ___, 801 S.E.2d at 130.
Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.40A, before a trial court may impose SBM, it
must make factual findings determining whether
(i) the offender has been classified as a sexually violent
predator pursuant to G.S. 14-208.20, (ii) the offender is a
recidivist, (iii) the conviction offense was an aggravated
offense, (iv) the conviction offense was a violation of G.S.
14-27.2A or G.S. 14-27.4A, or (v) the offense involved the
physical, mental, or sexual abuse of a minor.
N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.40A(b) (2013) (amended in 2015 and 2017). “[T]he five
categories of offenders referenced [above] constitute the only types of offenders that
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Opinion of the Court
the Generally Assembly has made eligible for enrollment in the SBM program.” State
v. Hadden, 226 N.C. App. 330, 335, 741 S.E.2d 466, 469 (2013) (citations omitted).
Because Anna was not a minor, the first three categories are relevant here. As
to those categories, a trial court “shall order” lifetime SBM if it finds that the offender
(1) “has been classified as a sexually violent predator,” (2) “is a recidivist,” (3) or “has
committed an aggravated offense[.]” N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.40A(c) (2013).
However, where a trial court finds an offender does not fall within any of the five
categories, it is error to impose SBM. Hadden, 226 N.C. App. at 335, 741 S.E.2d at
469 (vacating SBM order and remanding for reconsideration where the trial court
“expressly found that defendant did not fall within any of the [five] statutorily
enumerated categories of offenders requiring monitoring, but nonetheless ordered
defendant to enroll in the SBM program due to [its findings of other non-statutorily
listed factors]”).
Here, in its registration and SBM orders, the trial court found that defendant
had not been convicted of an aggravated offense, was not a recidivist, nor had he been
classified a sexually violent predator. But the trial court nonetheless ordered that
defendant enroll in lifetime registration and lifetime SBM. As these findings,
standing alone, do not support either lifetime registration, or enrollment in SBM for
any duration, we reverse the trial court’s registration and SBM orders.
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Opinion of the Court
As defendant correctly argues, this Court has held that first-degree sexual
offense is not an “aggravated offense” under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.6(1a) triggering
lifetime registration or SBM. See State v. Green, 229 N.C. App. 121, 129, 746 S.E.2d
457, 464 (2013). But the sentencing hearing transcript does not indicate whether the
State and trial court were under a misapprehension that first-degree sexual offense
constituted such an aggravating offense. At sentencing, but during its request that
the trial court run the sentences consecutively, the State argued in relevant part:
[T]he defendant’s behavior in this situation shows that he
is a very dangerous individual. He is a threat to the
members of our community. He chose to assault a young,
very small, defenseless person . . . .
Also, the fact that the 404(b) evidence from the two
other women that he has assaulted in Asheville, the State
has reason to believe that he had only been in Asheville for
about three months. . . . [H]e chose to perpetrate on three
different individuals, all strangers to him, all in broad
daylight. The boldness of his actions and the
dangerousness of what he has done is truly concerning to
the State, Your Honor, on behalf of the citizens of
Buncombe County, and would . . . respectfully request that
Your Honor take all of those factors into consideration.
Additionally, evidence was presented that defendant suffers from mental illness, and
in its judgment the trial court recommended defendant receive “psychiatric and/or
psychological counseling” while incarcerated, which may implicate “sexually violent
predator” classification. See N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.6(6) (2013) (defining a
“[s]exually violent predator” in relevant part as “a person who has been convicted of
a sexually violent offense and who suffers from a mental abnormality or personality
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Opinion of the Court
disorder that makes the person likely to engage in sexually violent offenses directed
at strangers . . . .”).
However, the trial court did not render oral findings or explain its rationale for
ordering lifetime registration and SBM, and those orders merely contain the bare
statutorily required findings that defendant was neither a sexually violent predator,
a recidivist, nor had been convicted of an aggravating offense. Accordingly, we cannot
meaningfully assess whether any of the trial court’s findings were merely clerical
errors, or whether the trial court simply erred in ordering lifetime registration and
SBM. We therefore reverse the registration and SBM orders, and remand only those
issues for resentencing.
If the State pursues SBM on remand, it must satisfy its burden of presenting
evidence, inter alia, from which the trial court can fulfill its judicial duty to make
findings concerning the reasonableness of SBM under the Fourth Amendment
pursuant to Grady. See, e.g., Johnson, ___ N.C. App. at ___, 801 S.E.2d at 131
(reversing SBM order and remanding for a new SBM hearing where the trial court
failed to conduct a proper Grady hearing); see also State v. Blue, ___ N.C. App. ___,
___, 783 S.E.2d 524, 527 (2016) (holding that “the State shall bear the burden of
proving that the SBM program is reasonable”).
VIII. Ineffective Assistance of Counsel
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Opinion of the Court
Defendant also contends that he suffered five separate instances of IAC at
sentencing based on his trial counsel’s alleged failures to: (1) object when he was
sentenced to first-degree kidnapping and first-degree sexual assault because the
indictment only charged the subsection (b) element of sexual assault; (2) object when
he was sentenced twice for the same assault; (3) object when he was sentenced to
lifetime SBM, although he was not eligible for lifetime SBM; (4) present expert
testimony allegedly supporting a particular statutory mitigating factor; and (5)
request that the trial court consider that particular statutory mitigating factor,
rather than a non-statutory mitigating factor his trial counsel raised during
sentencing.
“IAC claims brought on direct review will be decided on the merits when the
cold record reveals that no further investigation is required, i.e., claims that may be
developed and argued without such ancillary procedures as the appointment of
investigators or an evidentiary hearing.” State v. Fair, 354 N.C. 131, 166, 557 S.E.2d
500, 524 (2001) (citations omitted). However, when the cold record is inadequate for
meaningful appellate review, and “the reviewing court [thus] determine[s] that IAC
claims have been prematurely asserted on direct appeal, it shall dismiss those claims
without prejudice to the defendant’s right to reassert them during a subsequent MAR
proceeding.” Id. at 167, 557 S.E.2d at 525 (citation omitted).
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Opinion of the Court
After carefully considering the cold record and defendant’s IAC claims, we
conclude that each claim requires further investigation and were thus asserted
prematurely. We therefore dismiss defendant’s IAC claims without prejudice to his
right to reassert those claims in a subsequent MAR proceeding. See Fair, 354 N.C.
at 167, 557 S.E.2d at 525 (citation omitted).
IX. Conclusion
As to defendant’s first four alleged errors, we hold that defendant received a
fair trial, free of error, and valid sentences based upon the jury’s convictions.
However, because the trial court’s findings, without more, do not support its orders
imposing lifetime registration or enrollment in SBM, and the record precludes
meaningful appellate review, we reverse these orders and remand for resentencing
solely on the issues of registration and SBM. If the State pursues SBM on remand,
it must satisfy its burden of presenting evidence from which the trial court can make
its required findings concerning the reasonableness of imposing SBM pursuant to
Grady. We dismiss defendant’s numerous IAC claims without prejudice to his right
to reassert them in a subsequent MAR proceeding.
NO ERROR IN PART; REVERSED AND REMANDED IN PART; DISMISSED
IN PART.
Judges DIETZ and INMAN concur.
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