In Re SDR

664 S.E.2d 414, 191 N.C. App. 552, 2008 N.C. App. LEXIS 1481
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedAugust 5, 2008
DocketCOA07-1481
StatusPublished

This text of 664 S.E.2d 414 (In Re SDR) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of North Carolina primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re SDR, 664 S.E.2d 414, 191 N.C. App. 552, 2008 N.C. App. LEXIS 1481 (N.C. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

664 S.E.2d 414 (2008)

In the Matter of S.D.R.

No. COA07-1481.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

August 5, 2008.

*416 Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General Allison A. Angell, for the State.

James N. Freeman, Jr., Elkin, for defendant.

*417 ELMORE, Judge.

S.D.R. (defendant), a juvenile, appeals his finding of delinquency for resisting, delaying, and obstructing an officer, and felonious breaking and entering and larceny. After a careful review of the record, we find no error in the trial court's finding of delinquency for resisting, delaying, and obstructing an officer, and felonious breaking and entering and larceny.

At approximately noon on 11 April 2007, defendant was brought to the Anson Cooperative Extension Service in Wadesboro (the Extension) by the Extension's community service assistant, Betty Garris. Defendant was a participant in the community service and restitution after school program. Garris directed defendant to the Extension's library, brought him lunch, turned on the TV, and directed defendant to stay in the library until she returned from a meeting at 1:00 p.m. On the day in question, the building was nearly vacant.

The library was located directly across the hall from the office of Janine Rywak, the Anson County Extension Director. Rywak observed defendant in the library across from her office for approximately forty-five minutes. Rywak testified that she was not familiar with defendant before this day, but that when she returned from a brief trip to the restroom, defendant greeted her in her office doorway. Rywak later discovered that her pocketbook had been unzipped and the enclosed wallet had been opened.

After searching her pocket book in the presence of several other individuals, Rywak discovered that all of her cash was missing. The total sum of the cash missing from the purse was $140.00 or $160.00. When asked, defendant denied taking the money. Shortly thereafter, an officer from the Wadesboro Police Department arrived to investigate. The officer requested that defendant consent to a search of his person, and defendant consented to the search without protest. After patting defendant down and searching his shoes, the officer proceeded to question defendant. At this point, defendant became unresponsive, and did not make eye contact with the officer.

The officer noticed what appeared to be something green in defendant's mouth. The officer asked defendant to open his mouth; defendant did not respond. The trial court received evidence that defendant immediately attempted to swallow. After requesting that defendant open his mouth, the officer placed his hand on defendant's chin in an attempt to prevent swallowing. Defendant began to struggle with the officer. The officer, defendant, and another individual fell to the floor during the course of the struggle. There was evidence presented at trial that during the physical confrontation, money emerged from defendant's mouth, and defendant then proceeded to eat the money.

Defendant first contends that the trial court erred in finding him delinquent for resisting, delaying, and obstructing an officer because there was not sufficient evidence to find defendant delinquent on this charge.

In reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of evidence, it is not our duty to weigh the evidence, but to determine whether there was substantial evidence to support the adjudication, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, and giving it the benefit of all reasonable inferences.

In re J.F.M. & T.J.B., 168 N.C.App. 143, 146, 607 S.E.2d 304, 306 (2005) (quotations and citations omitted).

"Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence as a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion." State v. Stone, 323 N.C. 447, 451, 373 S.E.2d 430, 433 (1988) (quotations and citations omitted). Furthermore, "[c]ircumstantial evidence may withstand a motion to dismiss and support a conviction even when the evidence does not rule out every hypothesis of innocence." Id. at 452, 373 S.E.2d at 433 (citation omitted). The issue of resisting, delaying, and obstructing an officer is addressed by N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14-223. That statute provides that "[i]f any person shall willfully and unlawfully resist, delay or obstruct a public officer in discharging or attempting to discharge a duty of his office, he shall be guilty of a Class 2 misdemeanor." N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14-223 (2007). "The conduct proscribed under G.S. 14-223 is not *418 limited to resisting an arrest but includes any resistance, delay, or obstruction of an officer in the discharge of his duties." State v. Lynch, 94 N.C.App. 330, 332, 380 S.E.2d 397, 398 (1989). Because the State provided substantial evidence to support the adjudication, defendant's contention is without merit.

The State, at trial and on appeal, relies upon the following evidence: (1) the officer was investigating Rywak's missing cash; (2) the officer was on duty and in uniform at the time of the investigation; (3) defendant consented to a search by the officer; (4) defendant refused to comply when the officer asked him to open his mouth; (5) defendant attempted to swallow what he had in his mouth; and (6) defendant willfully engaged in a physical confrontation with the officer and attempted to flee.

Defendant further argues that he consented to a search of his person, which did not extend to the interior of his mouth. Consent searches are "recognized as a special situation excepted from the warrant requirement, and a search is not unreasonable within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment when lawful consent to the search is given." State v. Smith, 346 N.C. 794, 798, 488 S.E.2d 210, 213 (1997) (citation omitted). "[T]he question of whether consent to a search was in fact `voluntary' or was the product of duress or coercion, expressed or implied, is a question of fact to be determined from the totality of all the circumstances." State v. Motley, 153 N.C.App. 701, 707, 571 S.E.2d 269, 273 (2002) (quotations and citations omitted) (alteration in original).

In order for a seizure to pass constitutional muster, the officer must have reasonable suspicion to believe criminal activity was afoot. Factors relevant in determining whether a police officer had reasonable suspicion include [among others] ... nervousness of an individual.... Also, [t]he facts known to the officers at the time of the stop [or seizure] must be viewed through the eyes of a reasonable and cautious police officer on the scene, guided by experience and training.

In re I.R.T., 184 N.C.App. 579, 585, 647 S.E.2d 129, 134-35 (2007) (quotations and citations omitted) (alteration in original).

In the present case, the officer was investigating a potential larceny. When the officer requested a search, defendant consented. The officer began to question defendant after the search. The trial court received evidence that defendant became unresponsive to the officer's questions and would not make eye contact.

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Related

State v. Smith
488 S.E.2d 210 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1997)
State v. Jones
655 S.E.2d 915 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2008)
State v. Lynch
380 S.E.2d 397 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1989)
State v. Motley
571 S.E.2d 269 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2002)
In Re Brown
562 S.E.2d 583 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2002)
State v. Watson
634 S.E.2d 231 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2006)
State v. Brooks
631 S.E.2d 54 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2006)
State v. Stone
373 S.E.2d 430 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1988)
State v. Boone
256 S.E.2d 683 (Supreme Court of North Carolina, 1979)
State v. Winston
262 S.E.2d 331 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 1980)
In re I.R.T.
647 S.E.2d 129 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2007)
In re S.D.R.
664 S.E.2d 414 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2008)
In re T.C.S.
558 S.E.2d 251 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2002)
In re J.F.M.
607 S.E.2d 304 (Court of Appeals of North Carolina, 2005)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
664 S.E.2d 414, 191 N.C. App. 552, 2008 N.C. App. LEXIS 1481, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-sdr-ncctapp-2008.