State v. James

774 S.E.2d 871, 242 N.C. App. 188, 2015 N.C. App. LEXIS 586
CourtCourt of Appeals of North Carolina
DecidedJuly 7, 2015
DocketNo. COA15–21.
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 774 S.E.2d 871 (State v. James) 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
State v. James, 774 S.E.2d 871, 242 N.C. App. 188, 2015 N.C. App. LEXIS 586 (N.C. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinions

*873DAVIS, Judge.

*189Richard Darnell James ("Defendant") appeals from his convictions for failure to report a change of address as a sex offender and attaining the status of an habitual felon. On appeal, he contends that (1) his indictment was fatally flawed; (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss; and (3) he received ineffective assistance of counsel. After careful review, we conclude that Defendant received a fair trial free from error and dismiss his appeal in part.

Factual Background

The State presented evidence at trial tending to establish the following facts: On 10 September 2001, Defendant was convicted of taking indecent liberties with a child in violation of N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14-202.1. As a result of this conviction, Defendant was required to register as a *190sex offender pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14-208.7(a) with the sheriff of his county of residence. On 8 July 2013, Defendant notified the Johnston County Sheriff's Office of his change of address from 3521 Old School Road, Four Oaks, North Carolina to 2133 Mamie Road, Four Oaks, North Carolina.

On 29 November 2013, Defendant was discovered living in a vacant rental house located at a third address-2871 Old School Road. On that date, the owner of the rental house, Leroy Baker ("Baker"), and his son-in-law, Jesse Lee ("Lee"), had gone to the 2871 Old School Road address to check on the property after receiving an abnormally high electrical bill for the home. Upon entering the house, they discovered Defendant, whom neither of them knew or had ever seen before. Defendant told them that "he had just got out of jail and had no place to go" and that "he had been staying there." He further stated that he had been living there "about a month" since "he got out of jail the 30th of October." Baker and Lee ordered Defendant to leave. After Defendant left the residence, Lee discovered an identification card with Defendant's name on it. Lee subsequently contacted the Johnston County Sheriff's Office and informed officers of Defendant's unlawful entry into the rental home.

Captain Chris Strickland ("Captain Strickland") of the Johnston County Sheriff's Office, who oversaw the sex offender registry, reviewed the break-in report naming Defendant as the perpetrator of the offense. Recognizing Defendant as a convicted sex offender, Captain Strickland dispatched Lieutenant Gary Bridges ("Lieutenant Bridges") to Defendant's last reported address, 2133 Mamie Road, to investigate whether Defendant was, in fact, living there.

Upon arriving at a residence located at the 2133 Mamie Road address, Lieutenant Bridges encountered two individuals, Clinton Smith ("Smith") and Janet Mauney ("Mauney"). They informed Lieutenant Bridges that they had been living at that address for nine years and fourteen years, respectively, and that Defendant had never lived there.

On 3 February 2014, Defendant was indicted on the charge of failure to report a change of address as a sex offender in violation of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-208.11(a)(2) and having attained the status of an habitual felon. On 21 July 2014, a superseding indictment was issued for the former charge. A jury trial was held in Johnston County Superior Court on 25 August 2014 before the Honorable Claire V. Hill. Defendant moved to dismiss the charges against him at the close of the State's evidence and at the close of all the evidence. The trial court denied both of his motions.

*191On 26 August 2014, the jury found Defendant guilty of both charges. Defendant was sentenced to 90-120 months imprisonment. Defendant gave oral notice of appeal in open court.

Analysis

I. Sufficiency of Indictment

Defendant first argues that the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter judgment against him on the ground that the superseding indictment failed to allege all of the essential elements of the offense of failure to report a change of address as a sex offender, thereby requiring that his convictions be vacated. We disagree.

It is well settled that a valid bill of indictment is essential to the jurisdiction of the trial court to try an accused for a felony. The purpose of the indictment is *874to give a defendant reasonable notice of the charge against him so that he may prepare for trial. A defendant can challenge the facial validity of an indictment at any time, and a conviction based on an invalid indictment must be vacated.

State v. Campbell, 368 N.C. 83, ----, 772 S.E.2d 440, 443 (2015) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). This Court reviews the sufficiency of an indictment de novo. State v. McKoy, 196 N.C.App. 650, 652, 675 S.E.2d 406, 409, appeal dismissed and disc. review denied, 363 N.C. 586, 683 S.E.2d 215 (2009).

The Supreme Court has also stated the following regarding the legal requirements applicable to indictments:

[W]e note that the "true and safe rule" for prosecutors in drawing indictments is to follow strictly the precise wording of the statute because a departure therefrom unnecessarily raises doubt as to the sufficiency of the allegations to vest the trial court with jurisdiction to try the offense. Nevertheless, it is not the function of an indictment to bind the hands of the State with technical rules of pleading; rather, its purposes are to identify clearly the crime being charged, thereby putting the accused on reasonable notice to defend against it and prepare for trial, and to protect the accused from being jeopardized by the State more than once for the same crime.... [A]n indictment shall not be quashed by reason of any informality or refinement if it accurately expresses the criminal charge in plain, *192intelligible, and explicit language sufficient to permit the court to render judgment upon conviction.... [I]t would not favor justice to allow defendant to escape merited punishment upon a minor matter of form.

State v. Sturdivant, 304 N.C. 293, 310-11,

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
774 S.E.2d 871, 242 N.C. App. 188, 2015 N.C. App. LEXIS 586, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-james-ncctapp-2015.