State v. Campbell, COA13–1404.

Citation759 S.E.2d 380
Decision Date01 July 2014
Docket NumberNo. COA13–1404.,COA13–1404.
CourtCourt of Appeal of North Carolina (US)
PartiesSTATE of North Carolina v. Thomas Craig CAMPBELL, Defendant.
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE

Appeal by defendant from Judgment entered on or about 12 June 2013 by Judge Linwood O. Foust in Superior Court, Cleveland County. Heard in the Court of Appeals 7 May 2014.

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

Appellate Defender Staples S. Hughes, by Assistant Appellate Defender Jason Christopher Yoder, for defendant-appellant.

STROUD, Judge.

Thomas Campbell (defendant) appeals from the judgment entered after a Cleveland County jury found him guilty of larceny and breaking or entering a place of religious worship. We vacate defendant's larceny conviction and reverse his conviction for breaking or entering a place of religious worship. We remand for entry of judgment and resentencing on misdemeanor breaking or entering.

I. Background

On 8 October 2012, defendant was indicted for breaking or entering a place of religious worship and larceny after breaking or entering. The larceny indictment alleged that on 15 August 2012 defendant “willfully and feloniously did steal, take, and carry away a music receiver, microphones, and sounds [sic] system wires, the personal property of Andy Stephens and Manna Baptist Church, pursuant to a breaking or entering in violation of N.C.G.S. 14–54.1(a).” Defendant pled not guilty and proceeded to jury trial.

At trial, the State's evidence tended to show that Pastor Andy Stephens of Manna Baptist Church, located on Burke Road in Shelby, North Carolina, discovered after Sunday services on 19 August 2012 that a receiver, several microphones, and audio cords were missing. The cords were usually located at the front of the church, by the sound system, or in the baptistery changing area. It appeared that the sound system had been opened up and items inside had been moved around. Pastor Stephens found a wallet in the baptistery changing area that contained a driver's license belonging to defendant.

Pastor Stephens testified that when the church secretary arrived on Thursday morning earlier that week, she had noticed that the door was unlocked. She assumed that it had been left unlocked after Wednesday night services, which had ended around 9 p.m. Although the front door is normally locked at night, on cross-examination, Pastor Stephens admitted that the church door had been left unlocked overnight before. Pastor Stephens said that the secretary did not notice anything amiss on Thursday morning.

After Pastor Stephens realized that the audio equipment was missing he called the Cleveland County Sheriff's Office. Deputy Jordan Bowen responded to the scene. The deputy examined the premises but found no signs of forced entry. He recovered defendant's wallet from the pastor.

Investigator Jessica Woosley went to speak with defendant at the Cleveland County Detention Center, where he was being held on an unrelated breaking or entering charge. When Investigator Woosley introduced herself, defendant said, “this can't possibly be good. What have I done now that I don't remember?” Investigator Woosley read defendant his Miranda rights and defendant invoked his right to counsel. Investigator Woosley tried to end the interview, but defendant continued talking.

Defendant admitted that he had been to Manna Baptist Church on the night in question, but stated that he could not remember what he had done there. He explained that he had mental issues and blacked out at times. Defendant claimed to be a religious man who had been “on a spiritual journey.” He said that he remembered the door to the church being open, but that he did not remember doing anything wrong.

After speaking with defendant, Investigator Woosley searched through a pawn shop database for any transactions involving items matching those missing from the church but did not find anything. The missing items were never recovered.

At the close of the State's evidence, defendant moved to dismiss the charges. The trial court denied the motion. Defendant then elected to present evidence and testify on his own behalf. Defendant testified that he was a 51 year old man with a high school education and one semester of college. He said that on 15 August 2012, he had been asked to leave the home he was living in, so he packed his possessions in a duffel bag and left. He started walking toward a friend's house but dropped the bag in a ditch because it was too heavy to carry long-distance.

Around midnight, defendant arrived at his friend's house, but his friend's girlfriend asked him to leave, so he did. Defendant continued walking down the road until he came upon the church. He noticed that the door was cracked slightly and a “sliver of light” was emanating from within. Defendant explained that after all his walking, he was thirsty and tired, so he went into the church looking for water and sanctuary. He said that while he was inside, he got some water, prayed, and slept. He claimed that he did not intend to take anything and did not take anything when he left around daybreak.

After leaving the church, defendant began walking down the road again. He soon began having chest pains and called 911. Defendant explained that he was on a variety of medications at the time, including powerful psychotropic medication. An ambulance arrived and took him to Cleveland Memorial Hospital.

Calvin Cobb, the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) who responded to defendant's call, also testified on defendant's behalf. Mr. Cobb said that they received a dispatch call around 6:30 a.m. When they arrived at the intersection of Burke Road and River Hill Road, they saw defendant near an open field, sitting on the back of a fire truck that had been first to respond. Defendant told Mr. Cobb that he had been wandering all night. Mr. Cobb noticed that defendant looked disheveled and worn out, and that defendant had worn through the soles of his shoes. Mr. Cobb did not see defendant carrying anything and did not find anything in his pockets.

After defendant rested his case, the State called another officer in rebuttal. The State wanted to offer his testimony regarding defendant's prior breaking or entering arrest. The trial court asked the State to explain the relevance of the prior incident. The State argued that it contradicted part of defendant's testimony regarding what happened before he got to the church, but did not elaborate on how it contradicted defendant's testimony and did not otherwise explain its relevance. The trial court excluded the rebuttal testimony under Rule 403. At the close of all the evidence, defendant renewed his motion to dismiss all charges, which the trial court again denied.

The jury found defendant guilty of both charges. The trial court consolidated the charges for judgment and sentenced defendant to a split sentence of 13–25 months imprisonment, suspended for 24 months of supervised probation, and an active term of 140 days in jail. Defendant gave timely written notice of appeal.

II. Larceny Indictment

Defendant first argues that the larceny indictment on which he was tried was fatally defective because it “failed to allege that Manna Baptist Church was an entity capable of owning property.” We agree.

“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.” State v. Abraham, 338 N.C. 315, 339, 451 S.E.2d 131, 143 (1994) (citation and quotation marks omitted). “A challenge to the facial validity of an indictment may be brought at any time, and need not be raised at trial for preservation on appeal.” State v. LePage, 204 N.C.App. 37, 49, 693 S.E.2d 157, 165 (2010).

“An indictment must allege all of the essential elements of the crime sought to be charged.” State v. Ledwell, 171 N.C.App. 328, 331, 614 S.E.2d 412, 414 (citation and quotation marks omitted), disc. rev. denied,360 N.C. 73, 622 S.E.2d 624 (2005). “The essential elements of larceny are that the defendant (1) took the property of another; (2) carried it away; (3) without the owner's consent; and (4) with the intent to permanently deprive the owner of the property.” State v. Justice, –––N.C. ––––, ––––, 723 S.E.2d 798, 801 (2012) (citation, quotation marks, and brackets omitted). [A]n indictment for larceny which fails to allege the ownership of the property either in a natural person or a legal entity capable of owning property is defective.” State v. Abbott, 217 N.C.App. 614, 617, 720 S.E.2d 437, 440 (2011) (citation and quotation marks omitted).

Here, the indictment alleged two owners of the stolen property—Andy Stephens and Manna Baptist Church. Andy Stephens is a natural person, but the indictment does not allege that Manna Baptist Church is a legal entity capable of owning property. Failure to include such an allegation is normally fatal to the indictment. See State v. Cathey, 162 N.C.App. 350, 353, 590 S.E.2d 408, 410 (2004). The inclusion of Pastor Stephens as co-owner does not cure the omission here.

Where an indictment alleges two owners of the stolen property, the State must prove that each owner had at least some property interest in it. See State v. Greene, 289 N.C. 578, 585, 223 S.E.2d 365, 370 (1976) (“If the person alleged in the indictment to have a property interest in the stolen property is not the owner or special owner of it, there is a fatal variance entitling defendant to a nonsuit.”); State v. Burgess, 74 N.C. 272, 273 (1876) (“If one is charged with stealing the property of A, it will not do to prove that he stole the joint property of A and B.”); State v. Hill, 79 N.C. 656, 659 (1878) (holding that where an indictment alleges multiple owners, the State must prove that there were in fact multiple owners). If one of the owners were incapable of owning property, the State necessarily would be unable to prove that both alleged owners had a property interest. Therefore, where...

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10 cases
  • State v. Campbell
    • United States
    • North Carolina Court of Appeals
    • February 6, 2018
    ...in our first opinion and the Supreme Court's reversal of that decision on discretionary review. State v. Campbell , 234 N.C.App. 551, 759 S.E.2d 380 (2014) (" Campbell COA I "), rev'd and remanded , 368 N.C. 83, 772 S.E.2d 440 (2015) (" Campbell SC I "). On remand, in our second unanimous o......
  • State v. Campbell
    • United States
    • North Carolina Court of Appeals
    • October 20, 2015
    ...on issues (1) and (2) and therefore failed to address defendant's remaining arguments. State v. Campbell, –––N.C.App. ––––, ––––, 759 S.E.2d 380, 387 (2014). But on 11 June 2015, on discretionary review, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed this Court's decision and held that (1) the l......
  • State v. Campbell
    • United States
    • North Carolina Court of Appeals
    • October 20, 2015
    ...on issues (1) and (2) and therefore failed to address defendant's remaining arguments. State v. Campbell, ___ N.C. App. ___, ___, 759 S.E.2d 380, 387 (2014). But on 11 June 2015, on discretionary review, the North Carolina Supreme Court reversed this Court's decision and held that (1) the l......
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    • North Carolina Court of Appeals
    • April 18, 2017
    ...any building that is a place of religious worship [3] with intent to commit any felony or larceny therein." State v. Campbell , 234 N.C.App. 551, 557, 759 S.E.2d 380, 384 (2014) (citation omitted), rev'd on other grounds , 368 N.C. 83, 772 S.E.2d 440 (2015).As an initial matter, it is impor......
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