State v. Campbell

• Decision Date: 06 February 2018
• Docket Number: No. COA 13-1404-3,COA 13-1404-3
• Citation: 810 S.E.2d 803,257 N.C.App. 739
• Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Thomas Craig CAMPBELL, Defendant.

257 N.C.App. 739

810 S.E.2d 803

STATE of North Carolina

v.Thomas Craig CAMPBELL, Defendant.

No. COA 13-1404-3

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

Filed: February 6, 2018

Attorney General Joshua H. Stein, by Assistant Attorney General Allison A. Angell and Assistant Attorney General Teresa M. Postell, for the State.

Appellate Defender Glenn Gerding, by Assistant Appellate Defender Jason Christopher Yoder, Assistant Appellate Defender Barbara S. Blackmon, and Assistant Appellate Defender Hannah Hall Love, for defendant-appellant.

STROUD, Judge.

This is now the third time this appeal has been considered by this Court. To briefly recap, defendant Thomas Craig Campbell ("defendant") appealed from a judgment entered on a jury verdict finding him guilty of breaking or entering a place of religious worship with intent to commit a larceny therein and larceny after breaking or entering. Defendant raised six issues in his appeal, arguing that (1) the indictment for larceny was fatally defective because it failed to allege that Manna Baptist Church was an entity capable of owning property; (2) insufficient evidence supports his conviction for breaking or entering a place of religious worship with intent to commit a larceny therein; (3) he was deprived of effective assistance of counsel, because his counsel failed to object to the admission of evidence that defendant had committed a separate breaking or entering offense; (4) the trial court erred in failing to dismiss the larceny charge due to a fatal variance as to the ownership of the property; (5) insufficient evidence supports his larceny conviction; and (6) the trial court violated his constitutional right to a unanimous jury verdict regarding the larceny charge.

Issues (1) and (2) were addressed 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 opinion, this Court disagreed with defendant on Issue (3) but agreed with defendant on Issue (4). State v. Campbell , 243 N.C.App. 563, 777 S.E.2d 525 (2015) (" Campbell COA II "), review allowed in part , 368 N.C. 904, 794 S.E.2d 800 (2016) (" Campbell SC review of COA II allowed "), and rev'd and remanded , 369 N.C. 599, 799 S.E.2d 600 (2017) (" Campbell SC II "). On discretionary review, the Supreme Court once again remanded the matter to this Court, not on any substantive grounds but rather "for an independent assessment of whether that court need and should invoke its discretion under Rule 2 of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure in order to reach the merits of one of defendant's substantive issues on appeal." Campbell SC II , 369 N.C. 599, 799 S.E.2d at 601.

In this opinion, as the Supreme Court directed, we reiterate why we have once again chosen to invoke our discretion under Rule 2 to address defendant's arguments regarding Issue (4). In invoking our discretion under Rule 2 to reach the merits of defendant's arguments regarding Issue (4), we hold that the trial court erred in failing to dismiss the larceny charge due to a fatal variance between the indictment and evidence regarding ownership of the missing property. We also address Issues (5) and (6) in the interest of judicial economy.

I. Background

i. Factual Background

Because the Supreme Court remanded the matter to this Court on procedural grounds and no additional factual background is needed, we directly quote the underlying facts as stated in our prior opinions:

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 [Stevens] 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 [Stevens] 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 [Stevens] found a wallet in the baptistery changing area that contained a driver's license belonging to defendant.

Pastor [Stevens] 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 [Stevens] admitted that the church door had been left unlocked overnight before. Pastor [Stevens] said that the secretary did not notice anything amiss on Thursday morning.

After Pastor [Stevens] 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, "[T]his 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 [fifty-one-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 [ North Carolina Rule of Evidence 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 [of] imprisonment, suspended for 24 months of supervised probation, and an active term of 140 days in jail. Defendant gave timely written notice of appeal.

Campbell COA II , 243 N.C.App. 563, 777 S.E.2d at 527-28 (quoting Campbell COA I , 234 N.C.App. at 552-55, 759 S.E.2d at 382-83 (first alteration in original) ).

ii. Procedural Background on Remand

We first note that...