State v. Carter, 479A01.

• Decision Date: 22 August 2003
• Docket Number: No. 479A01.,479A01.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina, v. Shan CARTER.

584 S.E.2d 792

357 N.C. 345

STATE of North Carolina, v. Shan CARTER.

No. 479A01.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

August 22, 2003.

Roy Cooper, Attorney General, by Joan M. Cunningham, Assistant Attorney General, for the State.

Edwin L. West, III, Wilmington, for defendant-appellant.

MARTIN, Justice.

On 24 February 1997, Shan Carter (defendant) was indicted for the first-degree murders of Tyrone Baker and Demetrius Greene. He was also subsequently indicted for discharging a firearm into occupied property, in violation of N.C.G.S. § 14-34.1, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, in violation of N.C.G.S. § 14-415.1. Defendant was tried capitally at the 5 February 2001 session of Superior Court, New Hanover County. The jury found defendant guilty on all counts. Defendant's conviction of the first-degree murder of Baker was based on a theory of premeditation and deliberation. Defendant's conviction of the first-degree murder of Greene was based on a theory of premeditation and deliberation under the doctrine of transferred intent, and was also based on the felony murder rule with Baker's murder serving as the underlying felony. Following a capital sentencing proceeding, the jury recommended a sentence of death for each murder. The trial court entered judgment accordingly. The trial court also entered consecutive sentences of forty-six to sixty-five months for discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle and twenty to twenty-four months for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Defendant gave notice of appeal pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-27(a).

The evidence admitted at the guilt-innocence proceeding tended to show the following: Defendant has been convicted several times of illegal drug possession and sale. In late 1996, defendant was involved in a number of break-ins and burglaries in Wilmington, North Carolina, including one at the home of Keith Lamont Richardson and one at the home of a victim in the instant case, Tyrone Baker. Defendant, K'Wada Temony, and Damont White were all involved in the burglary of Baker's home, which resulted in the theft of approximately $35,000 in cash. At one point, defendant referred to this $35,000 as "death money." No evidence was admitted as to what, if anything, defendant may have stolen from Richardson. Richardson and Baker each eventually confronted defendant and his cohorts. One of these confrontations led to the convictions in the instant case.

Sometime near the end of November 1996, Baker kidnapped White and took him to Baker's apartment. Baker assaulted and threatened White in an attempt to discover the location of the missing $35,000. Baker then released White, who discussed the incident with Temony and defendant and alerted them that Baker was searching for those who had taken his money. In early February 1997, Richardson learned that defendant was the person who had broken into his home. Richardson subsequently saw defendant on the street and angrily confronted him about the break-in. During the confrontation, defendant drew a chrome .357 caliber revolver and Richardson fled. Defendant fired several shots, wounding Richardson's arm.

The instant charges stem from events occurring on the afternoon of 16 February 1997. On that afternoon, defendant and Temony were riding in defendant's car. They stopped near a crowd of ten to fifteen people gathered in front of a grocery store located at the intersection of 10th and Dawson Streets in Wilmington. A number of residents were out on the neighborhood streets that day. Defendant and Temony exited the car; defendant began conducting drug transactions. Baker was also near this intersection, having visited a friend's house across the street from the grocery store and a nearby barber shop.

Defendant apparently did not notice Baker approach the crowd. Defendant first became aware of Baker's presence when Baker attacked Temony, knocking him to the ground. Baker then approached defendant menacingly, with a jacket slung over his arm, concealing his hand. According to eyewitnesses, Baker was unarmed. Defendant claimed at trial that although he could not see a weapon, he feared Baker was armed and reacted in self-defense. Defendant testified: "I didn't want to shoot first, I wanted to go ahead ... and do what I had to do before [Baker] did it to me. So I went ahead and pulled my gun out and I shot at him." As Baker approached, defendant retreated, pulled a chrome .357 caliber revolver from under his jacket, and began shooting. Defendant testified that he pointed his gun towards the ground and intended only to force Baker away so that defendant could get to his car and leave. Defendant also testified that he did not intend to kill Baker and did not know at the time of the shooting whether any of the bullets actually hit Baker. After defendant fired the first shot, Baker turned and ran around the corner, moving down 10th Street. According to defendant, "[Baker] ran and I went behind him shooting at him."

D'April Greene and her three children lived in a housing project near 10th and Dawson. On 16 February 1997, D'April was gathering the children for a trip to the toy store. The trip was intended to reward the children for making good grades. Excited about the trip and anxious to ride in the front seat, D'April's eight-year-old son, Demetrius, ran ahead of the rest of his family. He ran across 10th Street and jumped into the front passenger seat of D'April's car, which was parked on 10th Street approximately one hundred feet south of the grocery store. As D'April and her other two children crossed the street towards the car, D'April began to hear "fussing" near the intersection of 10th and Dawson. This "fussing" was quickly followed by gunfire. D'April and other witnesses then saw Baker rounding the corner with defendant in pursuit.

As Baker ran down 10th Street, defendant followed him around the corner, continuing to fire between four and six shots. At some point, Baker ran in front of or near the Greene car in an attempt to cross 10th Street. During the course of the shooting, two of the bullets from defendant's revolver struck Baker, one in the leg and one in the torso. Baker staggered across the street, collapsed in a grassy area near the sidewalk, and died shortly thereafter. A stray bullet from defendant's revolver passed through the windshield of D'April Greene's car and struck Demetrius Greene in the head. Demetrius died shortly thereafter. Forensic evidence subsequently confirmed that the bullets that struck Baker and Greene all came from the same gun, most likely a revolver. Moreover, forensic evidence showed those bullets could not have been fired from a gun later found in Temony's possession.

Immediately after the shooting, defendant and Temony got into defendant's car and fled. They stopped briefly at defendant's home, abandoned defendant's car, and then went to a nearby motel. According to defendant, they spent the next two days in a motel room. Defendant claims he did not learn that Demetrius Greene had been killed until he saw the evening news. At some point, Temony disposed of defendant's revolver. Meanwhile, police interviewed D'April Greene and other witnesses and obtained an identification of defendant as the shooter. Police subsequently searched defendant's home and car. The officers found, among other things, gun holsters, drug trade paraphernalia, a shotgun, and some .357 caliber ammunition. On 18 February 1997, police received information that defendant had requested a taxicab at his motel. The officers used this opportunity to arrest defendant, sending a plain clothes officer to the motel to pose as a taxi driver. As the police arrived at the motel, defendant and Temony spotted them and ran. Defendant threw his jacket to the ground as he fled. After a brief foot chase, police arrested defendant and Temony.

Additional evidence admitted during the capital sentencing proceeding tended to show the following: In the early morning hours of 18 February 1997, two masked, armed intruders broke into an apartment on Ringo Drive in Wilmington and attacked Louis Tyson. The intruders forced Tyson to the floor and attempted to bind him with duct tape. The intruders beat Tyson while demanding money and then shot Tyson once in each leg. The intruders then fled. Paper dust masks and remnants of the duct tape were found at the scene. Defendant was linked to the Tyson attack by evidence that: (1) duct tape and paper dust masks matching those used during the Tyson attack were found in defendant's motel room after his arrest in the present case; (2) police found a shopping list, in defendant's handwriting, in the pocket of the jacket defendant dropped when fleeing the police, and among the items on the list were duct tape, masks, and gloves; and (3) bloodstains found on this same jacket were genetically matched to Tyson's blood.

Evidence was also introduced concerning the murder of Donald Brunson. In the early morning hours of 6 December 1996, two intruders broke into the house where Brunson lived. Ana Santiago, who was Brunson's girlfriend, and her son Carlos both lived with Brunson. The intruders awoke Brunson, Santiago, and Carlos at gunpoint and ordered them to lie down on the master bedroom floor. At some point, the intruders became angry. A shot was fired, and the intruders began beating Brunson. The intruders dragged Brunson to Carlos' room and continued to beat him until he was unconscious. Then they tied up all three victims. The intruders placed Brunson in Santiago's car and left, taking the car and Brunson with them. In the morning, the car was found near the local waste-water treatment plant. Brunson's nearly nude body was found nearby. He had died as a result of gunshot wounds to his back. Temony and defendant were charged in connection with the Brunson case after their arrest in the present case. In connection with the Brunson murder, Temony pled guilty to second-degree murder,...