State v. Elmore
| Decision Date | 06 October 1994 |
| Docket Number | No. 507A93,507A93 |
| Citation | 448 S.E.2d 501,337 N.C. 789 |
| Court | North Carolina Supreme Court |
| Parties | STATE of North Carolina v. William ELMORE. |
Michael F. Easley, Atty. Gen. by Mary D. Winstead, Associate Atty. Gen., for the State.
Malcolm Ray Hunter, Jr., Appellate Defender, by Staples Hughes, Asst. Appellate Defender, for defendant-appellant.
The defendant William Elmore was tried noncapitally at the 17 May 1993 Criminal Session of Superior Court, Wake County, for murder in the first degree and discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. The jury returned a verdict finding the defendant guilty of first-degree murder based on both the theory of premeditation and deliberation and the felony murder theory. The jury also found him guilty of discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle. The trial court imposed a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment for the first-degree murder conviction and continued prayer for judgment on the discharging a firearm conviction. The defendant does not seek to appeal his conviction for discharging a firearm into an occupied vehicle.
The State's evidence tended to show the following:
During the afternoon of 30 March 1991, Bruce Thomas and the victim, William Green, drank gin and smoked cocaine. That evening Thomas drove both of them in the victim's van to East Street in Raleigh, where they intended to trade the victim's shotgun for more cocaine.
When Thomas stopped on East Street, the defendant and Travis Porter approached the van. The victim and Thomas told the defendant and Porter that they wanted cocaine. The defendant replied that he had cocaine and, after some discussion, he gave the two a sample to smoke. The victim and Thomas asked whether the defendant had anything better and the defendant replied that he did. The victim showed the defendant the shotgun he wanted to trade for the cocaine. The defendant asked if they had any pistols and they responded that they did not. The defendant then left, presumably to get the other cocaine. Porter remained at the van during the ten minutes or so that the defendant was gone.
When the defendant reappeared across the street from the van, he was carrying a gun wrapped in a towel. He dropped the towel and shouted to the victim and Thomas to open the door and drop all their money and belongings out of the van. The defendant shot once or twice as he walked toward the van and then shot two or three times into the van once he reached it. The defendant and others at the scene fled. The victim Green died from a gunshot wound to the neck.
In the days following the shooting, the defendant learned that the victim had died and that the police were looking for him. He left North Carolina for Atlanta, Georgia, where his mother lived. He moved five or six times after arriving in Atlanta. He also obtained false identification and lived under the alias Robert Winslow because he knew the police were looking for him.
The F.B.I. became involved in the search for the defendant because a federal warrant for the defendant charging him with unlawful flight to avoid prosecution had been issued. On 12 May 1992, Agent Green of the F.B.I. arrested the defendant in Atlanta. Upon his arrest the defendant gave a false name but shortly afterwards confessed his true identity. Agent Green processed the defendant in Atlanta and subsequently had him transported back to Raleigh.
The defendant testified on his own behalf and stated that he fired the gun in defense of himself and Travis Porter. Much of his testimony coincided with the State's evidence except for his testimony regarding the events immediately surrounding the shooting. He testified that he left the area where the van was parked and got a gun after Porter got into an argument with the victim and Thomas. When he approached the van on his return, he saw the shotgun pointed first at Porter and then at him. In fear, he responded by shooting several times in the direction of the van. The other witnesses, including Porter, contradicted his account.
In his only assignment of error, the defendant contends that the trial court erred by failing to sustain his objection and grant his motion to strike certain testimony by Agent Green. At trial, Agent Green testified regarding his apprehension and processing of the defendant in Atlanta on the unlawful flight charge. The following portion of his testimony is at issue:
On our transportation to the office, I again advised him of...
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State v. Walker
...court to admit testimony relating to a defendant's exercise of his right to remain silent and to request counsel. State v. Elmore, 337 N.C. 789, 792, 448 S.E.2d 501, 502 (1994). Such an error requires the defendant be granted a new trial unless it can be shown the error was harmless beyond ......
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State v. Graham
...I had done that, I might as well — Q. My question was, did you go and do it? A. No ma'am. Defendant, relying on State v. Elmore, 337 N.C. 789, 792, 448 S.E.2d 501, 502-03 (1994) (holding that police testimony containing a brief and indirect mention of the defendant's silence during police q......
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State v. Rashidi
...rights to remain silent and to request counsel during interrogation may not be used against him at trial." State v. Elmore, 337 N.C. 789, 792, 448 S.E.2d 501, 502 (1994) (citation omitted). "[A] defendant must be permitted to invoke [his Fifth Amendment right to counsel] with the assurance ......
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State v. Bishop
...against her by the State at trial. State v. Ladd, 308 N.C. 272, 283-84, 302 S.E.2d 164, 171-72 (1983); see also State v. Elmore, 337 N.C. 789, 792, 448 S.E.2d 501, 502 (1994). However, even when a defendant objects, this constitutional error will not merit a new trial where the State shows ......