State v. Faggart
| Decision Date | 04 April 2023 |
| Docket Number | COA22-798 |
| Parties | STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. TORRIAN KANE FAGGART, Defendant |
| Court | North Carolina Court of Appeals |
An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.
Heard in the Court of Appeals 7 March 2023.
Appeal by defendant from judgment entered 3 February 2022 by Judge Richard S. Gottlieb in Forsyth County Superior Court No. 18 CRS 57956.
Attorney General Joshua H. Stein, by Special Deputy Attorney General Mary Carla Babb, for the State.
Anne Bleyman for Defendant-Appellant.
Torrian Kane Faggart ("Defendant") appeals from judgment after a jury convicted him of first-degree felony murder. On appeal, Defendant argues the trial court committed prejudicial error by excluding jury instructions on: (1) first-degree murder, under the theory of premeditation and deliberation; (2) second-degree murder; and (3) voluntary manslaughter. Defendant further argues the indictment, which purported to charge him with first-degree murder, was fatally defective, violating his constitutional rights and depriving the trial court of jurisdiction. After careful review, we discern no error.
The State's evidence presented at trial tended to show the following: On the afternoon of 25 August 2018, Defendant shot and killed Timothy Ford ("Mr. Ford") on the porch of Mr. Ford's Cleveland Homes apartment in Winston-Salem. In 2015 or 2016, Defendant began dating Nasharae King ("Ms. King"), with whom he shared a residence and had a son. Defendant and Ms. King lived about five to seven minutes from Mr. Ford's apartment. Ms. King is the daughter of Shannon Mitchell ("Ms. Mitchell"), who was in a dating relationship with Mr. Ford at the time of his death.
Ms. Mitchell testified as a witness for the State. Ms. Mitchell met Defendant soon after Ms. King began dating him, and Ms. Mitchell was aware that Mr. Ford knew Ms. King and Defendant. Before 25 August 2018, Ms. Mitchell had never seen Defendant at Mr. Ford's apartment.
According to Ms. Mitchell, Defendant obtained a handgun; thereafter his demeanor changed, and he "became very cocky." Since the time Defendant obtained the handgun, Ms. Mitchell observed Defendant openly carry the handgun in a holster on his hip every time she saw him. Ms. Mitchell could not remember the date or month when Defendant began to carry the gun.
On 25 August 2018, Mr. Ford arrived home from work "a little before 3:00 [p.m.]" and had a conversation with Ms. Mitchell about Defendant. Mr. Ford and Ms. Mitchell walked to the nearby convenience store to purchase beer. When they returned from the store, Ms. Mitchell called Ms. King about the conversation she had with Mr. Ford regarding Defendant. Ms. Mitchell told Ms. King that she was concerned about Ms. King's relationship with Defendant because "[Defendant] was chasing women" in his vehicle. Ms. Mitchell told Ms. King that she "needed to take care of herself and be aware of what was going on." Ms. King did not immediately respond but stayed on the phone; when she finally responded to Ms. Mitchell, Ms. King stated she "fussed [Defendant] out." Ms. Mitchell testified Ms. King was ranting, raving, and venting on their phone call. Ms. Mitchell then asked Ms. King about Defendant's location, and Ms. King replied that Defendant had left their home.
Shortly thereafter, Ms. Mitchell was standing on the porch of Mr. Ford's apartment-still on the phone with Ms. King-when Ms. Mitchell noticed a Jeep SUV driving down the street outside Mr. Ford's apartment. Ms. Mitchell observed Defendant "with his arm out the passenger window," making a hand gesture resembling a shooting gun.
Ms. Mitchell stated to Ms. King through the phone, and to Mr. Ford who was sitting in the living room drinking a beer: Mr. Ford got up and said, Ms. Mitchell walked from the front door to the back door, expecting the vehicle to pass by, but she did not see the vehicle pass by. As Ms. Mitchell came from the front door, Mr. Ford walked to the front door from the living room.
Ms. Mitchell testified that Mr. Ford did not seem upset nor was he "act[ing] as if something was getting ready to happen." Ms. Mitchell heard the front door open as Mr. Ford went outside. She did not hear any voices or conversation. Soon after the front door opened, Ms. Mitchell heard multiple gunshots as she stood in the kitchen. Ms. Mitchell then heard Mr. Ford telling her to call for an ambulance because Defendant shot him. Ms. Mitchell applied pressure to a gunshot wound on Mr. Ford's chest, and 911 was called. She noticed Mr. Ford's big toe appeared as though "a bullet had grazed" it, and she saw "a lot of blood."
Ms. Mitchell further testified that Mr. Ford did not carry a weapon but likely owned a BB gun, which he kept inside his apartment. On the day of the incident, she did not see Mr. Ford with a weapon.
Officer Adam Burak of the Winston-Salem Police Department's ("WSPD") patrol division also testified for the State. Officer Burak responded to Mr. Ford's apartment on 17th Street in reference to a report of a male being shot. He initially provided first aid to Mr. Ford. Five minutes after Officer Burak's arrival, emergency medical services arrived to provide aid to Mr. Ford. Officer Burak then walked outside to the front porch and found a single shell from a firearm. He did not move or touch the casing in order to preserve the evidence for processing. Officer Burak did not find any firearms or other weapons in the residence. During the crime scene investigation that day, a forensic services technician of the WSPD found a BB gun "propped up in the [front] corner of the living room," near the porch.
Mr. Ford's apartment complex, as part of the Winston-Salem Housing Authority's (the "Housing Authority") public housing development portfolio, had working exterior cameras on the date of the shooting. WSPD officers downloaded recordings from the date of the shooting, taken from multiple cameras and different angles. The surveillance videos were admitted into evidence and played for the jury. WSPD Detective Sean Flynn ("Detective Flynn") testified he "[did not] see a 'struggle'" in the video footage.
On the same day of the shooting, the WSPD identified the owner of the Jeep as Justin Miles Daniels ("Mr. Daniels"). Officers ran the registration, obtained an address, and responded to that location. When the officers arrived at the home, the Jeep was parked in the driveway and two passengers, including Mr. Daniels in the driver's seat, were inside the vehicle. Officers found an AR-15 rifle, which they did not believe was the weapon used in the shooting. Upon request, Mr. Daniels voluntarily turned over his cell phone to the officers. Mr. Daniels stated his communications with Defendant were deleted from his phone that day, and the WSPD confirmed all information on the phone had been deleted. Law enforcement unsuccessfully searched for Defendant and for Defendant's vehicle.
Mr. Ford was transported to the local hospital where he passed away. The autopsy report revealed Mr. Ford sustained, inter alia, gunshot wounds to the chest and each thigh, and a grazing wound to the big toe on his left foot. Mr. Ford's death was caused by acute blood loss resulting from gunshot wounds to the extremities. Mr. Ford was reported as weighing 166 pounds and measuring five feet, eight inches tall at the time of his death.
On 2 September 2018, Defendant turned himself in to the WSPD. At that time, Defendant presented a typed and signed statement to Detective Flynn. In the statement, Defendant described his relationship with Mr. Ford, and he recounted the incident as follows:
At trial, Defendant testified on his own behalf. He was twenty-one years old, about 135 pounds, and five feet, eight inches tall in August 2018. Defendant obtained his concealed carry permit in November 2017, following his...
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