State v. Grigsby, No. 364PA99.

• Decision Date: 07 April 2000
• Docket Number: No. 364PA99.
• Citation: 526 S.E.2d 460
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Craig Darryl GRIGSBY.
• Court: North Carolina Supreme Court

526 S.E.2d 460

STATE of North Carolina v. Craig Darryl GRIGSBY.

No. 364PA99.

Supreme Court of North Carolina.

April 7, 2000.

Michael F. Easley, Attorney General, by Laura E. Crumpler and Donald R. Esposito, Jr., Assistant Attorneys General, for the State-appellant.

Nora Henry Hargrove, Wilmington, for defendant-appellee.

FREEMAN, Justice.

On 14 April 1997 defendant was indicted on charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and attempted robbery with a dangerous weapon. A jury found defendant guilty as charged. On 30 October 1997 defendant was sentenced to 133 to 169 months' incarceration for the assault conviction and to 117 to 150 months' incarceration for the robbery conviction, to run consecutively. The Court of Appeals concluded that each element of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury was supported by evidence in the record but that the evidence was insufficient as to defendant's intent to kill. It accordingly vacated defendant's conviction of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and ordered the case be remanded for entry of a guilty verdict on the lesser included offense. State v. Grigsby, 134 N.C.App. 315, 517 S.E.2d 195 (1999). We reverse and remand for reinstatement of the conviction and judgment entered by the trial court on 30 October 1997.

The victim, David Love, testified that around 7:00 a.m. on 10 January 1996 he arrived at TGI Friday's restaurant in Wilmington, North Carolina, where he worked as assistant general manager. He heard a buzzer from the locked back door of the restaurant and let in a beer salesman to check inventory. Some time later, Love heard the buzzer sound again, and, assuming it was the salesman, he unlocked and opened the door. He was immediately grabbed by his hands and thrown to his knees. His assailant, whom he later identified as defendant, appeared to be very agitated and started yelling and repeatedly demanding to know how many people were in the building and how much money was there. Defendant began tying Love's hands with duct tape, and Love told defendant not to hurt him, that he would give him whatever he wanted. Leaving Love on his knees with his hands bound, defendant put down the knife he had carried in with him and went over to a bag and pulled out a can of lighter fluid, threatening to burn Love if he did not get what he wanted.¹

At this point, Love, who had been robbed before, noted defendant had made no attempt to disguise himself and began to fear for his life: "[I]f you're going to rob a place and you've got a deadly weapon with you, you[`d] better cover your face up unless you're not planning on leaving any witnesses." Love figured he would "rather be stabbed to death than burned to death" and lunged for the knife while defendant was pulling the can of lighter fluid from his bag. Defendant then jumped onto Love's back, but Love had a firm grip on the knife, which was an "assault-type" knife with finger holes. Love started "wailing [sic] away" at defendant with the knife and was certain he had stabbed defendant. Defendant then started running for the back door; but Love, who thought defendant might have another knife or gun under his coat, managed to stab him once more in the back or shoulder. Defendant then fled out the back door. Love discovered shortly afterwards that he, too, had been stabbed and his lung punctured. He later surmised that, although he had held the knife the entire time after defendant put it down, he had been cut when defendant jumped on his back and grabbed his arms. Love said that the entire episode took only about five minutes, and the struggle itself less than a minute, but he felt nothing but "total fear." Although Love was offering to give defendant whatever he wanted, defendant was not listening to him, but was "like a machine."

An acquaintance of defendant's later testified that during the preceding year defendant had asked him if he knew where to find a gun. About a week before the robbery, defendant asked the witness, who had babysat for defendant's sister, if he knew how to drive from the restaurant to Hampstead, where defendant's sister lived. He had also accompanied defendant to a pawnshop to buy a knife (different from that used in the robbery), which the witness later gave away.

Another witness testified that during the same two-week period in early January 1996 when the robbery occurred and while defendant had been staying at his sister's, defendant asked where he could get a gun. The witness did not know, and said so, and that was the end of the matter. But when the witness saw defendant shortly after the scuffle with Love, defendant remarked to him that "if [he] had had a gun, [he] would have gotten away with it."

The only issue before this Court is whether the evidence was sufficient as to defendant's intent to kill to withstand defendant's motion to dismiss the charge of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. The elements of this charge are (1) an assault, (2) with a deadly weapon, (3) an intent to kill, and (4) infliction of a serious injury not resulting in death. State v. James, 321 N.C. 676, 687, 365 S.E.2d 579, 586 (1988). In order to withstand a motion to dismiss this charge, the State must present "substantial evidence" of each element. Id. "...