State v. Pressley

• Decision Date: 19 August 2014
• Docket Number: No. COA13–1248.,COA13–1248.
• Citation: 762 S.E.2d 374
• Court: North Carolina Court of Appeals
• Parties: STATE of North Carolina v. Anthony PRESSLEY.

762 S.E.2d 374

STATE of North Carolina

v.Anthony PRESSLEY.

No. COA13–1248.

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

Aug. 19, 2014.

Appeal by defendant from judgments entered 11 June 2013 by Judge W. Erwin Spainhour in Rowan County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 6 March 2014.

Roy Cooper, Attorney General, by Hal F. Askins, Special Deputy Attorney General, for the State.

Gilda C. Rodriguez for defendant-appellant.

DAVIS, Judge.

Anthony Pressley (“Defendant”) appeals from judgments entered upon a jury verdict finding him guilty of two counts of failure to register as a sex offender pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.11, based on his listing of a false address on forms submitted to law enforcement officers following his release from prison. Defendant argues on appeal that the trial court (1) erred in denying his motion to dismiss based on the State's failure to show that one of the forms containing false information was actually required by law to be submitted; (2) committed plain error in failing to instruct the jury regarding the statutorily designated intervals at which such forms must be submitted; and (3) erred in denying his motion to dismiss based on his contention that he was charged twice for the same offense. After careful review, we conclude that Defendant received a fair trial free from error.

Factual Background

The State's evidence at trial tended to establish the following facts: Defendant was previously found guilty in Rowan County Superior Court of taking indecent liberties with a child. He was sentenced to a term of 19–23 months imprisonment and was released from prison on 23 April 2012. Pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.7, Defendant—as a convicted sex offender—was required to provide, upon his release from prison, a signed form to the sheriff of his county of residence containing, inter alia, the following information:

The person's full name, each alias, date of birth, sex, race, height, weight, eye color, hair color, drivers license number, and home address.

N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.7(b)(1) (2013) (emphasis added).

Upon his release from prison on 23 April 2012, Defendant registered with the Rowan County Sheriff's Office, listing his residence on the form as 364 Culbertson Estate's Drive, Woodleaf, North Carolina, which was the address of his mother's home. On 4 June 2012, at the written direction of the State Bureau of Investigation, Defendant signed an additional verification of information form, continuing to list this same address.

On 3 July 2012, David Allen (“Chief Allen”), the Chief of Police for the Town of

Cleveland, North Carolina, was investigating an unrelated case and came to the 364 Culbertson Estate's Drive residence to interview Defendant. Chief Allen spoke with Joseph Nathan Rankin (“Rankin”), Defendant's stepfather, who informed him that Defendant did not live there.

On 23 July 2012, Chief Allen again spoke with Rankin, who provided a written statement that Defendant (1) did not live at 364 Culbertson Estate's Drive; (2) had used that address on the forms because he “needed an address to provide”; and (3) “ha[d] only spent the night at [the] house one time since he was released from prison.” Rankin later clarified that Defendant had stayed with him and Defendant's mother at the residence for two days between 23 April 2012, the date of his release from prison, and 23 July 2012, the date of Rankin's statement.

Chief Allen also spoke with James Alonzo Lewis, who signed a statement indicating that Defendant had lived with him at 106 Crowder Street in Cleveland, North Carolina “for about three months” after his release from prison but subsequently left the residence after a dispute over bills. In addition, Chief Allen talked with Latisha Vaughan, who provided a written statement attesting to the fact that Defendant “started staying at [her] apartment near the end of May 2012” and moved out in August of 2012.

On 29 October 2012, Defendant was indicted on two counts of failure to register as a sex offender pursuant to N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.11 with regard to the signed forms he submitted on 23 April 2012 and on 4 June 2012. A jury trial was held on 11 June 2013 in Rowan County Superior Court. The jury convicted Defendant on both counts, and the trial court entered judgments upon the jury verdicts. Defendant was sentenced to two consecutive sentences of 23–37 months imprisonment. Defendant gave notice of appeal in open court.

Analysis

I. Denial of Motion to Dismiss Based on State's Failure to Prove That Submission of 4 June 2012 Verification Form Was Required by Statute

The trial court's denial of a motion to dismiss is reviewed de novo on appeal. State v. Smith, 186 N.C.App. 57, 62, 650 S.E.2d 29, 33 (2007). “Upon defendant's motion for dismissal, the question for the Court is whether there is substantial evidence (1) of each essential element of the offense charged, or of a lesser offense included therein, and (2) of defendant's being the perpetrator of such offense. If so, the motion is properly denied.” State v. Fritsch, 351 N.C. 373, 378, 526 S.E.2d 451, 455 (citations and quotations omitted), cert. denied,531 U.S. 890, 121 S.Ct. 213, 148 L.Ed.2d 150 (2000).

Defendant initially contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss because the State failed to prove that the 4 June 2012 verification form he submitted was “required” by statute. We disagree.

Defendant was charged with violating N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.11, which is a part of North Carolina's Sex Offender Registration Act (“the Act”), codified at N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.5 et seq.N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.9A provides that, beginning on the date of his initial registration and every six months thereafter, a person required to register under the Act must submit a verification form to the sheriff of his county of residence within three business days of receiving it. The form must be signed and must indicate, among other things, “[w]hether the person still resides at the address last reported to the sheriff. If the person has a different address, then the person shall indicate that fact and the new address.” N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.9A (2013). The statute Defendant was charged with violating, N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.11, further states, in pertinent part, that:

A person required by this Article to register who willfully does any of the following is guilty of a Class F felony:

....

(4) Forges or submits under false pretenses the information or verification notices required under this Article.

N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.11(a)(4) (2013).

Defendant does not argue that the address he listed on the 23 April 2012 and 4 June 2012 forms was correct. Rather, he contends that the 4 June 2012 form was not required to be submitted under N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.9A because, under that statute, verification forms must only be submitted every six months subsequent to the date of the initial registration form.

Defendant's argument, while novel, lacks merit. The clear and unambiguous purpose of the Act is

to assist law enforcement agencies' efforts to protect communities by requiring persons who are convicted of sex offenses or of certain other offenses committed against minors to register with law enforcement agencies, to require the exchange of relevant information about those offenders among law enforcement agencies, and to authorize the access to necessary and relevant information about those offenders to others as provided in this Article.

N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.5 (2013).

As a part of this statutory scheme, N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.9A is intended to ensure that law enforcement officers possess complete and accurate information as to the addresses of convicted sex offenders living in North Carolina. This intent is reinforced by N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.9A(b), which provides, in relevant part, as follows:

Additional Verification May Be Required.—During the period that an offender is required to be registered under this Article, the sheriff is authorized to attempt to verify that the offender continues to reside at the address last registered by the offender.

N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.9A(b).

The only rational reading of N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.11 is that it criminalizes the provision of false or misleading information on forms submitted pursuant to the Act—regardless of when these forms are submitted. The schedule of deadlines set out in N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.9A is simply designed to provide a reliable timetable for the filing of verification forms. The inclusion of this schedule in N.C. Gen.Stat. § 14–208.9A does not excuse the provision of false information on...