Defendant was indicted on 3 March 1997 for murder, four counts of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, felonious impaired driving, driving with his license revoked, driving left of center, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of an open container. As part of a plea bargain, defendant subsequently pled guilty to all charges except murder and the assaults. The trial court accepted his plea and entered prayer for judgment continued until the remaining charges were adjudicated. The defendant was then tried at the 16 March 1998 Session of the Durham CountySuperior Court for the murder and assaults. On 16 April 1998, the jury returned a verdict finding defendant guilty of three counts of assault with a deadly weapon, one count of assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury, and first degree murder under the felony murder rule.
Defendant now appeals.
Defendant first contends that the State violated its plea agreement with him. To fully understand defendant's argument, we must briefly summarize how the State proceeded against defendant for felony murder. Defendant entered into a plea agreement purporting to limit the underlying felonies the State could use at trial. The State then proceeded at trial using the four assaults as the underlying felonies for first degree murder. 19 N.C. App.