Opinion ID: 1325158
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: felonious breaking or entering.

Text: Felony murder includes murder committed in the perpetration or attempted perpetration of any arson, rape or a sex offense, robbery, kidnapping, burglary, or other felony committed or attempted with the use of a deadly weapon. N.C. G.S. § 14-17 (1986) (emphasis added). Defendants argue that because the initial breaking into Dr. Abbate's office was not accomplished with a deadly weapon, the breaking or entering may not serve as an underlying felony on which to predicate a felony murder conviction. We agree. In State v. Fields, 315 N.C. 191, 337 S.E.2d 518, this Court addressed the question of whether N.C.G.S. § 14-17 requires that a defendant effectuate the other felony with a deadly weapon or whether mere possession of the deadly weapon during the commission of the predicate felony satisfies the elements of the statute. In Fields, the defendant, while possessing a .38-caliber pistol, broke into a homeowner's storage shed. When a neighbor came by to investigate, defendant shot and killed him with the pistol. This Court upheld defendant's conviction of felony murder and held that the homicide was effected during the perpetration of a felony committed with the use of a deadly weapon. Id. at 200, 337 S.E.2d at 523. In response to defendant's contention that he did not use a weapon to accomplish the breaking into the storage shed, the Fields Court observed: We hold that possession is enough, and the defendant is guilty of felony murder, even if the weapon is not physically used to actually commit the felony. If the defendant has brought the weapon along, he has at least a psychological use for it: it may bolster his confidence, steel his nerve, allay fears of his apprehension. Even under circumstances where the weapon is never used, it functions as a backup, an inanimate accomplice that can cover for the defendant if he is interrupted. Id. at 199, 337 S.E.2d at 523. In the present case, the State concedes that defendants did not use a deadly weapon to accomplish the breaking into Dr. Abbate's office. Moreover, there is no evidence that defendants even possessed a deadly weapon when they broke into Dr. Abbate's office. Thus, the State failed to prove possession of a deadly weapon at the time of the felonious breaking or entering. Accordingly, that felony may not be used as a predicate to a felony murder charge.