Court Opinion

ID: 9855846
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:32:09.709549+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:37:12.972931
License: Public Domain

TIMMONS-GOODSON,
Judge, concurring in part and dissenting in part.
I agree with the holding of parts II and III of the majority opinion. However, because I disagree with the holding of part I of the majority opinion, I concur in part and dissent in part.
The evidence presented at trial tends to show that defendant fired a weapon at several law enforcement officers working in a “pretty crowded” area of Greenville at a typically crowded time. Two of defendant’s gunshots struck the Flying Salsa, a restaurant which had previously been open, but which was closed at the time of the shooting. In part I of its opinion, the majority determines that the State offered substantial evidence to support a conclusion that defendant had reasonable grounds to believe the restaurant was occupied at the time of the shooting. I disagree.
“The terms ‘more than a scintilla of evidence’ and ‘substantial evidence’ are in reality the same and simply mean that the evidence must be existing and real, not just seeming or imaginary.” State v. Powell, 299 N.C. 95, 99, 261 S.E.2d 114, 117 (1980). “If the evidence is sufficient only to raise a suspicion or conjecture as to either the commission of the offense or the identity of the defendant as the perpetrator of it, the motion to dismiss should be allowed[,] . . . even though the suspicion so aroused by the evidence is strong.” State v. Earnhardt, 307 N.C. 62, 66, 296 S.E.2d 649, 652 (1982) (citations omitted). “If the evidence presented is circumstantial, ‘the question for the court is whether a reasonable inference of [the] defendant’s guilt may be drawn from the circumstances.’ ” State v. Thomas, 296 N.C. 236, 244, 250 S.E.2d 204, 209 (1978) (quoting State v. Rowland, 263 N.C. 353, 358, 139 S.E.2d 661, 665 (1965)).
In the instant case, even when viewed in the light most favorable to the State, I am unable to conclude that the evidence supports a reasonable inference of defendant’s guilt. The majority deems it significant that some light was emanating from the Flying Salsa at the time of the shooting, and that the Flying Salsa was located in an area where other establishments were open until the early morning hours. Although I recognize that there was likely some light emanating from the restaurant, I note that Herring testified that the “lights were down” at the Flying Salsa at the time of the shooting, and that he was *249unable to completely shut the lights off. Herring also testified that his restaurant was a “new business,” and that it was not open at the time of the shooting. Herring stated that “no one came in” to the restaurant after the shooting, and on cross-examination, he recalled that he was about “mid-way back, probably six feet” when he heard the noise from the bullets striking the front of the restaurant.
After reviewing the record in the instant case, I am unable to conclude that a reasonable inference of defendant’s guilt may be drawn from the circumstances. Instead, I conclude that evidence tending to show that the Flying Salsa was dimly lit at a time and in an area that is typically crowded creates only a suspicion or conjecture that defendant had reasonable grounds to believe it was occupied. Therefore, because I am not convinced that the State satisfied its burden of demonstrating that defendant had reasonable grounds to believe that the restaurant was occupied at the time of the shooting, I dissent from that portion of the majority opinion holding that the trial court did not err by denying defendant’s motion to dismiss.