Opinion
No. COA14–1170.
05-05-2015
STATE of North Carolina v. Derrick Olando JOHNSON.
Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Special Deputy Attorney General Richard H. Bradford, for the State. Russell J. Hollers III, for defendant-appellant.
Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Special Deputy Attorney General Richard H. Bradford, for the State.
Russell J. Hollers III, for defendant-appellant.
TYSON, Judge.
Defendant appeals from a judgment entered upon the jury's conviction for discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling. We find no error.
I. Background
Defendant fired two shots into the side of his neighbor's home on 14 March 2011. Prior to the incident, the neighbor had hosted a cookout for her family. Defendant stopped by the cookout, appeared to be intoxicated, got into an argument with the neighbor's sister, and made threatening remarks as he left the cookout.
Following a trial, the jury found Defendant guilty of discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling. The trial court made findings of aggravating and mitigating factors, and imposed a sentence within the mitigated range of 40 to 57 months. Defendant gave timely notice of appeal.
II. Issues
Defendant solely argues his indictment was insufficient because it failed to allege an essential element of the offense.
III. Analysis
A. Discharging a Firearm Into An Occupied Dwelling
“The elements of [discharging a weapon into an occupied dwelling] are (1) the willful or wanton discharging (2) of a firearm (3) into any building (4) while it is occupied.” State v. Jones, 104 N.C.App. 251, 258, 409 S.E.2d 322, 326 (1991).
An indictment must give “[a] plain and concise factual statement in each count which, without allegations of an evidentiary nature, asserts facts supporting every elementof a criminal offense and the defendant's commission thereof with sufficient precision clearly to apprise the defendant ... of the conduct which is the subject of the accusation.”
State v. Canady,191 N.C.App. 680, 691, 664 S.E.2d 380, 387 (2008) (quoting N.C. Gen.Stat. § 15A–924(a)(5) (2007) ), disc. review denied,363 N.C. 132, 673 S.E.2d 662 (2009) (emphasis added).
The indictment alleged that Defendant “did unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously discharge a .22 caliber rifle, a firearm, into a dwelling, a building, located [in] Charlotte, North Carolina, while it was actually occupied.” The indictment is sufficient to apprise Defendant of the offense for which he was charged.
B. State v. Williams
Defendant cites State v. Williams,and contends that the indictment was insufficient because it failed to allege that he knew or had reasonable grounds to believe that the dwelling was actually occupied. 284 N.C. 67, 199 S.E.2d 409 (1973). Defendant argues such proof is an essential element of the offense and must be alleged in the indictment.
We have repeatedly rejected Defendant's argument, holding that knowledge of occupancy need not be alleged in the indictment:
We think the holding in Williamspertaining to the accused's knowledge of occupancy relates to evidence required at trial and not to allegations required in the bill of indictment. Consequently, we hold that an indictment under G.S. 14–34.1 which, as in the instant case, charges the offense substantially in the words of the statute, contains allegations sufficient to apprise an accused of the offense with which he is charged and to enable the court to proceed to judgment.
State v. Walker, 34 N.C.App. 271, 274, 238 S.E.2d 154, 156, cert. denied, 293 N.C. 743, 241 S.E.2d 516 (1977) (internal citation omitted); see also Canady,191 N.C.App. at 691–92, 664 S.E.2d at 387 (noting that this Court has previously rejected the argument that an indictment failed to allege an essential element of the offense where it failed to allege knowledge of occupancy).
Defendant acknowledges our holdings in Walkerand Canady,and, in essence, invites us to revisit them. We have no authority to revisit previous decisions rendered by our Court, unless modified or overturned by a higher court. See In re Civil Penalty, 324 N .C. 373, 384, 379 S.E.2d 30, 37 (1989) (“Where a panel of the Court of Appeals has decided the same issue, albeit in a different case, a subsequent panel of the same court is bound by that precedent, unless it has been overturned by a higher court.”).
IV. Conclusion
Defendant has raised no other issues for review. We are bound by our decisions in Walkerand Canady.Defendant received a fair trial, free from prejudicial errors he preserved, presented, and argued.
NO ERROR.
Judge BRYANT and DIETZ, concur.
Report per Rule 30(e).
Opinion
Appeal by defendant from judgment entered 28 January 2014 by Judge Forrest D. Bridges in Mecklenburg County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 17 April 2015.