State v Smith
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure. NO. COA02-288 NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS Filed: 3 December 2002 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. Rutherford County No. 95 CRS 3097 MELVIN KEITH SMITH Appeal by defendant from judgment entered 28 August 2001 by Judge James U. Downs in Rutherford County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 21 October 2002. Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Director of Victims and Citizens Services William M. Polk, for the State. James L. Goldsmith, Jr. for defendant-appellant. CAMPBELL, Judge. A jury found defendant guilty of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. The trial court sentenced him to an active prison term of seventy-five to ninetynine months. Defendant gave timely notice of appeal. Viewed in the light most favorable to the State, the evidence at trial tended to establish the following: On the evening of 4 May 1995, Joe Mitchell Simmons was driving down Whitesides Road in Rutherford County. When Simmons reached the intersection of Whitesides and Pea Ridge Roads, he saw defendant, who was driving -2north. As their paths crossed, defendant made an obscene gesture at Simmons, who then followed defendant to a trash dump in order to confront him. Simmons had no weapons in the car. At the trash dump, Simmons pulled his car parallel to defendant s car and accused him of terrorizing Simmons wife. Defendant replied that he would beat [Simmons ] ass. Defendant approached Simmons car, drew a twenty-five caliber pistol and fired at least four times into the driver s side window, striking Simmons in the head, shoulder and lower back. killing me? Simmons asked defendant, Why are you Defendant laughed and said, You re not dead, you re still talking. Simmons crawled out of his car through the passenger side door and kind of staggered and walked down to the bottom of the hill. Defendant got into his car and came after Simmons, who hid behind a tree in a wooded embankment next to the road. After looking for Simmons in the woods for a few minutes, defendant drove back to the dump by Simmons car before driving away. Defendant subsequently called 911 and reported a homicide at the dump. Police found that the keys had been removed from the ignition of Simmons car. Although defendant later told police that Simmons had pulled a gun on him, they found no evidence of a second weapon at the crime scene. As a result of his injuries, Simmons experienced pain and bleeding and was hospitalized overnight. At the time of trial, the three bullets remained in his body. In addition, one of the gunshots went through Simmons collarbone and severed the nerves in his arm, resulting in permanent disfigurement and a twenty-five- -3percent loss of use of his arm and hand. Defendant s lone argument on appeal is that the trial court erred in denying his motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence. In order to withstand a motion to dismiss, the State must offer substantial evidence of each essential element of the offense and of defendant s identity as the perpetrator. See State v. Cross, 345 N.C. 713, 716-17, 483 S.E.2d 432, 434 (1997). Substantial evidence is such relevant evidence that a reasonable mind might accept as adequate to support a conclusion. State v. Morgan, 111 N.C. App. 662, 665, 432 S.E.2d 877, 879 (1993). In our review of the trial court s ruling, we construe the evidence in the light most favorable to the State. See State v. Neal, 109 N.C. App. 684, 686, 428 S.E.2d 287, 289 (1993) (citing State v. Roseman, 279 N.C. 573, 580, 184 S.E.2d 289, 294 (1971)). The trial court properly denied defendant s motion to dismiss. The elements of the crime at issue are as follows: (1) an assault; (2) the use of a deadly weapon; (3) an intent to kill; and (4) the infliction of a serious injury short of death. See State v. Aytche, 98 N.C. App. 358, 366, 391 S.E.2d 43, 47 (1990); N.C. Gen. Stat. ยง 14-32(a)(1999). that Simmons defendant, sustained resulting The State adduced substantial evidence three in gunshot painful injuries to his hand and arm. and wounds at the permanently hands of disfiguring These facts were sufficient to establish an assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury. See State v. Hedgepeth, 330 N.C. 38, 52-3, 409 S.E.2d 309, 317-18 (1991), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1006, 146 L. Ed. 2d 223 -4(2000). The evidence further showed that defendant stood at Simmons car door with a handgun and shot at him at least four times through his open window, conduct permitting a reasonable inference of defendant s intent to kill. See State v. Cain, 79 N.C. App. 35, 47, 338 S.E.2d 898, 905 (citing State v. Musselwhite, 59 N.C. App. 477, 480, 297 S.E.2d 181, 184 (1982)), disc. review denied, 316 N.C. 380, 342 S.E.2d 899 (1986). Although defendant correctly notes the State bears the burden of proving that he did not act in self-defense, see State v. Price, 118 N.C. App. 212, 219, 454 S.E.2d 820, 824, disc. review denied, 341 N.C. 423, 461 S.E.2d 766 (1995), the prosecution s evidence, if believed, showed that defendant was the aggressor, shooting Simmons multiple times while he sat unarmed in a confined space. No error. Judges WYNN and McGEE concur. Report per Rule 30(e).
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
