North Carolina Lawyers Weekly
Defendant correctly notes that G.S. § 14-51.3 supplants the common law on all aspects of the law of self-defense addressed by its provisions; however, contrary to defendant’s argument, the aggressor doctrine is still intact pursuant to G.S. § 14-51.4(2).
We find no error in defendant’s convictions for second-degree murder and manslaughter.
In this case arising out of a drug deal gone wrong, the jury’s verdicts are not legally inconsistent. There was conflicting testimony about who tried to rob whom. The prosecution presented testimony that defendant held decedent Knox in a headlock before shooting him, and defendant testified that decedent McKnight pointed a gun at him (defendant).
It is entirely plausible that the jury determined that defendant did not act in self-defense regarding Knox, necessitating the second-degree murder conviction, but that defendant acted in imperfect self-defense regarding McKnight, requiring a verdict of voluntary manslaughter.
State v. Minton (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-026-23, 10 pp.) (Jefferson Griffin, J.) Appealed from Catawba County Superior Court (Gregory Horne, J.) Amy Kunstling Irene for the state; Sarah Holladay for defendant. N.C. App. Unpub.
