Criminal Practice – Prisons & Jails – Cellphone Possession – Administrative Plea

Even if the trial court erred when it allowed the state to present evidence that, at a disciplinary hearing, defendant had pleaded guilty to possession of a cellphone by an inmate, there was plentiful other evidence of defendant’s guilt: (1) testimony from Officer Willis, who searched defendant, that Officer Willis “pulled [defendant’s] black shorts up out of his pants and retrieved the cellphone out of his pocket”, (2) testimony by Officer Coleman that he witnessed Officer Willis search defendant and locate a “black cellular telephone”; (3) testimony by Sergeant Garver that he witnessed Officer Willis search defendant and locate the cellphone; (4) testimony by Investigator Willis that he took statements from Officer Willis and Officer Parker and found “those statements to be consistent”; and (5) photographs of the cellphone. Moreover, defendant testified that he pled guilty at the administrative hearing because a not-guilty plea would have led to more serious punishment. The admission of defendant’s plea at the disciplinary hearing did not have a probable impact on the jury’s finding that defendant was guilty.

We find no plain error in defendant’s conviction of possession of a cellphone by an inmate and of attaining habitual felon status.

State v. Locklear (Lawyers Weekly No. 012-218-23, 11 pp.) (Donna Stroud, C.J.) Appealed from Carteret County Superior Court (Douglas Sasser, J.) Deborah Greene for the state; Kirby Smith for defendant. North Carolina Court of Appeals (unpublished)