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Criminal Practice – Kidnapping, Sexual Assault & Misdemeanor Assault – Separate Restraint
After defendant sexually assaulted the victim, defendant pulled the victim off the bed by his ankles, and then began kicking the victim. There was sufficient restraint – separate from the sexual assault – to support defendant’s kidnapping conviction. The trial court did not err in denying defendant’s motion to dismiss the charge of second-degree kidnapping. […]
Criminal Practice – Kidnapping – Restraint in Assault – Evidence – Prior Imprisonment – Unpreserved Issue
State v. China (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-057-17, 14 pp.) (Valerie Zachary, J.) (Chris Dillon, J., concurring in part & dissenting in part) Appealed from Durham County Superior Court (Henry Hight Jr., J.) N.C. App. Holding: During a short, brutal assault, defendant did not restrain the victim any more than was inherent in the assault. We […]
Criminal Practice – Kidnapping – Asportation – Armed Robbery – Home Invasion
State v. Curtis (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-019-17, 1 p.) (Per Curiam) Appealed from Forsyth County Superior Court (Ronald Spivey, J.) On appeal from the Court of Appeals. N.C. S. Ct. Holding: We affirm the Court of Appeals’ decision (After breaking into a home, defendant and his accomplices first robbed or attempted to rob two of […]
Criminal Practice – Kidnapping – Restraint – Purpose – Safe Place
State v. James (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-272-16, 18 pp.) (Donna Stroud, J.) Appealed from Guilford County Superior Court (Stanley Allen, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Even though, after defendant assaulted the victim by strangling her, he also had his arm around the victim’s neck while he dragged her from the middle of the road into a […]
Criminal Practice – Kidnapping – ‘Released in a Safe Place’ – Wooded Area
State v. Gordon (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-243-16, 16 pp.) (Lucy Inman, J.) Appealed from Guilford County Superior Court (R. Stuart Albright, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Even though defendant released the victim not too far from the victim’s apartment, since the state presented evidence that the area was wooded and secluded and that the victim had […]
Wake County prosecutor targeted in kidnapping case suspended
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — The Wake County prosecutor whose father was kidnapped by a gang leader she prosecuted has been put on paid leave while the district attorney looks into accusations of misconduct on two unrelated cases. News outlets report that Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman suspended Colleen Janssen on Monday, almost a week […]
Criminal Practice – Kidnapping – Constitutional – Unanimous Verdict – Disjunctive Jury Instructions
State v. Walters (Lawyers Weekly No. 010-013-16, 9 pp.) (Robin Hudson, J.) (Sam Ervin IV, J., not participating) Appealed from Robeson County Superior Court (William Pittman, J.) On discretionary review from the Court of Appeals. N.C. S. Ct. Holding: The trial court did not violate defendant’s right to a unanimous jury verdict when its kidnapping […]
2 former NC prison officers indicted in kidnap probe
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Two former North Carolina correctional officers have been indicted as part of a wide-ranging investigation into the kidnapping of a prosecutor’s father. U.S. Attorney Thomas Walker said Monday that 31-year-old Gregory Dustin Gouldman and 29-year-old Jason Dean were each charged with extortion under color of official right. Dean was also charged […]
Insurance — No Duty to Defend ‘Kidnapping’ Suit
Liberty University Inc. v. Citizens Ins. Co. of America (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-01-0708, 32 pp.) (Thacker, J.) No. 14-2254, July 10, 2015; USDC at Lynchburg, Va. (Moon, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: An insurance company has no duty to defend Liberty University under its CGL or educators’ legal liability policies against a complaint alleging the school […]
Criminal Practice — Sentence Enhanced for ‘Generic’ Kidnapping
U.S. v. Flores-Granados (Lawyers Weekly No. 15-01-0359, 25 pp.) (Wilkinson, J.) No. 14-4249, April 15, 2015; USDC at Norfolk, Va. (Morgan, J.) 4th Cir. Holding: The 4th Circuit upholds a district court’s 16-level enhancement under the federal sentencing guidelines for kidnapping as a prior “crime of violence” in sentencing defendant for illegal reentry into the […]
Criminal Practice — Kidnapping – Insufficient Restraint – Underlying Felonies
State v. Parker (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-07-1128, 10 pp.) (Chris Dillon, J.) Appealed from Sampson County Superior Court (W. Douglas Parsons, J.) N.C. App. Holding: Since defendant’s restraint of the victim was inherent to the commission of the underlying felonies – second-degree rape and second-degree sexual offense – there was insufficient evidence to take the […]
Criminal Practice – Kidnapping Charge – Insufficient Removal Evidence – Lesser Included Offense – Attempted Kidnapping – Appeals
State v. Stokes (Lawyers Weekly No. 14-06-0335, 15 pp.) (Paul Newby, J.) Appealed from Hoke County Superior Court (Richard Brown, J.) On discretionary review from the N.C. Court of Appeals. N.C. S. Ct. Holding: Where the state charged defendant with second-degree kidnapping and proved all the elements except removal or restraint, the jury’s guilty verdict […]
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