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State v. Rich4/7/2000
On discretionary review pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-31 of a unanimous decision of the Court of Appeals, 132 N.C. App. 440, 512 S.E.2d 441 (1999), finding no error in two judgments for second-degree murder entered by Albright, J., on 25 September 1997 in Superior Court, Guilford County. Heard in the Supreme Court 16 November 1999.
Defendant was indicted on 6 January 1997 for two counts of second-degree murder. He was tried at the 15 September 1997 Criminal Session of Superior Court, Guilford County. The jury found defendant guilty of both charges. On 25 September 1997, the trial court sentenced defendant to two consecutive terms of 132 to 168 months' imprisonment. Defendant gave notice of appeal to the North Carolina Court of Appeals on 29 September 1997.
On appeal, the Court of Appeals found no error. State v. Rich, 132 N.C. App. 440, 512 S.E.2d 441 (1999). For the reasons discussed herein, we conclude that the Court of Appeals correctly determined that defendant received a fair trial, free from prejudicial error. Accordingly, we affirm the decision of the Court of Appeals.
The State's evidence tended to show that on 29 November 1996, at approximately 10:15 p.m., while traveling on Horse Pen Creek Road in Greensboro, North Carolina, defendant's vehicle collided head-on with another vehicle. The passengers in the other vehicle were Todd Allan Bush and James Brady Littrell. The accident occurred at a sharp curve in the road where the posted speed limit was thirty-five miles per hour (mph). The road consisted of two lanes and was marked as a no-passing zone. The stretch of road leading up to the curve had a forty mph speed limit. Just prior to entering the curve in the road, defendant had passed another motorist in a no-passing zone. Defendant was driving at a speed in excess of seventy mph when he entered the curve, crossed into the left lane, and collided with Bush and Littrell. Both Bush and Littrell died as a result.
At approximately 10:30 p.m., Officer L.E. Farrington of the Greensboro Police Department arrived at the scene of the collision. While investigating the accident, Officer Farrington noticed a strong odor of alcohol on defendant. A member of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) team who responded to the accident, Karrina Crews, testified that she also detected a strong odor of alcohol on defendant as she helped remove defendant from his vehicle. Other members of the EMS team testified that defendant was verbally abusive and combative toward assisting paramedics. Thereafter, EMS transported defendant to Moses Cone Hospital, where Dr. Kai-Uwe Mazur treated defendant. While treating defendant, Dr. Mazur asked him a series of questions, one of which was whether he drank alcohol. Defendant responded that he frequently consumed alcohol, and on the night of the accident, he drank "several beers and several shots." Dr. Mazur recorded this statement in defendant's medical record.
Officer Gerald Austin of the Greensboro Police Department, who had also investigated the scene of the collision, interviewed defendant at the hospital at approximately 11:35 p.m. that night. During this interview, Officer Austin detected a strong odor of alcohol on defendant. Officer Austin also noted that defendant's eyes were bloodshot and watery, and that defendant had difficulty focusing on him during the interview. Officer Austin concluded that defendant was impaired at the time of the collision. However, there is nothing in the record which indicates that a blood alcohol test was ever administered to defendant.
The State also introduced evidence that defendant had a history of convictions for traffic violations: driving seventy mph in a thirty-five mph zon
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