Is It Armed Robbery if a Defendant Has a Gun but Doesn’t Expressly Menace the Victim?

Last week, the Court of Appeals of North Carolina decided State v. Wright, a case that answers an interesting question: Does a defendant commit armed robbery when he takes a victim’s property after displaying a gun, even if he doesn’t point the gun at the victim or expressly threaten to shoot the victim -- and even if the victim denies having being scared? Yes, said the court. Facts. The case arose out of a series of convenience store robberies in Cleveland County. In the robbery most pertinent to the issue on appeal, the defendant entered a Kangaroo Express and told the clerk that he was robbing the store but didn’t want to hurt her. The clerk saw that the defendant had a gun, but he didn’t point it at her or threaten to shoot her. He eventually took some coins from the register area and fled. At least according to her trial testimony, the clerk was totally unfazed by all this. At one point, she told the defendant that she was busy taking the trash out, so if he wanted to get into the register he needed to do it himself. At another point she advised the defendant, “young man, you better hurry because there are going to be people coming in.” At trial, she said that she was “never scared.” Argument on appeal. The defendant was charged with, and convicted of, armed robbery. He appealed, arguing that the evidence of armed robbery was weak enough that the trial judge should [...]