State v. Campos, ___ N.C. App. ___, 789 S.E.2d 492 (Jul. 19, 2016)

In this child abuse case, the trial court committed prejudicial error by giving a flight instruction where there was no evidence upon which a reasonable theory of flight could be based. The court explained: “what the trial court deemed a ‘close call’ in terms of defendant’s alleged flight amounted to mere conjecture.” It rejected the State’s argument that the defendant’s refusal to speak with law enforcement on a voluntary, pre-arrest basis was evidence of flight. It also rejected the State’s argument that there was evidence that the defendant deviated from his normal pattern of behavior, showing efforts to avoid apprehension.