Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
Evidence
Arrest, Search, and Investigation
Criminal Offenses
Drug Offenses
State v. Golden, 224 N.C. App. 136 (Dec. 4, 2012)
The trial court erred by instructing on flight. The defendant fled from an officer responding to a 911 call regarding violation of a domestic violence protective order. After being arrested the defendant’s vehicle was searched and he was charged with perpetrating a hoax on law enforcement officers by use of a false bomb on the basis of a device found in his vehicle. The defendant’s initial flight cannot be considered as evidence of his guilt of the hoax offense. However, the error did not prejudice the defendant.