Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
State v. Jenrette, 236 N.C. App. 616 (Oct. 7, 2014)
The trial court did not abuse its discretion by joining charges for trial. The defendant was indicted for: two counts of possession of a firearm by a felon; first-degree murder of Frink; two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury; two counts of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder; first-degree murder of Jones; first-degree kidnapping; conspiracy to commit first-degree kidnapping; possession with intent to sell and/or deliver cocaine; and possession of a stolen firearm. Although the charges stemmed from a series of events that occurred over two months, they were factually related. The defendant participated in the shooting of Frick, with two accomplices, Reaves and Jones. The next night the defendant and Reaves were pulled over, and two firearms were recovered from their possession, one of which turned out to have been used in the earlier shooting. This evidence shows a direct link between the possession of a firearm by a felon charges and the charges arising directly out of the shooting. The discovery of the cocaine forming the basis for the drug charge occurred during the traffic stop. The charges related to the Jones murder were connected where the evidence showed that the defendant killed Jones to prevent Jones from implicating him in the earlier Frink murder.