Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
State v. Stimpson, 371 N.C. 470 (Sept. 21, 2018)
In a per curiam opinion, the court affirmed the decision of a divided panel of the Court of Appeals, ___ N.C. App. ___, 807 S.E.2d 603 (2017). The defendant was charged with five indictments alleging five separate offenses of conspiracy to commit robbery arising from five separate incidents. The Court of Appeals held, over a dissent, that the trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motion to dismiss four of the charges. On appeal, the defendant argued that there was only one agreement and thus only one conspiracy charge was proper. The majority disagreed, concluding, in part, that the random nature and happenstance of the robberies did not indicate a one-time, pre-planned conspiracy. It noted that the victims and crimes committed arose at random and by pure opportunity.