Smith's Criminal Case Compendium
Table of Contents
Criminal Procedure
Indictment & Pleading Issues
Evidence
Arrest, Search, and Investigation
State v. Surrett, 217 N.C. App. 89 (Nov. 15, 2011)
(1) The trial court did not err by instructing the jury that it could find the defendant guilty of second-degree burglary under a theory of accessory before the fact, aiding and abetting, or acting in concert. The separate theories were not separate offenses, but rather merely different methods by which the jury could find the defendant guilty. (2) By enacting G.S. 14-5.2 the General Assembly did not abolish the theory of accessory before the fact; the statute merely abolished the distinction between an accessory before the fact and a principal, meaning that a person who is found guilty as an accessory before the fact should be convicted as a principal to the crime.