State v. Wilson, 370 N.C. 269 (Nov. 3, 2017)

On appeal from an unpublished decision of a divided panel of the Court of Appeals, ___ N.C. App. ___, 794 S.E.2d 921 (2016), finding no error in this animal cruelty case, the court per curiam affirmed. The defendant appealed from her conviction for felony cruelty to animals, contending that the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of misdemeanor cruelty to animals. The Court of Appeals held that because no evidence was presented from which a jury could find that the defendant intentionally injured the dog by dragging him behind her vehicle but did so without malice, the trial court was not required to instruct on the lesser included offense.