State v. Conner

1

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. RILEY DAWSON CONNER

No. COA23-470

Court of Appeals of North Carolina

March 19, 2024

An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.

Heard in the Court of Appeals 24 January 2024.

Appeal by Defendant from judgment entered 1 November 2022 by Judge Michael A. Stone in Columbus County Nos. 16 CRS 1248-49 Superior Court.

Attorney General Joshua H. Stein, by Assistant Attorney General Michael T. Henry, for the State.

Appellate Defender Glenn Gerding, by Assistant Appellate Defender David W. Andrews, for the Defendant.

WOOD Judge

Riley Dawson Conner ("Defendant") appeals from a judgment resentencing him for the offenses of first-degree forcible rape and first-degree murder. For the reasons stated below we affirm the trial court's judgment.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

The pertinent facts of this case are found in State v. Conner, 381 N.C. 643, 873 S.E.2d 339 (2022) ("Conner II") and are cited below.

From the time of his birth on 23 August 2000 through the date of 11 March 2016 when, at the age of fifteen years, defendant committed the crimes which led to the convictions underlying this appeal, the juvenile defendant's life was challenging, chaotic, and marked by tremendous instability. At the time that defendant was born, his father was twenty years of age, his mother was eighteen years of age, and both parents were addicted to cocaine. Defendant's mother testified at defendant's trial that he began to experience severe sleep disruptions at one or two years of age which she later realized may have been signs of the epilepsy with which defendant was diagnosed as a teenager. Defendant initially lived with his parents on Miller Road in or near Tabor City in Columbus County. When defendant was around five years old, he moved into the home of his maternal grandparents on Savannah Road along with his mother and his younger sister. Defendant's mother testified that during this time, because she was "strung out" on crack cocaine and "running the roads," her parents provided much of the care for her children. Defendant's father was incarcerated during this time period. Numerous members of defendant's extended family lived on Savannah Road and in the neighboring area, including defendant's grandparents, his greatgrandmother, and several aunts and uncles. Despite the strong presence of his family members, the area in which defendant was raised was described by defendant's maternal aunt, Kimberly Gore, as "the pits of hell," and by defendant's mother as "nowhere for a child ^to be" because it was the location of illegal drug use and prostitution.

Conner II, 381 N.C. at 645-46, 873 S.E.2d at 341-42.

On the morning of 2 March 2016, Defendant broke into a grocery store in Tabor City, North Carolina and stole a large quantity of cigarettes. Later that morning, Defendant's mother reported to police that Defendant had taken a van belonging to her. Officers quickly identified Defendant as the perpetrator of the break-in based upon security camera footage taken from the store. Conner II, 381 N.C. at 649, 873 S.E.2d at 343. At about 8:00 a.m., Defendant's mother notified police that he had returned her vehicle; shortly after, officers located the van and discovered that Defendant's mother was driving the vehicle, with Defendant riding in the passenger seat. The officers also recovered the stolen cigarettes from the van. Conner II, 381 N.C. at 649, 873 S.E.2d at 343-44. Juvenile petitions charging him with crimes related to the grocery store and the vehicle were filed in District Court.

Later on the day of 2 March 2016, defendant's aunt Felicia Porter called the emergency number 911 to report that defendant was involved in a scuffle inside the Savannah Road home of defendant's great-grandmother. Porter informed the 911 operator of defendant's juvenile petitions and expressed her belief that defendant "needs to get locked up." The audio recording of the 911 call captures an argument which occurred between defendant and Porter during that time.

According to the transcript of defendant's pleas of guilty which the trial court accepted in the underlying case, on the morning of 11 March 2016-the same date on which defendant had a scheduled 1:00 p.m. appointment with a juvenile court counselor in connection with his pending juvenile petition-defendant's aunt Felicia Porter awakened at about 6:00 a.m. and drove her husband to a nearby location where he was to be provided transportation to a construction job. Porter's social media posts on Facebook show that she was back at her home on Savannah Road and was active online by approximately 9:00 a.m. At about 9:30 a.m., defendant was observed by John Cunningham, his step-grandfather, walking toward the end of the road where Porter's home was located.

Defendant knocked on Porter's door and convinced her to exit the residence. Subsequently, defendant raped Porter and then killed her with blows from a shovel. Defendant placed Porter's body in a wooded area about one hundred yards from her home and then burned a piece of Porter's clothing in her yard. Around 10:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m., defendant left Porter's residence and walked by the side of the road, stopping to speak to Cunningham along the way. Cunningham noted that defendant was sweating profusely. Defendant attended his scheduled meeting with the juvenile court counselor later that day.

Meanwhile, defendant's great-grandmother, with whom defendant was dwelling at the time, became concerned when Porter did not answer repeated telephone calls. At approximately 12:00 p.m., Cunningham and Adams went to Porter's home to check on her and found the door to the residence ajar, Porter's dog secured inside the house, and Porter absent. After Cunningham contacted Porter's husband, a missing person's report was filed with authorities that afternoon. Porter's badly beaten body was found the next day about one hundred yards from her trailer. An autopsy revealed that Porter died as a result of blunt force trauma to the head which was later determined to have been caused by being repeatedly struck with a shovel.

Defendant was interviewed by law enforcement officers a total of four times in connection with Porter's death.... Just after midnight on the early morning of 30 March 2016, defendant was arrested and charged with the rape and murder of his aunt Felicia Porter.

Conner II, 381 N.C. at 650, 873 S.E.2d at 344-45. Defendant ultimately admitted in his plea colloquy that he had raped and murdered his aunt. Conner II, 381 N.C. at 650-51, 652 n.5, 873 S.E.2d at 344, 345 n.5. Following the transfer of his charges from District Court, Defendant pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree rape in Superior Court. During sentencing, the trial court conducted the steps pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A-1340.19B(a)(2) to determine whether defendant should receive a life sentence with the possibility of parole or a life sentence without parole for his first-degree murder conviction. At the sentencing hearing, Defendant presented evidence of mitigating factors pertaining to his youth, upbringing, poor academics, medical problems, drug abuse, and behavior since incarceration.

Following the completion of defendant's sentencing hearing on 21 February 2019, the trial court found the existence of nineteen statutory and non-statutory mitigating factors in defendant's case. Specifically, the trial court found that at the time of the offenses:

• defendant was fifteen years and six months old;

• defendant "exhibited numerous signs of developmental immaturity.... exacerbated by low levels of structure, supervision, and discipline";

• defendant's father was incarcerated for most of defendant's life and his mother struggled with substance abuse and incarceration and "has not been present for the vast majority of defendant's life";

• defendant "has been passed to one family member to another for basic living and custodial purposes and never received any parental leadership, guidance, or structure";

• defendant "suffers from chronic frontal lobe epilepsy which went untreated for years causing daily seizures" which then caused "brain injury" and "chronic sleep deprivation";

• defendant was subjected "in his transient living conditions to criminal activity, violence, and rampant substance abuse," with his own substance abuse starting "at approximately age nine" • defendant's "only role model was a negative role model, Brad Adams, an individual with a horrible criminal history and habitual felon.... defendant looked up to Brad Adams, who was ten years senior to [ ] defendant in age";

• defendant "had a limited ability to fully appreciate the risks and consequences of his conduct based upon the totality of his poor upbringing";

• defendant's "I.Q. and educational levels appear at the low range of average to below average"; • defendant "is a record level I for sentencing purposes"; • defendant "was subjected to an overall environment of drugs and other criminal activity";

• defendant, "[b]ased upon testing and other professional evaluations, . . . would benefit from education, counseling, and substance abuse treatment while in confinement and incarceration";

• defendant at age four years "witnessed a drug raid at his home resulting in the arrest of his father and his uncle," after which he "started to experience night terrors"; • defendant at age six years "was removed from his parents' home due to the drug abuse in the home";

• defendant's grandmother reported he "had always been affected by such nightmares and night

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