State v. Moore

854 S.E.2d 604 (Table)

STATE of North Carolina v. Breanna Regina Dezara MOORE

No. COA20-85

Court of Appeals of North Carolina.

Filed March 2, 2021

Joshua H. Stein, Attorney General, by Special Deputy Attorney General Mary Carla Babb, for the State.

Kimberly P. Hoppin, for defendant.

ARROWOOD, Judge.

¶ 1 Breanna Regina Dezara Moore ("defendant") appeals from final judgment entered 3 May 2019 following her conviction for first-degree murder. For the following reasons, we hold that defendant received a fair trial free of error and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

I. Background

¶ 2 On 1 April 2016, defendant shot and killed her twenty-one-year-old brother Elijah Moore (the "decedent") at his family's home in Marshville, North Carolina. Defendant was nineteen years of age and pregnant at the time.

¶ 3 When the shooting occurred, the decedent lived with defendant's mother, grandmother, and ten-year-old half-sister, "A.J." ¹ Defendant resided with her boyfriend, Anthony Blue ("Anthony"), and her two-year-old son, "I.M.," at the time of the events giving rise to this appeal.

¶ 4 Defendant, accompanied by Anthony and I.M., traveled to the decedent's home on 1 April 2016. According to A.J., defendant seemed "upset and mad." Anthony stayed outside while defendant and I.M. went into the home. The decedent then left the house and relocated to a shed behind the house, a place where he would frequently "hang out[.]" Defendant followed the decedent to the shed—Anthony was already in the shed with the decedent. An oral altercation occurred in the shed. Anthony testified that the decedent called defendant a "B****" and told defendant, "I'm going to beat you're a**." A.J., who was on the deck of the decedent's house with I.M., testified that she heard shouting from the shed and that defendant attempted to block the decedent from leaving the shed. A.J. testified that as the decedent attempted to exit the shed, defendant "got in the way ... of the doorway." A.J. claimed the decedent then "brushed her to the side [sic] where she hit the wall, but not hard."

¶ 5 Defendant exited the shed followed by Anthony and the decedent. Defendant proceeded to her car, which was parked in the decedent's driveway. A.J. testified that while doing so, defendant shouted: "I'm going to stick a bullet up your A." Defendant then retrieved a black bag from her vehicle. The testimony at trial indicated that defendant pulled a handgun from the bag, inserted a magazine, and loaded the weapon. According to A.J., defendant pushed Anthony out of the way, pointed the gun at the decedent, and shot him. Prior to the shooting, A.J. testified that she did not see the decedent with any sort of weapon or deadly object. Defendant herself admitted that she did not see the decedent with any type of weapon at the time of the shooting.

¶ 6 Anthony testified that he and defendant had a disagreement before arriving at the decedent's residence. Anthony claimed that when defendant approached the shed behind the decedent's house, the decedent used derogatory language toward defendant and said he was going to "beat [her] a**." In light of this behavior, Anthony testified that he grabbed the decedent for the safety of defendant and their unborn child. Anthony and the decedent then "tussl[ed]" during which time the decedent requested that Anthony release him and "let [him] beat this b**** a**." At this point, defendant had already proceeded to the rear of her vehicle in the driveway and was holding a gun. Anthony claimed that once the decedent arrived at defendant's car, the decedent chased defendant around the vehicle, ultimately resulting in a face-to-face confrontation on the same side of the car. Anthony testified that defendant then shot the decedent. Anthony did not see the decedent with a gun or any other weapon at any point prior to the shooting.

¶ 7 After being shot, the decedent took off his sweatshirt and stumbled into the backyard. Anthony took possession of the murder weapon, retrieved I.M. from the residence, and fled the scene with defendant and I.M.; Anthony discarded the weapon miles away from the scene of the killing.

¶ 8 Later, a handgun was found on the top of the decedent's bed in the house. Crime scene investigators also located a nine-millimeter spent cartridge casing in the driveway that the North Carolina State Crime Laboratory ("State Crime Lab") determined was discharged from the murder weapon. An autopsy revealed that the decedent died from a single gunshot wound to the chest.

¶ 9 Law enforcement spoke to Anthony regarding the incident. Anthony agreed to lead officers to the alleged location of the murder weapon. The gun was not located during the search of the first location identified by Anthony, so law enforcement returned and again met with Anthony who identified a second location where police officers ultimately discovered a nine-millimeter firearm. The State Crime Lab determined this was the device that fired the nine-millimeter shell casing found at the crime scene. Anthony admitted that he had originally provided false information to law enforcement about the location of the firearm after the shooting. He also admitted that he had lied to officers when asked where exactly defendant had retrieved the gun before the shooting.

¶ 10 On 2 April 2016, defendant surrendered to law enforcement in Dillon, South Carolina—Anthony's hometown. Defendant admitted to shooting the decedent. Defendant claimed that the decedent had pushed and threatened her before the shooting. Defendant also stated that the gun she used to shoot the decedent belonged to him and was sitting on top of the trunk of her car in the driveway before the shooting. However, after further interrogation, defendant admitted she retrieved the firearm from inside the vehicle and that she obtained the gun through a theft orchestrated by her and Anthony. Defendant later testified that she and Anthony stole the weapon, along with some money, from one of Anthony's grandmother's neighbors in 2015. Post arrest, defendant did not inform law enforcement of her pregnancy or that she shot the decedent because she feared for the safety of her unborn child. Her pregnancy was not detected until defendant indicated as much on an in-jail questionnaire.

¶ 11 At trial, defendant testified on her own behalf. Defendant stated that when she approached the shed at the decedent's residence, the decedent told her, "B****, don't come in here with that s***" and "B**** ... Get out of here ... or, I will whoop your a**." According to defendant, Anthony then attempted to pacify the decedent at which point the decedent said he was going to "beat this b**** a**. Nobody wants her here anyway."

¶ 12 Defendant stated that after the decedent bypassed Anthony, he followed defendant to her car and blocked her access to the same. The decedent and defendant began "mirroring each other around the car[.]" Defendant claimed that she repeatedly told the decedent to leave her alone, but she knew that he had violent tendencies. Defendant testified that she then used her key chain to open the trunk of her car and grab the murder weapon. She claimed that she kept the gun by her side, hoping that the decedent would leave her alone. Defendant testified that the decedent continued to harass and threaten her. Defendant stated at trial that while she did not want to shoot the decedent, she felt the decedent was acting aggressively and may have been under the influence of drugs. Defendant further testified that as she raised the weapon, the magazine clip kept falling out and would not stay in place, forcing her to insert the clip four or five times.

¶ 13 While defendant claimed she never cocked the weapon, defendant admitted to pulling the trigger while pointing the gun at the decedent. Defendant admitted that the decedent was very close to her when she shot him. Defendant testified that she shot the decedent because she believed it was necessary to protect herself and her unborn child—though she did not offer this justification during post-arrest interrogation. Defendant testified that she did not see the decedent with a weapon while he chased her around her vehicle. Defendant admitted to knowing that if she shot the decedent, the wound may result in his death.

¶ 14 On 6 June 2016, defendant was indicted for first-degree murder in Union County, North Carolina. Following trial, the jury found defendant guilty of the first-degree murder of the decedent. The verdict sheet included potential verdicts for first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, not guilty, and not guilty by reason of self-defense. Consistent with the verdict, the trial court entered final judgment on 3 May 2019 and sentenced defendant to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Defendant appealed.

II. Discussion

¶ 15 Defendant challenges the trial court's admission of character evidence and testimony adduced at trial, as well as its denial of her motion to dismiss the charge of first-degree murder. Defendant also assigns error to the jury instructions given by the trial judge.

A. Character Evidence

¶ 16 Defendant first contends that the trial court erred by admitting irrelevant and unfairly prejudicial character evidence and testimony concerning other crimes or bad acts committed by defendant. Defendant also argues that the superior court erred by allowing the State to inquire about the biological fathers of defendant's children. Lastly, defendant asserts that the trial court erred by allowing testimony and evidence showing the decedent's good character. We will address each alleged error in the order set forth in defendant's brief.

¶ 17 "Whether evidence is relevant is a question of law, thus we review the trial court's admission of the evidence de novo. " State v. Kirby , 206 N.C. App. 446, 456, 697 S.E.2d 496, 503 (2010) (citation omitted). "Defendant bears the burden of showing that the evidence was erroneously...