State v. Corrothers, COA23-865, ___ N.C. App. ___ (Aug. 6, 2024)

In this Columbus County case, defendant appealed his convictions for first-degree murder and robbery with a dangerous weapon, arguing (1) plain error in admitting tainted evidence obtained after an improper search, (2) ineffective assistance of counsel when his attorney failed to file motions to suppress the tainted evidence, and (3) error in denying motions to dismiss and set aside the verdict. The Court of Appeals dismissed (1) as unpreserved and found no ineffective assistance of counsel or error in (2)-(3).  

In January of 2020, the victim was reported missing after going to defendant’s home for an apparent drug deal. Law enforcement checked cellphone records and determined that defendant’s home was the last active location of the victim’s phone. A detective went to defendant’s residence, but no one answered his knock at the door. The detective walked around the home, and in the rear of the house observed a hole in the ground. After obtaining several search warrants, the victim’s body was found in the hole. When defendant came to trial, defendant did not object to the admission of evidence obtained from the search warrants. 

Taking up (1), the Court of Appeals explained that under State v. Miller, 371 N.C. 266 (2018), defendant had waived his arguments against the evidence obtained after the detective walked around his home and observed the hole because he failed to file a motion to suppress. However, defendant also argued in (2) that his counsel’s failure to file a motion to suppress represented ineffective assistance of counsel. Here, defendant argued the detective went beyond the normal area open to the public for a knock-and-talk when he walked onto the curtilage of the house and into the back yard. The court declined to consider whether this was an unlawful search, holding the record established that the observation of the hole/possible unlawful search was not the source of the information supporting the search warrant. The court explained “the cold record establishes that [the detective’s] observation of the hole during his walk about the Property . . . did not prompt the warrant applications when viewed in light of the totality of the circumstances, which supported the trial court’s determinations of probable cause.” Slip Op. at 10. Because the search warrant applications were supported by evidence unconnected to the detective’s visit, defendant could not demonstrate ineffective assistance of counsel. 

Moving to (3), the court found ample evidence in the record to support defendant’s guilt and the denial of defendant’s motions, including a long text message exchange setting up a drug deal with the victim, and shell casings matching the projectiles removed from the victim’s body.