State v. Fernanders, COA23-837, ___ N.C. App. ___ (May. 7, 2024)

In this Polk County case, defendant appealed his convictions for first-degree murder and possession of a stolen vehicle, arguing error in six areas of evidentiary rulings by the trial court. The Court of Appeals found no error.  

In March of 2016, defendant, along with his girlfriend and another man, drove a stolen car from Greenville, SC, to Polk County. Defendant first tried to rob a gas station, but was held back by his girlfriend. Afterwards, defendant pulled up next to a stopped truck and asked the driver for directions. After the exchange became heated, defendant shot and killed the driver. Defendant fled the scene, but was eventually arrested in Tallahassee, FL, and came to trial. 

The Court of Appeals took up each of defendant’s six issues in turn. First, defendant argued that admitting testimony related to a robbery in Gainesville, FL, after the murder was prejudicial; presuming arguendo that admitting the evidence was error, the court held that overwhelming evidence still supported defendant’s conviction. In the second issue, defendant argued that admitting lay opinion testimony from his girlfriend identifying a gun used in the murder was error, and again the court found that even if it was error, it was not prejudicial due to the overwhelming evidence. In the third issue, defendant argued that admitting ten videos and five photographs of him stealing the vehicle in South Carolina was improper under Rule of Evidence 403; the court again disagreed, noting that the evidence was probative to the elements of possessing a stolen vehicle and not unduly prejudicial. Taking up the fourth issue, the court rejected defendant’s argument that the murder and possession of a stolen vehicle charges lacked a transactional connection and should have been severed. The court noted that defendant possessed the stolen vehicle when he shot the victim, and used the same gun in both crimes. 

In the fifth issue, defendant challenged the State’s expert testimony regarding the shell casing found at the scene under Rule of Evidence 702. The court noted “[t]he State’s expert not only explained the standards she had followed, but also explained how she had applied these standards within the context of the cartridges in the present case.” Slip Op. at 14. Defendant also argued that the testimony was “inherently subjective,” but the court rejected this as a reason to exclude the testimony, noting that defense counsel was able to extensively cross examine the expert and the ultimate determination of weight and credibility was for the jury. Id. at 15. Finally, the court considered defendant’s argument that the trial court’s decisions represented cumulative error, explaining that the decisions were “not demonstrated to be abuses of discretion nor prejudicial,” and thus did not deprive defendant of a fair trial. Id. at 16. 

Judge Stroud concurred in the result only.