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1. Obstruction of Justice_refusal to halt_campus security officer
There was sufficient evidence that defendant resisted, obstructed, or delayed a public
officer where defendant argued that the person he ran from at Duke University was merely a
private security officer, but there was evidence that defendant also tried to elude campus police
officers.
2. Evidence_hearsay_testimony that officer yelled to stop_not testimonial
The admission of hearsay testimony that a campus police officer yelled for defendant to
stop was not a violation of the Confrontation Clause because the statement was not testimonial,
and was not prejudicial because there was substantial other evidence to the same effect.
3. Appeal and Error_preservation of issues--instructions_no objection at trial_plain
error not alleged
Defendant waived his right to appeal alleged error in jury instructions where he did not
object at trial and did not allege plain error.
Attorney General Roy A. Cooper, III, by Assistant Attorney
General Spurgeon Fields, III, for the State.
Brannon Strickland, PLLC, by Marlet M. Edwards, for defendant-
appellant.
HUNTER, Judge.
Samuel Williams Ferebee, III (defendant) appeals from his
conviction entered upon a jury verdict finding him guilty of
resisting, obstructing, or delaying a public officer. Defendant
contends the trial court erred in (1) denying his motion to dismiss
for lack of sufficient evidence; (2) admitting improper hearsayinto evidence; and (3) failing to properly instruct the jury on
whether a security guard is a police officer. For the reasons set
forth herein, we find no error by the trial court.
On 19 April 2002, the Duke University Police Department issued
a BOLO (be on the lookout) for defendant. Authorities from the
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill had previously alerted
Duke Police regarding several questionable encounters between
defendant and female students. These students reported that
defendant asked for inappropriate information, such as their
addresses and telephone numbers, and the authorities were concerned
about the possibility of some uninvited touching.
Defendant was observed on campus by Duke University students
and authorities. This information was transmitted to campus police
and security guards via radio. A security guard, Joshua Strausser
(Mr. Strausser) observed defendant enter a building on campus and
followed him. After entering the building, Mr. Strausser searched
for defendant on the first floor. Shortly thereafter, a Duke
police officer, Officer George, arrived. They decided to each take
one of the two flights of stairs located in the building. Mr.
Strausser encountered defendant as he entered the second stairwell.
Defendant ran past him and towards a back door as Mr. Strausser
yelled campus security, stop[.] Officer George ran up behind Mr.
Strausser yelling campus police officer, stop.
Mr. Strausser and Officer George pursued defendant as he fled
the building. They were then joined in the chase by another campus
police officer. Officer George and the other campus police officerpursued defendant off-campus without Mr. Strausser. Mr. Strausser
explained his decision to end his pursuit of defendant as follows:
I, at this point, decided to let one of the officers -- they're
there. They're armed. I don't carry any type of weapons. I'm not
a commissioned officer yet. Defendant ran into an old tobacco
warehouse that was under renovation. He was apprehended within
approximately fifteen to twenty minutes. Duke Police Officer First
Sergeant Greg Stotsenberg (Sergeant Stotsenberg) testified that
defendant cooperated after being placed under arrest.
Upon consideration of the evidence, the jury found defendant
guilty of resisting, obstructing, or delaying a public officer.
The trial court imposed an active sentence of sixty days
imprisonment. Defendant appeals.
[1] Defendant first assigns as error the trial court's denial
of his motion to dismiss for insufficiency of the evidence based on
his contention that the State failed to prove that he resisted,
obstructed, or delayed a public officer.
A determination of whether the evidence is sufficient to
overcome a motion to dismiss and be submitted to the jury is based
on whether there is substantial evidence of each and every
essential element of the crime, or any lesser included offenses,
and that the defendant was the party who committed the crime.
State v. Squires, 357 N.C. 529, 535, 591 S.E.2d 837, 841 (2003),
cert. denied, 541 U.S. 1088, 159 L. Ed. 2d 252 (2004). Substantial
evidence is defined as any relevant evidence that a reasonable
person would find sufficient to support a conclusion. State v.Blake, 319 N.C. 599, 604, 356 S.E.2d 352, 355 (1987). The evidence
must be viewed in the light most favorable to the State, drawing
all reasonable inferences therefrom. State v. Fritsch, 351 N.C.
373, 378-79, 526 S.E.2d 451, 455 (2000).
In this case, the charge against defendant required the State
to prove that he did willfully and unlawfully resist, delay or
obstruct a public officer in discharging or attempting to discharge
a duty of his office. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-223 (2005). Defendant
bases his argument on two facts: (1) that he cooperated with the
arresting officer, Sergeant Stotsenberg, and (2) that Mr.
Strausser, from whom he initially ran, was a private security guard
and not a public officer. The State produced evidence, however,
that defendant also tried to elude Officer George, a campus police
officer, and that he hid in an old tobacco warehouse in an attempt
to avoid capture by several campus police officers. Under N.C.
Gen. Stat. § 74G et seq., the Campus Police Act, campus police
officers have the same statutory authority granted to municipal and
county police officers to make arrests for both felonies and
misdemeanors and to charge for infractions within their
jurisdictions. N.C. Gen. Stat. § 74G-6(b) (2005). As such, they
qualify as public officers pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 14-223.
See State v. Taft, 256 N.C. 441, 444, 124 S.E.2d 169, 171 (1962)
(holding that an alcoholic beverage control officer was a public
officer within the meaning of the statute). The trial court did
not err in denying defendant's motion to dismiss, and we overrule
this assignment of error. [2] Defendant next assigns as error the trial court's
admission of a hearsay statement over his objection and argues that
this violated his Sixth Amendment right to confront the witnesses
against him. At trial, Mr. Strausser testified that after he
yelled for defendant to stop, Officer George also yelled campus
police officer, stop. Defendant argues that admission of this
testimony violated the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment
under the analysis presented in Crawford v. Washington, 541 U.S.
36, 158 L. Ed. 2d 177 (2004), and that he is therefore entitled to
a new trial. We disagree.
Crawford held that where testimonial evidence is at issue, it
is only admissible based on a finding that the witness is
unavailable for trial and that the defendant has had a prior
opportunity for cross-examination. Id. at 68, 158 L. Ed. 2d at
203. Where non-testimonial evidence is involved, however, the
ordinary rules of evidence apply in regards to admissibility. Id.
While the Supreme Court did not give a complete definition of the
word testimonial in Crawford, it did provide some guidance. The
Court stated that testimonial evidence refers to statements that
'were made under circumstances which would lead an objective
witness reasonably to believe that the statement would be available
for use at a later trial[.]' Id. at 52, 158 L. Ed. 2d at 193.
Testimonial evidence includes affidavits, depositions, or
statements given to police officers during an interrogation. Id.
at 51, 158 L. Ed. 2d at 193. 'Testimony,' in turn, is typically
'[a] solemn declaration or affirmation made for the purpose ofestablishing or proving some fact.' Id. at 51, 158 L. Ed. 2d at
192.
In light of these definitions, Officer George's exclamation,
campus police officer, stop[,] cannot be considered testimonial
in nature. His statement was not made for the purpose of later
establishing in court that defendant resisted arrest. Rather,
Officer George made the statement while carrying out his duties as
an officer by attempting to apprehend defendant who was under
suspicion of improper behavior. Thus, the statement was non-
testimonial and Crawford does not apply.
Moreover, even if the statement was inadmissible hearsay, we
conclude its admission did not prejudice defendant. Defendant
asserts Officer George's statement was the only evidence that he
resisted a public officer. The State presented substantial
evidence, however, that defendant attempted to elude campus police
officers, including Officer George, by running and hiding in an old
tobacco warehouse located off-campus. In light of this
uncontradicted evidence, the exclusion of Officer George's
statement would not have resulted in a different outcome. We
overrule defendant's second assignment of error.
[3] By his final assignment of error, defendant argues the
trial court improperly instructed the jury. Defendant failed to
object at trial, however. Where a defendant fails to make a proper
objection at trial, he waives the issue on appeal, absent a finding
of plain error. State v. McNeil, 350 N.C. 657, 691, 518 S.E.2d
486, 507 (1999). Where a defendant fails specifically anddistinctly to allege plain error, the defendant waives his right to
have the issues reviewed for plain error. State v. Forrest, 164
N.C. App. 272, 277, 596 S.E.2d 22, 25-26, disc. review denied, 359
N.C. 193, 607 S.E.2d 653 (2004). Defendant does not allege plain
error in his brief on appeal, and he has therefore waived his right
to appeal the jury instructions. We overrule defendant's final
assignment of error.
In conclusion, we find no error by the trial court.
No error.
Judges HUDSON and BRYANT concur.
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