STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA
v. Caldwell County
No. 05 CRS 50044
LASHUN DIANTEA ELLIS
Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General
Scott A. Conklin, for the State.
William D. Spence for defendant-appellant.
WYNN, Judge.
Under our appellate rules, to preserve a question for
appellate review a defendant must have presented to the trial
court a timely request, objection or motion, stating the specific
grounds for the ruling the party desired the court to make.
(See footnote 1)
Here, we find that Defendant Lashun Diantea Ellis made no objection
at his probation revocation hearing as to either the validity or
substance of the conditions imposed as part of his probation. We
therefore conclude that he has not preserved these questions for
appellate review and accordingly dismiss his appeal.
On 17 May 2006, Defendant pled guilty to selling cocaine andwas sentenced to a term of twelve to fifteen months' imprisonment.
The trial court suspended Defendant's sentence and placed him on
supervised probation for thirty-six months. On 7 September 2006,
the trial court modified Defendant's probation, adding the special
condition that he successfully complete 90 day DART program.
On 6 November 2006, a probation violation report was filed
alleging that Defendant had willfully violated:
1. Special Condition of Probation Attend or
reside in a residential program for the
specified period of time and obey all rules
and regulations of the program until
discharge. . . in that [defendant] WAS
ORDERED TO ATTEND AND COMPLETE THE DART
PROGRAM AND HE ABSCONDED THE DART PROGRAM ON
10-28-06 AFTER ONLY 4 DAYS WITHOUT LAWFUL
EXCUSE[.]
The trial court held a probation violation hearing on 27 November
2006, at which Defendant admitted to the violation and his
probation officer also testified regarding the violation. The
trial court then found that Defendant willfully violated the
conditions of his probation and accordingly revoked Defendant's
probation and activated his suspended sentence.
Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial court erred by (I)
revoking Defendant's probation based on the violation of a
condition that was never imposed on Defendant, and (II) finding and
concluding that Defendant violated a valid condition of his
probation, when the condition was not valid. Defendant notes that
the violation report alleges that he violated the condition of his
probation that he attend or reside in a residential program[,]
but asserts that this was never actually a condition of hisprobation. Defendant further contends that, although he was
required to complete the DART program as a special condition of his
probation, no time limit was set for its completion, such that this
condition of his probation could have been completed at any time
during the term of his probation.
Nevertheless, we decline to review Defendant's arguments.
Although Defendant appeared with counsel at his probation
revocation hearing, where he admitted to violating his probation
and did not deny willfulness, Defendant also made no arguments
whatsoever in front of the trial court that the condition of
probation allegedly violated had not been imposed, or that it was
permissible for him to complete the DART program at any time during
the period of probation. Defendant thus failed to preserve these
arguments for appellate review. See N.C. R. App. P. 10(b)(1) (In
order to preserve a question for appellate review, a party must
have presented to the trial court a timely . . . objection or
motion, stating the specific grounds for the ruling the party
desired the court to make . . .); State v. Wiley, 355 N.C. 592,
615, 565 S.E.2d 22, 39 (2002) (It is well settled that an error .
. . that defendant does not bring to the trial court's attention is
waived and will not be considered on appeal. (citations omitted)),
cert. denied, 537 U.S. 1117, 154 L. Ed. 2d 795 (2003).
Dismissed.
Judges BRYANT and ELMORE concur.
Report per Rule 30(e).
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