State v. Higgins, 310 N.C. 741 (1984)

April 30, 1984 · Supreme Court of North Carolina · No. 58A84

310 N.C. 741

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. JOSEPH P. HIGGINS, JR.

No. 58A84

(Filed 30 April 1984)

APPEAL by the State pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 7A-30Í2) from the decision of the Court of Appeals, Judge Wells with Judge Webb concurring and Judge Whichard dissenting, reported in 66 N.C. App. 1, 310 S.E. 2d 644 (1984), which granted the defendant a new trial. The defendant had appealed from the judgment of Brannon, J., entered at the 16 December 1982 Session of CUMBERLAND County Superior Court.

Attorney General Rufus L. Edmisten, by Special Deputy Attorney General Charles J. Murray and Associate Attorney Floyd M. Lewis, for the State.

Van Camp, Gill & Crumpler, P.A., by James R. Van Camp, for the defendant.

PER CURIAM.

Defendant was convicted of felonious breaking or entering, felonious larceny, and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. At trial the State introduced into evidence, over defendant’s objection, certain pawnshop tickets signed by the defendant. The Court of Appeals correctly determined that this evidence was not admissible for the purpose of establishing a motive for the crimes with which defendant was charged and further, that the State improperly used this evidence to impeach collaterally defendant’s responses to the State’s questions on cross-examination. The Court of Appeals’ decision to grant a new trial is

Affirmed.