State v. Johnson

PHILLIPS, Judge.

Defendant was convicted of two counts of felonious breaking or entering and two counts of felonious larceny. In this Court for the first time he challenges the sufficiency of the two indictments that he was tried on. This is permitted by our law since jurisdiction to try an accused for a felony depends upon a valid bill of indictment. N.C. Constitution art. I, Sec. 22; State v. McBane, 276 N.C. 60, 170 S.E. 2d 913 (1969). And an indictment that does not allege all of the essential elements of the offense is invalid. State v. Crabtree, 286 N.C. 541, 212 S.E. 2d 103 (1975).

The…