State v. Beck

*612NEWBY, Justice.

The North Carolina Structured Sentencing Act provides that the “same item of evidence” cannot be used to prove more than one aggravating factor. N.C.G.S. § 15A-1340.16(d) (2003). The question presented by this case is whether the phrase “same item of evidence,” refers to a single source document or a particular fact derived therefrom. We hold the phrase restricts the use of the same facts, not the same source.

On 1 July 2000, defendant Melvin Wayne Beck was indicted for first-degree murder and first-degree burglary. On 30 August 2002, a jury convicted defendant of the…