State v. Choppy

WYNN, Judge.

On 29 August 1997, several people were at the home of the defendant and his girlfriend Sarah Roach in Franklin, North Carolina. The defendant told Roach that he was going to “jack” people, meaning commit armed robbery, and he left around 5:00 p.m. with his friend Dwain Surmiak, driving Roach’s white Ford Fiesta.

The two men picked up Patty O’Connor, stopped at the home of a friend, went to a store, ate dinner at a fast food restaurant, then stopped at a newsstand so the defendant could buy some cigars. All three people were armed — the defendant had a 9 millimeter semiautomatic…