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An unpublished opinion of the North Carolina Court of Appeals does not constitute controlling legal authority. Citation is disfavored, but may be permitted in accordance with the provisions of Rule 30(e)(3) of the North Carolina Rules of Appellate Procedure.

NO. COA12-610 NORTH CAROLINA COURT OF APPEALS Filed: 15 January 2013

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. Henderson County Nos. 09 CRS 52010 09 CRS 52295

CHARLES ANTHONY BALL

Appeal by defendant from judgments entered 4 November 2011 by Judge Gary M. Gavenus in Henderson County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 29 November 2012. Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General LaToya B. Powell, for the State. Michael E. Casterline for Defendant-appellant. HUNTER, JR., Robert N., Judge. Charles Anthony Ball ("Defendant") appeals from judgments entered after a jury convicted him of (i) first degree murder; and (ii) assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill

inflicting serious injury ("AWDWIKISI").

Defendant contends the

trial court erred by (i) denying his requested jury instructions on premeditated murder; (ii) failing to vacate the jurys felony

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murder

verdict;

and

(iii)

failing

to

dismiss

the

jurys

AWDWIKISI verdict due to insufficient evidence. Upon review, we conclude no error occurred. I. Facts & Procedural History On 1 June 2009, Defendant was indicted for: (i) first

degree murder of Paul Richard Chanin ("Paul"); and (ii) assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury on Carol Shellington Chanin ("Carol"). The States

evidence at trial tended to show the following facts. In 1980, Paul and Carol met in Las Vegas, Nevada, where Paul was building an apartment complex. Paul was a successful Paul

real estate developer with projects across the country. and Carol soon began dating. times over the next 25 years. in October 2002. After that

They married and divorced three The most recent divorce occurred divorce, Paul remained at his

residence in Florida and Carol moved to North Carolina. In 2005, was Carol a purchased in a home in Henderson who County. also had

Defendant

carpenter

Henderson

County

experience with plumbing and electrical work.

In August 2005,

Carol hired Defendant to perform some finish work in her home. Defendant had a full-time job and worked at Carols home in the evenings. That same month, Defendant separated from his wife,

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Patricia Henderson ("Patricia"). September 2006.

Defendant divorced Patricia in

Carol began having dinner with Defendant after Toward the end of 2006, Defendant and At the time, Defendant

he finished his work.

Carol initiated a sexual relationship. was 36 years old, and Carol was 62.

Around July 2007, Carol and Defendant ended their sexual relationship. home. She However, Carol still employed Defendant in her also briefly rented her basement apartment to

Defendant, but later asked him to leave due to privacy concerns. In December 2007, Carol let Defendant dog-sit at her house for a week while she traveled to New York. Before she left, Defendant

offered her a check for $4,800 to pay back money she previously lent him. After her trip, Carol attempted to deposit the check,

but it bounced. In January 2008, Defendant called Carol and told her he had been robbed, his truck from had his been bank stolen, and someone picked had up

withdrawn

$40,000

account.

Carol

Defendant, drove him to the emergency room, and reported the robbery to the police. Defendant later told police he found his

truck and he did not want them to pursue the matter further. After this incident, Carols adult children voiced their concerns about her relationship with Defendant. About two weeks

after Defendants alleged robbery, they had a private detective

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give

Defendant

a

letter

telling

him

not

to

contact

Carol.

Copies of the letter were given to the Hendersonville Police Department and the security guards for Carols neighborhood. That same month, Defendant moved back in with his ex-wife Patricia. Around this time, Defendant developed the belief Paul

had connections with organized crime and was having Defendant followed. Consequently, when he finished work every night,

Defendant hid his truck and had Patricia pick him up.

He would

then have Patricia drive him back to his truck every morning. No evidence indicates Paul had any connections to organized

crime or was having Defendant followed. Despite Defendant. her childrens efforts, Carol still talked to

For example, one night she locked herself out of her She a

house and asked Defendant to help her get the door open. also gave Defendant jobs repairing her deck and

building

storage cart for her painting materials. Throughout 2008, Carol began to give Defendant more

projects in her home.

Defendant also did work for his landlord, Lublin let Defendant move into her

Micheline Lublin ("Lublin").

home from November 2008 to April 2009 while he built her a porch. Although Lublin paid Defendant in advance, he left

without notice before finishing the porch. Around this time, Defendant began displaying violent

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tendencies.

One time, Defendant and Carol were at her home Carol answered a phone Defendant surreptitiously

while Defendant worked on a project. call from a man she was dating.

listened in on the phone call.

When he figured out the person

was someone Carol was dating, he became so angry he punched his fist through a television. In July 2008, Paul moved from Florida to North Carolina to live with Carol because his health was failing. Paul had

recently had hip replacement surgery and two blood transfusions, requiring him to use a walker. Carol again began to notice Shortly before Pauls arrival, latches on two windows were

sometimes turned to an open position. missing from her home. of the suspicious

She also observed items

Carol suspected Defendant was the cause and even told a friend, Donna

activity,

Kassab, she was afraid of Defendant.

As a precaution, Carol had She unsuccessfully In October Defendant

a locksmith change the locks to her home.

tried to get a restraining order against Defendant. 2008, Carol obtained a "no contact" order against

after he began making harassing phone calls.

The hearing for

that order was the last contact Carol had with Defendant before 20 April 2009. On the night of 19 April 2009, Paul and Carol fell asleep in Carols Hendersonville home with the television on. Early

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the next morning, Carol woke up to her dogs barking and the sound of repeated "cracks" and "thuds" next to her in her bed. When she opened her eyes, she saw a dark figure beating Paul with a baseball bat. Although the lights in the room were off,

she immediately recognized the attacker was Defendant from the light of the television. When Carol jumped out of bed,

Defendant hit her in the back of her head with the baseball bat. She raised her arms for protection and tried to crawl under the bed. Defendant repeatedly struck her arms and legs with the bat. Meanwhile, Paul lay on the bed groaning and

baseball

asking for help. Carol grabbed the broken stem of a wine glass to use as a defensive weapon. know about me?" Defendant repeatedly asked Carol "does he Both Carol and Paul responded affirmatively.

Carol pleaded for Defendant to call 911 for Paul, but he refused unless she came out from under the bed. Carol asked Defendant When

to lay Paul on the floor to see if he was still alive. Defendant complied, Carol saw Paul was still breathing.

From under the bed, Carol talked to Defendant about his family to calm him down. the baseball bat. any other weapons, She convinced Defendant to give her

After Defendant showed her he did not have she came out from under the bed. She

immediately ran to the kitchen to call 911, but the phone did

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not

work. gave

Defendant him all

approached the money

and in

asked her

Carol

for

money. to

Carol

purse,

amounting

approximately $140 to $160. from the basement and fled.

Defendant then took some clothes

Once Defendant left, Carol called 911 again. a 911 operator at 7:01 AM.

Carol reached

When paramedics arrived, they found

Paul lying on the kitchen floor, bleeding heavily and barely conscious. Hospital. They immediately airlifted Paul to Memorial Mission The paramedics also treated Carols injuries, which As a result of the

included cuts to her head and a broken arm.

attack, Carol suffered permanent nerve damage to her right knee and chronic pain in her arm and side. At about 6:30 PM that day, police arrested Defendant as he pulled into his driveway. Defendants car and Police executed a search warrant for blood-stained blue jeans. A

found

subsequent S.B.I. chemical analysis confirmed the stains were predominantly from Pauls blood, and also included some of

Defendants blood. After his arrest, Defendant called his girlfriend, Angela Edens ("Angela"), from jail. house the previous night to He told Angela he went to Carols get money from Carol and Paul.

Specifically, he said Carol owed him money for his work in her home, and he needed the money to pay debt collectors. He also

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admitted to stealing Angelas wallet earlier that week. Paul died from his injuries on 30 April 2009. Defendant

was subsequently indicted for (i) first degree murder of Paul; and (2) AWDWIKISI of Carol. Before trial, Defendant met with Dr. Pete Sansbury ("Dr. Sansbury"), a licensed clinical psychologist. Dr. Sansbury

diagnosed Defendant as having (i) a delusional disorder with a "persecutory" subtype; and (ii) a cognitive disorder, not

otherwise specified.

According to Dr. Sansbury, the delusional

disorder causes patients to develop false beliefs that persist even despite contrary evidence. The false beliefs are often

associated with feelings of persecution or jealousy; they are not usually bizarre or extreme delusions. Dr. Sansbury further

testified that the cognitive disorder causes patients to miss certain pieces of information in everyday interactions, leading them to false conclusions. Dr. Sansbury determined Defendant Dr.

had above average intelligence despite these disorders.

Sansbury referred Defendant to Dr. Frank Wood ("Dr. Wood"), a neuropsychologist, for further evaluation. Dr. Wood believed

Defendant fell somewhere on the schizophrenia spectrum. Defendant County faced trial on At 25 the October end of 2011 all in the Henderson evidence, The trial

Superior

Court.

Defendant made a motion to dismiss all his charges.

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court denied Defendants motion.

On 4 November 2011, the jury

found Defendant guilty of (i) first degree murder; and (ii) assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. Defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment He also was sentenced

without parole for first degree murder.

to a minimum of 73 months, and a maximum of 97 months for his AWDWIKISI conviction, to run consecutively with his first degree murder sentence. Defendant filed timely notice of appeal.

II. Jurisdiction & Standard of Review This Court has jurisdiction to hear the instant case pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat.

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