State v. WilliamsÂ, 255 N.C. App. 168

Background

On June 11, 2014 Officer Josh Smith responded to a trespass call at a homeless shelter; the shelter representative identified the defendant (Kwanissda Williams) and asked she be trespassed.
Officer Smith located Williams ~200 yards from the shelter, spoke with her, and suspected she gave a false name; he told her he would detain her to ascertain identity for trespass purposes.
Williams walked away, Officer Smith attempted to handcuff her, she resisted, he performed a leg sweep and both went to the ground; Williams bit Officer Smith’s left forearm twice during the struggle.
Officer Smith suffered a bite wound (bleeding, swelling, bruising, later scabbing and discoloration) that did not require stitches; he received prophylactic treatment and follow-up testing and returned to work the next day.
Williams was indicted for resisting/obstructing an officer and assault on a law enforcement officer inflicting serious bodily injury (AISBI); she moved to suppress and moved to dismiss at trial; the jury convicted her of both charges and she was sentenced to 10–21 months.
The Court of Appeals: affirmed denial of the suppression motion and the resisting conviction; reversed the AISBI conviction (insufficient evidence of serious bodily injury) and remanded for entry of judgment on the lesser-included offense (assault inflicting physical injury) and resentencing.

Issues

Issue	State's Argument	Williams' Argument	Held
Whether the trial court erred by denying Williams’ motion to suppress without sworn testimony	The affidavit supporting the motion did not, as a matter of law, require a full §15A‑977(d) hearing; facts alleged gave reasonable suspicion to detain for trespass identification, so summary denial was proper	Trial court violated §15A‑977(d) by not hearing sworn testimony; suppression ruling lacked competent evidentiary basis	Court held the trial court properly summarily denied the motion: the affidavit supported summary disposition and a full sworn hearing was not required (no error)
Whether the State presented sufficient evidence to convict Williams of resisting a law enforcement officer	Officer Smith was lawfully discharging his duty (detention to investigate trespass) and Williams willfully resisted	Williams argued the stop/detention lacked reasonable suspicion so officer was not discharging a lawful duty	Court held Officer Smith had reasonable, articulable suspicion under the affidavit and was discharging his duty; resisting conviction stands
Whether evidence supported AISBI (serious bodily injury) conviction	The bite left a permanent discoloration/scar and caused significant pain and medical treatment; argued this supported serious permanent disfigurement or a protracted condition causing extreme pain	Williams argued the injury was temporary, treated without invasive care, she returned to work the next day, and there was no evidence of protracted/extreme pain or permanent disfigurement	Court held the evidence insufficient for statutory definitions of serious bodily injury (no protracted/ extreme pain or serious permanent disfigurement); reversed AISBI conviction but affirmed assault inflicting physical injury as lesser-included offense

Key Cases Cited

State v. Salinas, 366 N.C. 119 (procedural function of §15A‑977 affidavit; affidavit can justify summary denial and testimony under oath is only required if court cannot summarily dispose)
State v. Roache, 358 N.C. 243 (arguments of counsel are not evidence)
State v. Williams, 150 N.C. App. 497 (definition/analysis of “serious bodily injury” including protracted condition causing extreme pain)
State v. Williams, 201 N.C. App. 161 (Williams II) (holding that evidence of prolonged soreness alone without proof of extreme pain was insufficient for serious bodily injury)
State v. Downs, 179 N.C. App. 860 (examples where severe injury and permanent loss/disfigurement support serious bodily injury)