{
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  "name": "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. CHRISTOPHER SEAN DOWNS",
  "name_abbreviation": "State v. Downs",
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  "casebody": {
    "judges": [
      "Judges STEELMAN and STEPHENS concur."
    ],
    "parties": [
      "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. CHRISTOPHER SEAN DOWNS"
    ],
    "opinions": [
      {
        "text": "LEVINSON, Judge.\nChristopher Sean Downs (defendant) appeals from judgment entered upon his conviction for assault inflicting serious bodily injury. We find no 'error.\nThe pertinent facts may be summarized as follows: On 8 March 2005, in a classroom at T. C. Roberson High School in Buncombe County North Carolina, defendant struck Zach Siler several times. The strikes resulted in a number of sustained injuries to Siler: severe facial swelling, an abrasion on the scalp, eye swelling resulting in the left eye temporarily closing, a minimally displaced fractured nose, and an \u201cevulsed No. 8 \u201d tooth.\nSiler was immediately taken to the hospital, where he was treated for three or four hours. Siler\u2019s injured lip was sutured with three stitches, and x-rays were taken of his head and face. Siler was given a prescription for painkillers and antibiotics to prevent infection. When Siler was discharged later the same day, he was still feeling \u201cpretty strong\u201d pain and thereafter missed three days of school. The pain in Siler\u2019s face and nose lasted for five or six days. A month later, Siler\u2019s dentist fashioned a temporary prosthetic tooth to fill the gap left by the knocked-out tooth. Siler\u2019s mouth continued to hurt until he began wearing the temporary prosthetic tooth. Siler, who was fifteen (15) years old at the time of the incident, will receive a permanent prosthetic tooth when he turns eighteen (18).\nDefendant was convicted of assault inflicting serious bodily injury and was sentenced to a suspended prison term of 16-20 months. Defendant now appeals.\nDefendant contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the charge of assault inflicting serious bodily injury because the State failed to present substantial evidence that Siler suffered serious bodily injury. We disagree.\nWhen ruling on a motion to dismiss, \u201cthe trial court must determine only whether ther\u00e9 is substantial evidence of each essential element of the offense charged and of the defendant being the perpetrator of the offense.\u201d State v. Crawford, 344 N.C. 65, 73, 472 S.E.2d 920, 925 (1996).\nEvidence is substantial if it is relevant and adequate to convince a reasonable mind to accept a conclusion. In considering a motion to dismiss, the trial court must analyze the evidence in the light most favorable to the State and give the State the benefit of every reasonable inference from the evidence. The trial court must also resolve any contradictions in the evidence in the State\u2019s favor. The trial court does not weigh the evidence, consider evidence unfavorable to the State, or determine any witness\u2019 credibility.\nState v. Robinson, 355 N.C. 320, 336, 561 S.E.2d 245, 255-56 (2002) (internal citations and quotation marks omitted). \u201c[T]he rule for determining the sufficiency of evidence is the same whether the evidence is completely circumstantial, completely direct, or both.\u201d State v. Crouse, 169 N.C. App. 382, 389, 610 S.E.2d 454, 459 (2005) (quoting State v. Wright, 302 N.C. 122, 126, 273 S.E.2d 699, 703 (1981)).\nN.C. Gen. Stat. \u00a7 14-32.4 (2005) requires proof of \u201c(1) the commission of an assault on another, which (2) inflicts serious bodily injury.\u201d State v. Hannah, 149 N.C. App. 713, 717, 563 S.E.2d 1, 4 (2002). G.S. \u00a7 14-32.4(a) defines serious bodily injury as:\n. . . injury that creates a substantial risk of death, or that causes serious permanent disfigurement, coma, a permanent or protracted condition that causes extreme pain, or permanent or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ, or that results in prolonged hospitalization.\nIn ordinary usage, \u201cdisfigurement\u201d is defined as \u201c[t]o mar or spoil the appearance or shape of.\u201d Webster\u2019s II New College Dictionary 332 (3d ed. 2005). Defendant\u2019s assault caused Siler to forever lose a natural tooth, and therefore \u201cmarred and spoiled\u201d his appearance. Notwithstanding the prospect of a dental implant, the fact remains that Siler suffered the permanent loss of his own live, natural tooth. Because there is substantial record evidence of a serious permanent disfigurement, this assignment of error is overruled.\nNo error.\nJudges STEELMAN and STEPHENS concur.\n. See Ida G. Dox, PhD, et al., American Jurisprudence Proof of Facts 3d Series Attorney\u2019s Illustrated Medical Dictionary T62 (2002) (Number 8 tooth is the maxillary central incisor, located in the top front row of teeth next to the maxillary lateral incisor).",
        "type": "majority",
        "author": "LEVINSON, Judge."
      }
    ],
    "attorneys": [
      "Attorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General Michael D. Youth, for the State.",
      "Allen W. Boyer for defendant."
    ],
    "corrections": "",
    "head_matter": "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. CHRISTOPHER SEAN DOWNS\nNo. COA06-28\n(Filed 17 October 2006)\nAssault\u2014 serious bodily injury \u2014 loss of tooth\nThe loss of a live, natural tooth was evidence of a serious permanent disfigurement, despite the prospect of a dental implant, sufficient for the serious bodily injury element of assault inflicting serious bodily injury. N.C.G.S. \u00a7 14-32.4(a).\nAppeal by defendant from judgment entered 16 September 2005 by Judge Zoro J. Guice in Buncombe County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 14 September 2006.\nAttorney General Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General Michael D. Youth, for the State.\nAllen W. Boyer for defendant."
  },
  "file_name": "0860-01",
  "first_page_order": 892,
  "last_page_order": 894
}