State v. Luckette

THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA In The Court of Appeals The State, Respondent, v. Leroy Luckette, Appellant. Appeal From Orangeburg County Luke N. Brown, Jr., Circuit Court Judge Unpublished Opinion No. 2003-UP-104 Submitted September 25, 2002 - Filed February 5, 2003 AFFIRMED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART Senior Assistant Appellate Defender Wanda H. Haile, of Columbia; for Appellant. Attorney General Henry Dargan McMaster, Chief Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson, Assistant Deputy Attorney General Charles H. Richardson, of Columbia; Solicitor Walter M. Bailey, Jr., of Summerville; for Respondent(s). PER CURIAM: Leroy Luckette appeals his plea of guilty to assault and battery with intent to kill, armed robbery, and failure to stop for a blue light/siren. The trial judge sentenced Luckette to three years imprisonment for failure to stop for a blue light/siren, twenty years imprisonment for assault and battery with intent to kill, and thirty years imprisonment for armed robbery. The sentences for armed robbery and assault and battery with intent to kill were to be served consecutively. We affirm in part and vacate in part. Pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967), counsel for Luckette attached to the final brief a petition to be relieved as counsel, stating she had reviewed the record and concluded Luckette’s appeal is without legal merit. Luckette did not file a separate pro se response. FACTS On July 31, 2000, the victim was staying at the Quality Inn in Orangeburg. At approximately 12:30 a.m., Luckette confronted the victim outside of his room. Luckette aimed a .410 shotgun at him and demanded money and the victim’s car keys. After taking the victim’s wallet, Luckette shot him in the face. While he was on the ground, Luckette pointed the shotgun and attempted to shoot a second time, but the gun jammed. Luckette then took the victim’s keys and stole his vehicle. Officers with the Highway Patrol responded to a 911 call identifying the victim’s vehicle. The trooper who spotted the vehicle signaled Luckette to stop. When Luckette failed to stop, a high-speed chase ensued. Ultimately, Luckette was apprehended after he lost control of the vehicle. A search of the vehicle revealed a shotgun and several items belonging to the victim. Later that night, two people at the Quality Inn identified Luckette. Luckette also gave a statement to the police in which he admitted his guilt. DISCUSSION After a thorough review of the record pursuant to Anders and State v. Williams, 305 S.C. 116, 406 S.E.2d 357 (1991), we find the only issue of arguable merit concerns the indictment for the offense of failure to stop for a blue/light siren. [1] This indictment is not “true billed” or signed/dated by the foreperson the grand jury. Nor is there a written waiver of presentment to the grand jury by Luckette. As such, we ordered the parties to provide this Court with a valid indictment or evidence of jurisdiction. In response, the State informed this Court that the only indictment for this offense is the one included in the record on appeal. Appellate Defense provided this Court with a letter that confirmed the absence of a valid indictment. Because we have not received the requisite jurisdictional information, we find the indictment is invalid and the circuit court was without jurisdiction for this offense. See S.C. Const. art. I, § 11 (“No person may be held to answer for any crime . . . unless on a presentment or indictment of a grand jury of the county where the crime has been committed . . . The General Assembly may provide for the waiver of an indictment by the accused.”); State v. Evans, 307 S.C. 477, 479, 415 S.E.2d 816, 817 (1992) (“[I]n the absence of an indictment by the grand jury . . . or a valid waiver of presentment of indictment, the circuit court lacks subject matter jurisdiction over the offense.”); State v. Beachum, 288 S.C. 325, 342 S.E.2d 597 (1986) (holding the law requires presentment of a grand jury as a condition precedent to the trial of a crime, excepting certain minor offenses); Anderson v. State, 338 S.C. 629, 527 S.E.2d 398 (Ct. App. 2000) (holding a conviction obtained without the presentment of a grand jury will be voided on appeal). Accordingly, we vacate Luckette’s conviction for failure to stop for a blue light/siren. We affirm his convictions for assault and battery with intent to kill and armed robbery, and grant counsel’s petition to be relieved. AFFIRMED IN PART AND VACATED IN PART. CONNOR, STILWELL, and HOWARD, JJ., concur. [1] Because the sufficiency of the indictment is the only issue of arguable merit, we need not again address the voluntariness of Luckette’s plea.