NC Criminal Law

Phil Dixon on Friday, January 23rd, 2026

On Wednesday this week, Austin Thompson entered guilty pleas to five counts of murder and other charges stemming from a 2022 mass shooting in a Raleigh neighborhood. The defendant, who was 15 years old at the time, killed five people, including his brother and an off-duty Raleigh police officer. He also wounded another officer and another civilian before he apparently shot himself in the head and was apprehended. According to defense counsel, the defendant’s resulting brain injury has made...

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The state is not barred from recharging an offense if it was dismissed because the state’s motion to continue was denied. 

The use of the conjunctive “and” in an indictment charging two theories by which offense may be committed does not require the state to prove both theories.

A statement of charges, criminal summons, arrest warrant, citation or magistrate’s order may be amended at any time before or after final judgment as long as the amendment does not change the nature of the offense charged. G.S. 15A-922(f).

Venue is proper in the entire district of the alleged offense, not just the particular county where the offense allegedly occurred. See G.S. 15A-131(b). Probable cause hearings are an exception and must be held in the county where the offense occurred. See G.S. 15a-131(c).

A prosecutor’s failure to sign an indictment does not invalidate the indictment. G.S. 15A-644(a)(4).