North Carolina’s Court of Appeals has upheld the conviction of a former Greensboro man who was convicted in Alamance County superior court in May 2022 of felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and serious injury.
The Appeals Court has also dismissed a separate appeal of a January 2023 conviction in Alamance County superior court of felony speeding to flee/elude arrest, assault on a law enforcement officer inflicting injury, and felonious restraint, concluding that the appeal lacked any merit.
Abdur-Rahman Waheed, 26, black, male, formerly of 137 West Lakefield Drive, Greensboro, unsuccessfully argued on appeal that evidence introduced and testimony given at his trial in Alamance County in 2022 had unfairly prejudiced the outcome of his trial.
Waheed was originally indicted on charges of attempted first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill and inflict serious injury, the case background states.
An Alamance County jury acquitted Waheed in May 2022 of the attempted murder and conspiracy charges but found him guilty of assault with a deadly weapon, and he was sentenced to a minimum of six years, nine months, up to a maximum of nine years and three months, in prison. He is currently incarcerated at the Foothills Correctional Institution in Morganton, according to the state Department of Adult Corrections (DA).
Waheed had met a woman, identified in the case background as Alliyah Crouse, at a strip club in 2019 and developed a “close relationship” afterward. Crouse confided in Waheed that another man, identified as James Blackwell, had been threatening and pressuring her for sex. The woman testified at the trial in 2022 that “Blackwell became aggressive, threatening to do sexual things to her and destroy property outside her home and claimed to always carry a gun.”
Apparently, as part of a plan to stop Blackwell from pressuring her, Crouse had gone to pick up Waheed in Greensboro the day of the shooting and later donned a “hoodie and gloves [to] intimidate Blackwell,” based on the case background.
Crouse testified at Waheed’s trial that there had been “Jason” ski mask (similar to that worn by the protagonist in the Halloween horror movies) in her car when she went to pick up Waheed on January 6, 2020; and, following a confrontation at her apartment between Waheed and Blackwell the same day, the mask had disappeared from her car.
Waheed was later charged in January 2020 with shooting Blackwell at the Pines Apartments along Ivey Road in Graham. The then-19 year old Blackwell was taken by helicopter to a hospital for treatment of life-threatening injuries.
In appealing his conviction, Waheed contended that G. Bryan Collins, a visiting superior court judge from Wake County who had presided over the trial in Alamance County, had erred in allowing statements concerning the “Jason mask” to be entered into evidence at his trial.
The Appeals Court, however, concluded there had been no error, based on an opinion issued Tuesday.
During the trial in Alamance County, “The jury heard conflicting testimony regarding the purpose of [Waheed’s] confrontation with Blackwell,” judge John Arrowood noted in his opinion for the Appeals Court. “Crouse contended that [Waheed] intended to kill Blackwell, while [the] defendant denied this, testifying that he merely sought to confront Blackwell.
“Thus, it was critically important for the state to provide corroborating evidence of Crouse’s story in order to support the charge of attempted first-degree murder, making the Jason mask, which provided some of this corroboration, relevant,” Arrowood wrote.
The Appeals Court concluded that the introduction of the mask at his trial didn’t unfairly sway the jury in finding Waheed guilty of assault with a deadly weapon to kill or inflict serious injury.
“In the defendant’s own words, he wanted to intimidate Blackwell, something that a Jason mask would consummately achieve,” Arrowood added. “The mask cannot paint [the] defendant in any worse light than his own words have. We also note that [Waheed] was acquitted of the charge of attempted first-degree murder and found guilty on the lesser charge. [Waheed] states in his brief that ‘the Jason mask is synonymous with murder and murderous intent in pop culture.’ While that may be true, it is clear the jury did not allow pop culture to influence its deliberations.”
Judges Michael Stading and April Wood concurred with Arrowood’s opinion for the Appeals Court.
Defendant in second case pleaded guilty – then appealed
The Appeals Court also issued a separate opinion Tuesday, dismissing as frivolous the appeal of Jerry Eugene Turner, 53, black, male, formerly of 2609 Mason Hollar Road, Mebane.
Turner appealed his January 2023 conviction in Alamance County superior court of felony speeding to flee/elude arrest, assaulting a law enforcement officer inflicting injury, possession of drug paraphernalia, and two counts of felonious restraint.
Turner pleaded guilty – in exchange for dismissal of the charge of possession of drug paraphernalia – and was sentenced to a minimum of 11 years, 6 months, up to a maximum of 15 years, in state prison. He is currently incarcerated at the Pender Correctional Institute in Burgaw, according to the DAC.
In that case, Turner had led Alamance County sheriff’s deputies on a high-speed chase near Haw River the evening of October 18, 2022, according to a news release that the sheriff’s office issued at the time.
During the pursuit, the vehicle driven by Turner turned on Trollingwood Road, then on Haywood Street, before running off the road and into a field, where two occupants jumped out. Turner ultimately got back onto Trollingwood Road and crashed near the Flying J truck stop in Haw River, where he fled on foot before being apprehended.
While Turner subsequently pleaded guilty and gave notice of appeal, his own attorney, David S. Hallen of the state Office of the Appellate Defender, was “unable to identify any issue with sufficient merit to support a meaningful argument for relief on appeal,” according to the unanimous, unsigned opinion issued Tuesday by the Court of Appeals.
Rather, Hallen asked the Appeals Court “to conduct its own review of the record for possible prejudicial error.”
Turner “brought forth no issues on appeal,” nor did he file any documents on his own behalf, according to the Appeals Court opinion.
The three judge panel for the Court of Appeals – consisting of judges Donna Stroud, John Tyson, and April Wood – concluded that there was no prejudicial error and that “the appeal is wholly frivolous.”
