State v. Davidson

In State v. Davidson, 77 N.C. App. 540, 335 S.E.2d 518 (1985), the defendants entered a retail store, and, at gunpoint, took the store's occupants from the front of the store to a dressing room in the rear of the store; bound their heads, arms, and legs; took their valuables; and then took cash and merchandise from the store. Id. at 541, 335 S.E.2d at 519. In upholding the kidnapping convictions, this Court concluded: "Removal of the victims to the dressing room where none of the stolen property was kept thus was not an inherent and integral part of the robbery." Id. at 543, 335 S.E.2d at 520. The "removal" was the critical factor. The State, however, points to this Court's statement in Davidson that the removal "was a separate course of conduct designed to remove the victims from the view of passersby who might have hindered the commission of the crime." Id. The State contends that the conduct in this case necessarily must have been for the same purpose. In making this argument, the State overlooks the fact that there must still have been "a separate course of conduct." Id.