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Unpublished Opinion No.   2003-UP-104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.