IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF NORTH CAROLINA No. COA18-14 Filed: 16 April 2019 Madison County, No. 15CRS050222 STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. KENNETH CALVIN CHANDLER, Defendant. Appeal by defendant from judgment entered 11 August 2017 by Judge Mark E. Powell in Madison County Superior Court. Heard in the Court of Appeals 31 October 2018. Attorney General Joshua H. Stein, by Special Deputy Attorney General Jennifer T. Harrod, for the State. Appellate Defender Glenn Gerding, by Assistant Appellate Defender Katherine Jane Allen, for the defendant-appellant. BERGER, Judge. A Madison County jury found Kenneth Calvin Chandler (“Defendant”) guilty of first-degree sex offense with a child and taking indecent liberties with a child. Defendant appeals, arguing that the trial judge improperly refused to accept a tendered guilty plea in violation of the statutory mandate in N.C. Gen. Stat. § 15A- 1023(c). We disagree. Factual and Procedural Background STATE V. CHANDLER Opinion of the Court Defendant was indicted for first-degree sex offense with a child and indecent liberties with a child. Defendant reached a plea agreement with the State and signed a standard AOC-CR-300 Transcript of Plea to resolve these charges on February 6, 2017. Defendant’s Transcript of Plea was also signed by his attorney and the prosecutor. On page one of the Transcript of Plea, there are three boxes available to describe the type of plea a defendant is entering: (1) guilty, (2) guilty pursuant to Alford decision, and (3) no contest. Defendant checked that he was pleading guilty. Page two of the Transcript of Plea has standard questions concerning the type of plea entered. In response to question 13, “Do you now personally plead guilty, [or] no contest to the charges I just described[,]” Defendant checked the box marked “guilty,” and answered in the affirmative. Question 14 has subparts (a), (b), and (c). Each subpart concerns the different pleas available to a defendant. Subpart (a) is used with a guilty plea, (b) is for no contest pleas, and (c) is specifically for Alford pleas. Because Defendant was pleading guilty, in response to the question in subpart (a), “Are you in fact guilty[,]” Defendant again answered in the affirmative on the Transcript of Plea. Page three of the Transcript of Plea addresses the plea arrangement made by the State. According to the Transcript of Plea, in exchange for Defendant’s guilty plea, the State agreed to dismiss the charge of first degree sex offense. Page three -2- STATE V. CHANDLER Opinion of the Court also contains signature lines for Defendant, defense counsel, and the prosecutor. Defendant acknowledged that the terms and conditions stated in the Transcript of Plea were accurate. Defense counsel certified that he and Defendant agreed to the terms and conditions stated in the Transcript of Plea. The prosecutor’s certification states that the conditions stated in the Transcript of Plea were agreed to by all parties for entry of the plea. On February 7, 2017, the State called Defendant’s case and indicated to the trial court that the Defendant planned to ...
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