charges. When reviewing a defendant’s motion to dismiss for insufficiency of the evidence, “the evidence must be considered in a light most favorable to the State and the State must be given the benefit of every reasonable inference arising therefrom.” State v. Davis, 97 N.C. App. 259, 264, 388 S.E.2d 201, 204, aff’d per curiam, 327 N.C. 467, 396 S.E.2d 324 (1990) (citations omitted). We must determine “whether there is substantial evidence of each essential element of the crime charged and that the defen E.2d 174, 178-79 (2001) (finding no evidence the defendants voluntarily released the victims in a safe place where the evidence showed that the defendants fled after shooting one victim and chasing another victim); State v. Raynor, 128 N.C. App. 244, 251, 495 S.E.2d 176, 180 (1998) (<HOLDING>). Other cases, which do address whether a place
holding the evidence sufficient to permit the jury to infer the victim escaped from the defendant at a convenience store as opposed to being released in a safe place holding the evidence established the victim was released in a safe place when the victim was taken to a motel near a major shopping center in the middle of the afternoon was voluntarily dropped off with change to make a phone call and received assistance from hotel employees in the office holding the evidence supported a finding that the handicapped victim was not in a safe place where the victim was tied and undressed in the wintertime and left in an unfamiliar area holding that evidence the victim tried to keep defendant from fleeing the scene of a crime and defendant killed victim in order to escape supported the finding that murder was committed to avoid arrest holding the evidence supported the inference that the victim was not released in a safe place where the victim overpowered the defendants and effected his own escape