Case Summaries – N.C. Court of Appeals (Oct. 4, 2022)

This post summarizes the published criminal opinions from the North Carolina Court of Appeals released on October 4, 2022. These summaries will be added to Smith’s Criminal Case Compendium, a free and searchable database of case summaries from 2008 to the present. Paved area next to fuel pumps constituted a “public vehicular area” under G.S. § 20-4.01(32) for search of an automobile; smell of heroin justified search under plain-smell doctrine. State v. Parker, 2022-NCCOA-655, ___ N.C. App. ___ (Oct. 4, 2022). In this Guilford County case, defendant appealed his attempted heroin trafficking and possession of a firearm convictions pursuant to a plea agreement that preserved his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. The Court of Appeals affirmed the denial of defendant’s motion. The Guilford County Sheriff’s Office conducted a narcotics investigation in May of 2019. As part of the investigation, a confidential informant made several purchases of heroin from a person who was associated with defendant. During a purchase set up by the confidential informant, the seller was observed getting into a black SUV, a vehicle later spotted by an officer at a fuel pump near the arranged buy. After spotting the black SUV officers detained defendant, who was operating the SUV, and searched the vehicle, finding heroin and a loaded firearm. At trial, defendant moved to suppress the warrantless search and seizure, which the trial court denied after finding probable cause for the search. Reviewing defendant’s appeal, the Court of Appeals first examined the challenged findings [...]