North Carolina Supreme Court Upholds a Magistrate’s Finding of Probable Cause to Issue Search Warrant to Search Home for Drugs

On December 21, 2016, the North Carolina Supreme Court in State v. Allman upheld a magistrate’s finding of probable cause to search a home for drugs, and it reversed a contrary ruling in this case by the North Carolina Court of Appeals. The Allman ruling is the subject of this post. Allegations in search warrant affidavit. A Brunswick County deputy sheriff stopped a car driven by Black in which his half-brother, Whitehead, was a passenger. The deputy searched the car and found 8.1 ounces of marijuana and $1,600 in cash. During the stop, Whitehead said that he and Black lived at 30 Twin Oaks Drive in Castle Hayne, and they were going there before the deputy stopped them. The affiant officer, a New Hanover County deputy sheriff, discovered that both men had prior drug arrests or convictions. The affiant officer went to 30 Twin Oaks Drive the same day as the stop and spoke to the two men’s mother who lived there. She told the officer that the two men lived at 4844 Acres Drive in Wilmington and had not lived at 30 Twin Oaks Drive for about three years. She described the Acres Drive residence along with two vehicles there, and another deputy went there. The property matched the mother’s description, and one of the two vehicles was registered to Black. The search warrant affidavit recited the affiant’s extensive training in law enforcement and with drug investigations and trials. It also stated, based on the affiant’s training and experience, that [...]