State v. Hudson, 206 N.C. App. 482 (Aug. 17, 2010)

There was sufficient evidence of constructive possession to sustain a conviction for possession with the intent to sell and deliver marijuana. The drugs were found in a vehicle being transported by a car carrier driven by the defendant. The court determined that based on the defendant’s power and control of the vehicle in which the drugs were found, an inference arose that he had knowledge their presence. The vehicle had been under the defendant’s exclusive control since it was loaded onto his car carrier two days earlier and the defendant had keys to every car on the carrier. Although the defendant’s possession of the vehicle was not exclusive because he did not own it, other evidence created an inference of his knowledge. Specifically, he acted suspiciously when stopped (held his hands up, nervous, sweating), he turned over a suspect bill of lading, and he had fully functional keys for all cars on the carrier except the one at issue for which he gave the officers a “fob” key which prevented its user from opening the trunk housing the marijuana.

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