State v. Michael, COA22-846, ___ N.C. App. ___ (Dec. 19, 2023)

In this Davidson County case, defendant appealed his conviction for possession of a controlled substance, arguing error in (1) denying his motion to suppress the evidence obtained from a search of his vehicle, and (2) denying his motion to dismiss for insufficient evidence that he knowingly possessed cocaine. The Court of Appeals found no error. 

In July of 2019, defendant was driving with two passengers when he was pulled over for failing to yield. After the officers had returned ID cards to defendant and his passengers, one officer asked for permission to search the vehicle. Defendant told the officer that he was on probation and had to allow the search. The officers discovered cocaine and drug paraphernalia during a search of the vehicle. Before trial, defendant filed a motion to suppress, which was denied. Defendant failed to object during trial when the State admitted evidence obtained through the search.  

Taking up (1), the Court of Appeals noted the standard of review was plain error as defendant did not object to the admission of evidence during the trial. Here, the search of the vehicle occurred after the traffic stop had concluded. Because defendant was on probation, he is presumed to “have given consent to a search where an officer has reasonable suspicion of a crime.” Slip Op. at 5. The trial court did not provide justification in writing, but in open court stated that she concluded the officer “had reasonable suspicion to conduct the search.” Id. at 6. The court noted that, although the trial court did not consider defendant freely giving consent in the absence of reasonable suspicion, “there was sufficient evidence from which the trial court could have found as fact at trial that Defendant voluntarily consented to the search had Defendant objected when the evidence was offered by the State.” Id. at 7. As a result, defendant could not show plain error from the failure to suppress. 

Dispensing with (2), the court noted that the State presented “evidence of other incriminating circumstances, including the placement of the cocaine in the driver’s door, as well as the Defendant’s nervous behavior,” to support the inference that defendant constructively possessed the cocaine. Id. at 8.

Judge Arrowood concurred by separate opinion, writing to address the analysis of the trial court related to the officer’s reasonable suspicion to extend the stop and conduct a search.