Charlotte Criminal Lawyer Blog
Attorney J. Bradley Smith answering the question: “Can the police search my car without a warrant?”
A recent traffic stop in Lincolnton, North Carolina turned up an interesting surprise for the arresting officer: a child’s teddy bear filled with methamphetamine. Rather than serve as a cuddly toy, police say the bear was a vehicle used to smuggle illicit drugs.
Police say they pulled over Rigoberto Gomez-Contino early Tuesday morning as part of a routine traffic stop along Highway 321 in Lincolnton. After pulling over Contino, they asked for permission to search the vehicle where they discovered a suspiciously out of place blue teddy bear in the backseat. A quick inspection of the bear uncovered three ounces of methamphetamine hiding inside the stuffed animal. Police then arrested Contino and booked him on drug charges.
In North Carolina, Methamphetamine is classified as a Schedule II Controlled Substance under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-90(3)(c). Under North Carolina law Contino now faces an array of possible drug charges, including trafficking in methamphetamine. In North Carolina, someone is guilty of trafficking if that person knowingly sells, manufactures, delivers, transports or possesses methamphetamine. If the person possesses between 28 and 200 grams of meth (Contino had three ounces, so 85 grams) they will face Class F felony charges. A Class F felony carries a minimum sentence of 70 months in prison and a maximum stay of 93 months as well as a minimum $50,000 fine.
Police initially said that David Worley was involved in a single-car crash on Ray Road when he ran off the side of the road and was thrown from the car after it flipped several times. Police attributed the crash to Worley’s speeding. However, authorities now say the accident was not the cause of the man’s death, but instead wounds that were inflicted on him earlier that afternoon by his wife.
Police in Albemarle, NC say they have arrested Way after he was accused of sex crimes connected with children from a Baptist church located in Stanly County. The sexual contact is alleged to have taken place in late June at the North Carolina Baptist Assembly in Fort Caswell.
Police say the accident was thankfully not at a high rate of speed, but did cause injuries to the child. Witnesses have revealed that the child was dragged nearly 45 feet before the young driver stopped her car. The child suffered a concussion as well as some cuts and bruises, but is expected to be fine.
The case began back in 2008 when Newman was arrested in Portland for driving with a blood alcohol level greater than 0.08 percent. Newman was charged with drunk driving and had his case move on to trial where his attorney initially floated the idea that sleepdriving at the time of the arrest was the cause and not his client’s knowing decision to get behind the wheel intoxicated. The lower court judge refused to hear the evidence and convicted Newman of drunk driving. It was only after appealing the case to the Oregon Supreme Court that Newman had a chance to make his case.
The Stand Your Ground law in Florida became a critical component of the recent trial of George Zimmerman who shot and killed Trayvon Martin in February of 2012. Zimmerman was charged with second-degree murder in the death of the teen, but argued that he acted in self-defense and should be exempt from prosecution under the state’s Stand Your Ground law. Since his acquittal, many have wondered whether similar arguments could be made if the incident had happened in North Carolina rather than Florida. Though the two states’ laws are not identical, they are very close and the result may have turned out much the same.
The campaign was an attempt by law enforcement officials to make the Independence Day holiday a safe one for North Carolinians. Though police officers say they always watch for drunk drivers, the push was especially intense over the holiday weekend because the Fourth of July is often the deadliest holiday for motorists each year. According to AAA, 20 of the 36 traffic deaths that occurred last year in North Carolina were linked to alcohol use.
Police say they were searching for Phillip Berryman for more than a month after Berryman was found to be living too close to a childcare center. Berryman is now being held under $100,00 bond and has been charged with a sex offender residence violation for living too close to a child care center. This is not the first time Berryman was arrested for a violation of his terms of release. Back in 2006 and 2008 he was jailed for failing to register with authorities. His original sex crime took place in 2005.
Police say the recent indictments were the result of a large-scale, multi-year joint federal and state investigation that targeted those responsible for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine in Western North Carolina. The 17 people charged in the criminal enterprise were accused of conspiring to distribute, possess, distribute and manufacture more than 500 grams of methamphetamine as well as possession of pseudoephedrine.
The state Supreme Court issued a ruling on the matter this week and found that such lab tests can stand on their own if cited by an expert witness offering an independent opinion. Other have argued that this conclusion is incorrect and that a lab test should face the same amount of scrutiny that a person would face and that means the analyst who conducted the test should be required to testify at trial.