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North Carolina v. Jones12/5/1989
Defendant appeals his criminal conviction by jury of trafficking in cocaine by possession, trafficking in cocaine by transportation, and possession of drug paraphernalia with intent to use. Defendant also pled guilty to resisting a law enforcement officer, but did not appeal this conviction or sentencing. The trial court sentenced defendant to seven years imprisonment and fined defendant $50,000.00.
Before trial, defendant moved to suppress all evidence uncovered in the Trooper's search of defendant's vehicle, claiming illegal search and seizure. After conducting a suppression hearing, the trial court entered a written order denying defendant's motion.
At the close of all evidence, defendant moved to dismiss the drug paraphernalia charge. The trial court denied defendant's motion.
In support of the trial court's order denying defendant's motion to suppress, it entered detailed findings of fact and conclusions of law. Defendant generally excepted to the trial court's denial of his motion without objecting to the trial court's findings of facts. Accordingly, the findings "are presumed to be supported by competent evidence and are binding on appeal." Anderson Chevrolet/Olds, Inc. v. Higgins, 57 N.C. App. 650, 653, 292 S.E.2d 159, 161 (1982).
In summary, these findings reveal the following: a North Carolina State Highway Patrol Trooper ("Trooper") was routinely patroling Interstate Highway 95 ("I-95") near Fayetteville at approximately noon on 30 September 1987, when he observed defendant's vehicle traveling in the opposite direction on I-95. While passing defendant's car traveling in the opposite direction he saw that it was traveling 'at a speed substantially slower than other vehicles normally travel on [I-95]'; he crossed the median to follow defendant's car and measured its speed at approximately 45 miles per hour [20 miles per hour below the posted speed limit]. The Trooper observed defendant's car weave from the white line next to the shoulder of the road to the center line of the highway within its lane of travel. The trial court found as facts that the Trooper had 16 years of experience with the force, that "Trooper . . . has made several thousand arrests for . . . driving while impaired; that low speed can mean a person who is highly intoxicated, is driving defensively, or that there is difficulty with the vehicle, or that the driver is sleepy," in the Trooper's opinion. After the Trooper stopped defendant's car, he asked for the driver's license of the driver. (Driver hereafter is "Whitefield.") Whitefield could not produce a driver's license but presented a car rental contract on which appeared the name of defendant. Whitefield claimed his name was "Slade." At that point, the Trooper called in by radio a license check of "Slade's" license to New York. New York records showed no such license. Whitefield told the Trooper that his name was Whitefield, not Slade. The Trooper then conversed with defendant because the car was leased in defendant's name and because Whitefield had lied about his name. The Trooper conversed with defendant and then asked defendant if his car was carrying "any guns, drugs or contraband," and defendant laughed in reply. The Trooper asked defendant if defendant minded if the Trooper looked in defendant's car, and defendant replied "No." The Trooper
prepared a consent to search form, handed it to defendant, who appeared to read and understand it, signed it and consented to the search of his car. The consent form provided that the Trooper could search defendant's car, luggage and the contents of the luggage. The Trooper discovered triple-beam weighing scales in a box in the trunk
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