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Warrantless search of backpack—voluntary consent—constitutionally permissible
The trial court's conclusion that defendant–who was the subject of a tip from a confidential informant and who had been stopped by law enforcement officers after riding his bike on a path marked with a "No Trespassing" sign–voluntarily consented to the search of his backpack (in which a stolen handgun was discovered) was supported by the court's findings of fact, including that: (1) during the stop, although defendant told the officers that he was afraid of them, the officers maintained calm demeanors, never brandished weapons, and returned defendant's personal identification card to him; (2) after initially agreeing to a search of his backpack, defendant retracted his consent and then denied the officers' continued requests to search multiple times; and (3) eventually, defendant agreed to allow the officers to look into the backpack, which defendant opened, revealing the grip of a handgun. Accordingly, the Court of Appeals decision to the contrary was reversed.
Summary from the North Carolina Reports digest (official subject index). Read the opinion →