{ "id": 4160748, "name": "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. BORN MURRAY", "name_abbreviation": "State v. Murray", "decision_date": "2008-09-16", "docket_number": "No. COA07-1555", "first_page": "684", "last_page": "690", "citations": [ { "type": "official", "cite": "192 N.C. App. 684" } ], "court": { "name_abbreviation": "N.C. Ct. App.", "id": 14983, "name": "North Carolina Court of Appeals" }, "jurisdiction": { "id": 5, "name_long": "North Carolina", "name": "N.C." }, "cites_to": [ { "cite": "594 S.E.2d 199", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12631245, 12631246 ], "year": 2004, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/594/0199-02", "/se2d/594/0199-01" ] }, { "cite": "358 N.C. 240", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 12631246, 12631314, 12631219, 12631317, 12631319 ], "year": 2004, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/594/0199-01", "/se2d/596/0016-03", "/se2d/594/0032-01", "/se2d/596/0017-01", "/se2d/596/0019-01" ] }, { "cite": "617 S.E.2d 1", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12633690 ], "weight": 3, "year": 2005, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "14", "parenthetical": "internal citations and quotations omitted" }, { "page": "14", "parenthetical": "internal citations and quotations omitted" }, { "page": "14", "parenthetical": "internal quotations omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/617/0001-01" ] }, { "cite": "356 N.C. 693", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 1511440, 1511593, 1511321, 1511206 ], "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/356/0693-04", "/nc/356/0693-03", "/nc/356/0693-01", "/nc/356/0693-02" ] }, { "cite": "658 S.E.2d 643", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "case_ids": [ 12640657 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "645" }, { "page": "645" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/se2d/658/0643-01" ] }, { "cite": "280 S.E.2d 448", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1981, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "302 N.C. 633", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8569185, 8569130, 8569234, 8569043, 8569082 ], "year": 1981, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/302/0633-04", "/nc/302/0633-03", "/nc/302/0633-05", "/nc/302/0633-01", "/nc/302/0633-02" ] }, { "cite": "274 S.E.2d 361", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "pin_cites": [ { "page": "362-64" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "50 N.C. App. 520", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 2673989 ], "pin_cites": [ { "page": "521-24" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/50/0520-01" ] }, { "cite": "298 S.E.2d 388", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1983, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "307 N.C. 460", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 8562773 ], "year": 1983, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/307/0460-01" ] }, { "cite": "294 S.E.2d 410", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1982, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "412-13" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "58 N.C. App. 692", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8525996 ], "year": 1982, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "695" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/58/0692-01" ] }, { "cite": "446 S.E.2d 67", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "70-71", "parenthetical": "finding reasonable suspicion based on the late-night hour of the stop, a car moving without lights in the parking lot of a closed business, the generally rural nature of the area, and a tip that a \"suspicious vehicle\" had been seen in that location" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "337 N.C. 437", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2549311 ], "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "442-43", "parenthetical": "finding reasonable suspicion based on the late-night hour of the stop, a car moving without lights in the parking lot of a closed business, the generally rural nature of the area, and a tip that a \"suspicious vehicle\" had been seen in that location" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/337/0437-01" ] }, { "cite": "592 S.E.2d 733", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2004, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "735-36" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "163 N.C. App. 129", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 8915624 ], "year": 2004, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "132" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/163/0129-01" ] }, { "cite": "443 U.S. 47", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6179718 ], "weight": 4, "year": 1979, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "51" }, { "page": "362" }, { "page": "51" }, { "page": "362" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/443/0047-01" ] }, { "cite": "359 N.C. 644", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 3801139 ], "weight": 3, "year": 2005, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "664", "parenthetical": "internal citations and quotations omitted" }, { "page": "664" }, { "page": "664", "parenthetical": "internal quotations omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/359/0644-01" ] }, { "cite": "157 L. Ed. 2d 78", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "L. Ed. 2d", "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "540 U.S. 843", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 8924864, 8925185, 8925156, 8925221, 8925030, 8925127, 8925256, 8924903, 8925290, 8925102, 8925072, 8924945, 8924980, 8925047, 8924826 ], "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/540/0843-02", "/us/540/0843-12", "/us/540/0843-11", "/us/540/0843-13", "/us/540/0843-06", "/us/540/0843-10", "/us/540/0843-14", "/us/540/0843-03", "/us/540/0843-15", "/us/540/0843-09", "/us/540/0843-08", "/us/540/0843-04", "/us/540/0843-05", "/us/540/0843-07", "/us/540/0843-01" ] }, { "cite": "579 S.E.2d 98", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "574 S.E.2d 93", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2002, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "97-98" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "155 N.C. App. 89", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 9249037 ], "year": 2002, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "94-95" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/155/0089-01" ] }, { "cite": "362 N.C. 244", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 4149866 ], "weight": 2, "year": 2008, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "246" }, { "page": "247" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/362/0244-01" ] }, { "cite": "392 U.S. 1", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6167798 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1968, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "30" }, { "page": "911" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/392/0001-01" ] }, { "cite": "528 U.S. 119", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 9476180 ], "weight": 4, "year": 2000, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "123", "parenthetical": "citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 30, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 911 (1968); see also State v. Barnard, 362 N.C. 244, 246, 658 S.E.2d 643, 645 (2008); State v. Wilson, 155 N.C. App. 89, 94-95, 574 S.E.2d 93, 97-98 (2002" }, { "page": "576", "parenthetical": "citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 30, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 911 (1968); see also State v. Barnard, 362 N.C. 244, 246, 658 S.E.2d 643, 645 (2008); State v. Wilson, 155 N.C. App. 89, 94-95, 574 S.E.2d 93, 97-98 (2002" }, { "page": "123" }, { "page": "576" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/528/0119-01" ] }, { "cite": "440 U.S. 648", "category": "reporters:federal", "reporter": "U.S.", "case_ids": [ 6187389 ], "weight": 2, "year": 1979, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "653" }, { "page": "667" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/us/440/0648-01" ] }, { "cite": "446 S.E.2d 579", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "585" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "337 N.C. 132", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2550000 ], "year": 1994, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "141" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/337/0132-01" ] }, { "cite": "543 S.E.2d 823", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2001, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "826", "parenthetical": "citations omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "353 N.C. 332", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 135584 ], "year": 2001, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "336", "parenthetical": "citations omitted" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/353/0332-01" ] }, { "cite": "580 S.E.2d 702", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "357 N.C. 166", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 491616, 491810, 491436, 491885, 491438, 491569, 491772, 491391 ], "year": 2003, "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/357/0166-06", "/nc/357/0166-05", "/nc/357/0166-02", "/nc/357/0166-01", "/nc/357/0166-04", "/nc/357/0166-08", "/nc/357/0166-07", "/nc/357/0166-03" ] }, { "cite": "406 S.E.2d 812", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "year": 1991, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "820" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "329 N.C. 507", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C.", "case_ids": [ 2556019 ], "year": 1991, "pin_cites": [ { "page": "522" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc/329/0507-01" ] }, { "cite": "574 S.E.2d 694", "category": "reporters:state_regional", "reporter": "S.E.2d", "pin_cites": [ { "page": "699" } ], "opinion_index": 0 }, { "cite": "155 N.C. App. 729", "category": "reporters:state", "reporter": "N.C. App.", "case_ids": [ 9251989 ], "pin_cites": [ { "page": "736" } ], "opinion_index": 0, "case_paths": [ "/nc-app/155/0729-01" ] } ], "analysis": { "cardinality": 770, "char_count": 15259, "ocr_confidence": 0.753, "pagerank": { "raw": 1.1798170268736858e-07, "percentile": 0.5883877785924971 }, "sha256": "24f030b22a0fbed592aa07447cab8ffe2c19693b68687db9d63638fbbb4bb304", "simhash": "1:21ed027806dc0d44", "word_count": 2511 }, "last_updated": "2023-07-14T14:54:33.452279+00:00", "provenance": { "date_added": "2019-08-29", "source": "Harvard", "batch": "2018" }, "casebody": { "judges": [ "Chief Judge MARTIN and Judge HUNTER concur." ], "parties": [ "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. BORN MURRAY" ], "opinions": [ { "text": "WYNN, Judge.\nAs held by our Supreme Court, \u201c[a]n investigatory stop must be justified by a reasonable suspicion, based on objective facts, that the individual is involved in criminal activity.\u201d In the instant case, the law enforcement officer who initiated the investigatory stop of Defendant Born Murray testified during voir dire examination that he had no reason to believe that Defendant was engaged in any unlawful activity at the time of the stop. Accordingly, we must conclude that the trial court erred in denying Defendant\u2019s motion to suppress evidence gathered pursuant to the unlawful stop.\nAt approximately 3:41 a.m. on the morning of 26 October 2006, Officer Todd Arthur of the Concord Police Department was performing a property check in the area of the Motorsports Industrial Park. This activity entailed patrolling the main road and checking the buildings and parking lots in the area as part of a \u201cproblem oriented policing project\u201d begun in January 2006 following reports of break-ins of vehicles and businesses in the Park. As Officer Arthur came around a curve on the main road, he \u201cpassed a vehicle coming out of the area,\u201d which he thought was \u201ckind of weird,\u201d as he \u201chadn\u2019t seen the vehicle in any of [his] earlier property checks around the businesses.\u201d He decided to turn around and pull behind the vehicle to \u201crun its license plate and just see if maybe it was a local vehicle.\u201d\nOfficer Arthur conceded that the vehicle was not violating any traffic laws, was not trespassing, speeding, or making any erratic movements, and was on a public street. Moreover, his check of the license plate showed that the vehicle was not stolen and was in fact a rental vehicle from nearby Charlotte. Nevertheless, at that point, Officer Arthur \u201cdecided to go ahead and do an investigatory traffic stop on [the vehicle] to find out what they were doing in that location.\u201d\nWhen Officer Arthur approached the vehicle, he \u201cimmediately detected a strong odor of burnt marijuana coming from inside.\u201d He then informed the driver why he had stopped the vehicle and asked for his driver\u2019s license and the rental agreement. The driver responded that he and Defendant,\u2019 the passenger, were actually lost and were trying to get back to Highway 49. Officer Arthur gave them directions to get back to the highway before returning to his own vehicle to check the license and rental agreement. Due to the smell of marijuana, he then called for additional officers to come to the scene. He also learned that the driver\u2019s license had been suspended for his failure to appear on several different charges in Mecklenburg County courts. Additionally, the vehicle was rented to a female, with her name listed as the only authorized driver on the agreement, but no female was in the vehicle. When Officer Arthur contacted the rental company, to advise them that he had .stopped one of their vehicles without the renter herself in the vehicle, they requested that Officer Arthur have the vehicle towed.\nAfter two more officers, including a canine officer, arrived on the scene, Officer Arthur approached the vehicle again and asked the driver if he was aware that his license had been suspended. He informed the driver that the rental company wanted to have the vehicle towed and further advised him that he had smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle. Officer Arthur asked the driver to step outside the vehicle; after getting consent to search the driver, he found nothing on him, although the driver admitted to smoking a marijuana cigarette prior to being stopped by Officer Arthur. At the same time, Officer Michael Fitzgerald went to the passenger side of the vehicle and asked Defendant to step out; when he consented to a search of his person, Officer Fitzgerald found \u201ca small off-white chunk of white material which [he] believed to be crack cocaine or cocaine base\u201d in Defendant\u2019s right rear pocket. Officer Fitzgerald testified that Defendant then \u201cmade the spontaneous statement that, \u2018S \u2014 , I forgot I had that.\u2019 \u201d A field test kit showed that the substance found in Defendant\u2019s pocket was cocaine base, and Defendant was arrested for felony possession of cocaine.\nAt trial, Defendant moved to suppress the evidence gathered by the police, namely, the cocaine found in his pocket, on the grounds that Officer Arthur did not have a reasonable suspicion sufficient to stop the vehicle, and the subsequent search was therefore unlawful. However, the trial court found that Officer Arthur did have the requisite \u201cminimal level of objective justification\u201d to form a reasonable suspicion of unlawful activity, based on the totality of the circumstances, including the prior break-ins of automobiles and businesses in the Motorsports Industrial Park, the late hour of the stop, the fact that the businesses were closed at that time and there were no residences located there, and Officer Arthur\u2019s observation that the vehicle had not previously been parked at one of the businesses.\nFollowing the denial of Defendant\u2019s motion to suppress, he pled guilty to felony possession of cocaine and received a suspended sentence of six to eight months in prison, as well as supervised probation for thirty months. Defendant now appeals the denial of his motion to suppress, specifically arguing that the police lacked a reasonable suspicion sufficient to stop the vehicle in question, such that any subsequent search of the driver or Defendant was unlawful. We agree.\nWe review a trial court\u2019s denial of a motion to suppress for \u201cwhether the trial court\u2019s findings of fact are supported by the evidence and whether the findings of fact support the conclusions of law.\u201d State v. Cockerham, 155 N.C. App. 729, 736, 574 S.E.2d 694, 699 (citing State v. Wynne, 329 N.C. 507, 522, 406 S.E.2d 812, 820 (1991)), disc, review denied, 357 N.C. 166, 580 S.E.2d 702 (2003). The trial court\u2019s findings of fact \u201care conclusive on appeal if supported by competent evidence, even if the evidence is conflicting.\u201d State v. Buchanan, 353 N.C. 332, 336, 543 S.E.2d 823, 826 (2001) (citations omitted). The conclusions of law, however, are reviewed de novo by this Court. State v. Brooks, 337 N.C. 132, 141, 446 S.E.2d 579, 585 (1994).\nOur federal and state constitutions protect individuals \u201cagainst unreasonable searches and seizures.\u201d U.S. Const, amend. IV; N.C. Const, art. I, \u00a7 20. A traffic stop is a seizure \u201ceven though the purpose of the stop is limited and the resulting detention quite brief.\u201d Delaware v. Prouse, 440 U.S. 648, 653, 59 L. Ed. 2d 660, 667 (1979). Nevertheless, a traffic stop is generally constitutional if the police officer has a \u201creasonable, articulable suspicion that criminal activity is afoot.\u201d Illinois v. Wardlow, 528 U.S. 119, 123, 145 L. Ed. 2d 570, 576 (2000) (citing Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 30, 20 L. Ed. 2d 889, 911 (1968); see also State v. Barnard, 362 N.C. 244, 246, 658 S.E.2d 643, 645 (2008); State v. Wilson, 155 N.C. App. 89, 94-95, 574 S.E.2d 93, 97-98 (2002) (outlining the different standard for a stop based on an observed traffic violation, governed by probable cause, and that for a stop based on the \u201csuspicion that a traffic violation is being committed, but which can only be verified by stopping the vehicle,\u201d which must be based on a reasonable suspicion), disc. review denied, 356 N.C. 693, 579 S.E.2d 98, cert, denied, 540 U.S. 843, 157 L. Ed. 2d 78 (2003).\nAs held by our state Supreme Court:\nOnly unreasonable investigatory stops are unconstitutional. An investigatory stop must be justified by a reasonable suspicion, based.on objective facts, that the individual is involved in criminal activity. A court must consider the totality of the circumstances \u2014 the whole picture \u2014 in determining whether a reasonable suspicion to make an investigatory stop exists. The stop must be based on specific and articulable facts, as well as the rational inferences from those facts, as viewed through the eyes of a reasonable, cautious officer, guided by his experience and training. The only requirement is a minimal level of objective justification, something more than an unparticularized suspicion or hunch.\nState v. Campbell, 359 N.C. 644, 664, 617 S.E.2d 1, 14 (2005) (internal citations and quotations omitted). Thus, \u201c[Reasonable suspicion is a \u2018less demanding standard than probable cause and requires a showing considerably less than preponderance of the evidence.\u2019 \u201d Barnard, 362 N.C. at 247, 658 S.E.2d at 645 (quoting Wardlow, 528 U.S. at 123, 145 L. Ed. 2d at 576) (citation omitted). Nevertheless, the requisite degree of suspicion must be high enough \u201cto assure that an individual\u2019s reasonable expectation of privacy is not subject to arbitrary invasions solely at the unfettered discretion of officers in the field.\u201d See Brown v. Texas, 443 U.S. 47, 51, 61 L. Ed. 2d 357, 362 (1979).\nHere, Defendant does not challenge any of the trial court\u2019s findings of fact, but only the conclusion of law that the totality of the circumstances showed that Officer Arthur had a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity sufficient to justify his investigatory stop of the vehicle in which Defendant was a passenger. As such, we are bound by the trial court\u2019s findings of fact. State v. Roberson, 163 N.C. App. 129, 132, 592 S.E.2d 733, 735-36, disc. review denied, 358 N.C. 240, 594 S.E.2d 199 (2004). However, we agree with Defendant that the trial court\u2019s findings do not support its conclusion of law that Officer Arthur had a reasonable suspicion sufficient to justify stopping the vehicle in question.\nAs Officer Arthur testified at trial, the vehicle in which Defendant was a passenger was not violating any traffic laws at the time that Officer Arthur observed it on Motorsports Drive. Although his patrol of the area was part of increased policing due to past break-ins, Officer Arthur had seen no indication that night of any damage to vehicles or businesses in the Park; he stated on cross examination that he \u201chadn\u2019t checked all the businesses yet\u201d and stopped the vehicle because he \u201cwanted to make sure there wasn\u2019t anything illegal that had tooken [sic] place prior to [his] observing the vehicle.\u201d\nWhen asked if the vehicle was acting any differently than other cars Officer Arthur had stopped in the past, which he had determined were not engaged in any unlawful activity, Officer Arthur answered that the vehicle \u201cwas just leaving the area\u201d and was not doing anything different. More significantly, the following exchange took place during Officer Arthur\u2019s cross examination:\n[Defense counsel] But you had no reason to believe that this vehicle or any of the occupants in this vehicle had been engaged in any unlawful activity.\n[Officer Arthur] No, sir. Not at that time.\n[Defense counsel] You were basically \u2014 You were stopping them to find out if that was a possibility?\n[Officer Arthur] Yes, sir.\n(Emphasis added). Officer Arthur confirmed that he had not seen the vehicle leaving one of the business\u2019s parking lots, that the vehicle was not trespassing but was on a public street, obeying all traffic laws, and that his check of the license plate showed no irregularities.\nThus, by his own admission, at the time Officer Arthur stopped the vehicle, he had \u201cno reason to believe\u201d that its occupants were engaged in any unlawful activity. Likewise, the trial court noted in its findings of fact that Officer Arthur \u201chad no suspicion that illegal activity had occurred\u201d at the time of the stop. Officer Arthur never articulated any specific facts about the vehicle itself to justify the stop; instead, all of the facts relied on by the trial court in its conclusions of law were general to the area, namely, the \u201cbreak-ins of property at Motorsports Industrial Park . . . the businesses were closed at this hour ... no residences were located there . . . this was in the early hours of the morning,\u201d and would justify the stop of any vehicle there. Cf. State v. Watkins, 337 N.C. 437, 442-43, 446 S.E.2d 67, 70-71 (1994) (finding reasonable suspicion based on the late-night hour of the stop, a car moving without lights in the parking lot of a closed business, the generally rural nature of the area, and a tip that a \u201csuspicious vehicle\u201d had been seen in that location); State v. Fox, 58 N.C. App. 692, 695, 294 S.E.2d 410, 412-13 (1982) (reasonable suspicion based on the very early morning hour, the location on a dead-end street with locked businesses in an area with a high incidence of property crime, the appearance of the driver contrasted with the nature of the vehicle, the driver\u2019s apparent attempt to avoid the officer\u2019s gaze, and the officer\u2019s belief that one of the businesses had been broken into that same night), aff\u2019d, per curiam, 307 N.C. 460, 298 S.E.2d 388 (1983); State v. Tillett, 50 N.C. App. 520, 521-24, 274 S.E.2d 361, 362-64 (reasonable suspicion based on late hour and bad weather at time of stop, location on one-lane dirt road in \u201cheavily wooded, seasonably unoccupied\u201d area, reports of \u201cfirelighting\u201d deer, and the fact that officer did not observe an inspection sticker on the vehicle), appeal dismissed, 302 N.C. 633, 280 S.E.2d 448 (1981). Indeed, the trial court found that Officer Arthur \u201chad found no broken glass, lights on or other suspicious circumstances at any\u201d of the businesses he had checked, to suggest that there had been a break-in that night.\nAccordingly, we hold that the trial court\u2019s conclusion of law that Officer Arthur\u2019s stop of the vehicle in question \u201cwas justified by a reasonable suspicion based on objective facts\u201d was erroneous, given that it was based in part on a finding that Officer Arthur \u201chad no suspicion that illegal activity had occurred\u201d when he stopped the vehicle. (Emphasis added). Officer Arthur\u2019s stop of the vehicle was based only on his \u201cunparticularized suspicion or hunch\u201d and does not meet the minimal level of objective justification necessary for an investigatory traffic stop. See Campbell, 359 N.C. at 664, 617 S.E.2d at 14 (internal citations and quotations omitted). To hold otherwise would make any individual in the Motorsports Industrial Park \u201csubject to arbitrary invasions solely at the unfettered discretion of officers in the field.\u201d Brown, 443 U.S. at 51, 61 L. Ed. 2d at 362. Therefore, we reverse the denial of Defendant\u2019s motion to suppress and remand this case to the trial court for further proceedings.\nReversed and remanded.\nChief Judge MARTIN and Judge HUNTER concur.\n. State v. Campbell, 359 N.C. 644, 664, 617 S.E.2d 1, 14 (2005) (internal quotations omitted).", "type": "majority", "author": "WYNN, Judge." } ], "attorneys": [ "Attorney General' Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General John R Scherer II, for the State.", "Roderick M. Wright, Jr., for defendant-appellant." ], "corrections": "", "head_matter": "STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA v. BORN MURRAY\nNo. COA07-1555\n(Filed 16 September 2008)\nSearch and Seizure\u2014 traffic stop \u2014 investigatory\u2014no particularized suspicion\nEvidence of cocaine found after an investigatory traffic stop should have been suppressed where the stop was based only on the officer\u2019s unparticularized suspicion or hunch and did not meet the minimal level of objective justification necessary for an investigatory traffic stop.\nAppeal by defendant from judgment entered 13 September 2007 by Judge Susan C. Taylor in Superior Court, Cabarrus County. Heard in the Court of Appeals 18 August 2008.\nAttorney General' Roy Cooper, by Assistant Attorney General John R Scherer II, for the State.\nRoderick M. Wright, Jr., for defendant-appellant." }, "file_name": "0684-01", "first_page_order": 712, "last_page_order": 718 }