Criminal Practice  – Search & Seizure – Traffic Stop – Lack of ID – Weapons Frisk – Cocaine Discovery

Once a deputy sheriff observed that defendant was not wearing his seatbelt while riding as a passenger in a moving vehicle, the deputy’s reasonable suspicion of defendant’s traffic violation permitted him to initiate a traffic stop. Since defendant lacked any identification, the deputy properly asked him to exit the vehicle (so the deputy wouldn’t have to keep walking back and forth between defendant’s vehicle and his own to ascertain defendant’s identity) and was permitted to frisk defendant for weapons. During the frisk, cocaine fell to the ground from defendant’s person.

Because the deputy’s conduct did not extend the traffic stop, the state was not required to make any additional showing that the deputy had reasonable suspicion of another crime.

We affirm the trial court’s denial of defendant’s motion to suppress.

State v. Jones (Lawyers Weekly No. 011-053-19, 11 pp.) (Philip Berger, J.) Appealed from Sampson County Superior Court (Imelda Pate, J.) Nick Benjamin for the state; Jeffrey William Gillette for defendant. N.C. App.