Court Opinion

ID: 9560901
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-21 17:58:59.308554+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:13:19.674096
License: Public Domain

Judge Walker
concurring.
I concur in the majority opinion but write separately regarding the differentiation of inspection and possession. The evidence here indicates that after Officer Lackey sat down next to defendant in the back seat of the informant’s vehicle, Officer Lackey handed the package of cocaine to defendant and asked if he had a knife to open the package. This comment by Officer Lackey indicates that he anticipated defendant’s inspection of the cocaine and did not intend to relinquish control over the cocaine. Therefore, Officer Lackey, not defendant, had the power and intent to control the cocaine’s disposition. Thus, the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion to dismiss since there was insufficient evidence that he possessed the cocaine under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 90-95(h)(3).