State v. Boyd, COA23-984, ___ N.C. App. ___ (May. 7, 2024)

In this Durham County case, defendant appealed after he pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted drug trafficking after denial of his motion to suppress the results of a search warrant for lack of probable cause. The Court of Appeals found no error. 

In April of 2019, Durham Police obtained an anticipatory search warrant for defendant’s residence based upon information from a confidential informant and surveillance of a vehicle associated with drug trafficking in the Durham area. After a controlled buy, police observed defendant and another man go to the property identified in the anticipatory warrant, and seized large amounts of currency, cocaine, marijuana, and drug paraphernalia. 

The Court of Appeals took up defendant’s argument, first referencing State v. Bailey, 374 N.C. 332 (2020), while explaining that a nexus between the illegal activity and the residence being searched must be established when a search warrant is sought in connection with illegal activity observed outside the residence. Here, the court walked through the facts in the affidavit and application for the search warrant, concluding that “[a]s in Bailey, these facts support a reasonable inference that Defendant was engaged in drug trafficking and establishes a nexus between the drug trafficking and Defendant’s residence.” Slip Op. at 9.