State v. Rowdy

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF NORTH CAROLINA

No. 300PA24

Filed 22 May 2026

STATE OF NORTH CAROLINA

v. TERREL DAWAYNE ROWDY

On discretionary review pursuant to N.C.G.S. § 7A-31 from the decision of the

Court of Appeals, 296 N.C. App. 272 (2024), finding no error in the trial court’s

judgment entered on 7 June 2023 by Judge Eric C. Morgan in Superior Court, Forsyth

County. Heard in the Supreme Court on 9 September 2025.

Jeff Jackson, Attorney General, by Alan D. McInnes, Special Deputy Attorney General, for the State-appellee.

Stephen D. Fuller for defendant-appellant.

RIGGS, Justice.

This is a companion case to today’s decision in State v. Dobson, No. 190PA24

(N.C. May 22, 2026), which reiterates that the odor of marijuana is a factor to be

considered when analyzing the totality of the circumstances to determine whether an

officer had probable cause to conduct a search.

Terrel Rowdy was subject to two searches in connection with a traffic stop: a

search of his person and a warrantless search of his automobile. The searches were

only proper if officers had reasonable suspicion to conduct the search of Mr. Rowdy’s

person and probable cause to conduct the warrantless automobile search. The  STATE V. ROWDY

Opinion of the Court

reasonable suspicion and probable cause analyses examine whether the totality of

the circumstances, including the odor of marijuana, justifies a stop, search, or seizure.

Under the totality of the circumstances, the search of Mr. Rowdy’s person was

justified by his refusal to pull over for the traffic stop, his presence in a “high crime

area,” his prior convictions for narcotics and weapons offenses, the odor of marijuana,

and his evasive behavior during questioning. The warrantless search of his

automobile was justified by the above factors and the additional discovery of what

officers “believed to be a marijuana blunt” during the search of his person. We hold

that the search of Mr. Rowdy’s person met the reasonable suspicion standard and the

warrantless search of his automobile met the probable cause standard, so the trial

court did not err in denying his motion to suppress evidence.

I. Factual and Procedural Background

On 26 July 2020, Deputy Brandon Baugus witnessed Terrel Rowdy commit a

traffic violation and initiated a traffic stop. Mr. Rowdy failed to stop in response to

the blue lights and sirens on Deputy Baugus’s police vehicle, and instead drove into

the parking lot of the West Wall Street Apartments, which Deputy Baugus testified

was a high crime and “high narcotic” area. Deputy Baugus followed Mr. Rowdy into

the parking lot, where he again activated his siren and Mr. Rowdy again did not stop.

Instead, Mr. Rowdy reversed his car as if to back into a parking space and did not

stop until Deputy Baugus pulled his police vehicle behind Mr. Rowdy’s car.

Once stopped, Deputy Baugus approached Mr. Rowdy’s vehicle. Mr. Rowdy,

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Opinion of the Court

who was sitting in the driver’s seat, rolled down the passenger’s side window to hand

Deputy Baugus his license and registration. At that point, Deputy Baugus observed

a faint odor of marijuana coming from the interior of Mr. Rowdy’s car. Deputy Baugus

went back to his vehicle and checked whether there were any outstanding warrants

for Mr. Rowdy. The check revealed that Mr. Rowdy had prior convictions for narcotics

offenses and carrying a concealed gun.

Another officer, Deputy M.D. Mitchell, arrived to assist Deputy Baugus.

Deputy Mitchell testified that he also observed a marijuana odor coming from Mr.

Rowdy’s vehicle. Deputy Baugus asked Mr. Rowdy to step out of his vehicle. Once

Mr. Rowdy was out of the car, Deputy Baugus asked him questions about the odor of

marijuana. Mr. Rowdy said that he had not been around anyone who smoked

marijuana, nor had he smoked it himself, and that he did not have any marijuana.

Mr. Rowdy then began to speak on his cell phone, stopped answering Deputy

Baugus’s questions, and “bladed” his body away from Deputy Baugus. Deputy

Baugus testified that “blading” occurs when a person turns away from the officer

towards the inside of their vehicle and indicates that a person is becoming

confrontational or attempting to avoid conversation. At that point, Deputy Baugus

decided to detain Mr. Rowdy.

While detaining Mr. Rowdy, Deputy Mitchell conducted a frisk to ensure Mr.

Rowdy did not have a weapon on his person. During the frisk, Deputy Mitchell found

what he “believed to be a marijuana blunt” in Mr. Rowdy’s left front pants pocket.

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Opinion of the Court

When he retrieved the blunt, Deputy Mitchell informed Mr. Rowdy that it was

“marijuana” and Mr. Rowdy did not object or claim that it was legal industrial hemp.

While Mr. Rowdy was detained, Deputy Baugus searched Mr. Rowdy’s car and found

a firearm.

Mr. Rowdy was indicted on charges of carrying a concealed weapon under

N.C.G.S. § 14-269(a1), carrying a concealed weapon under N.C.G.S. § 14-269(c), and

possession of a stolen firearm under N.C.G.S. § 14-71.1. His trial began on 5 June

2023 in Forsyth County.

Mr. Rowdy filed a motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of the

searches. He argued that, because illegal marijuana is indistinguishable from legal

hemp without laboratory testing, “the sight or odor of Cannabis sativa does not

indicate with any certainty that the defendant was engaged in, or about to engage in

any illegal activity.” Because of this, Mr. Rowdy argued the officers did not have

probable cause to stop, search, and seize evidence from him. The motion to suppress

was heard on the first day of Mr. Rowdy’s trial, before jury selection.

At the hearing, Deputy Baugus testified that he was not aware of a difference

between marijuana and legal hemp, which he conceded smell and look the same and

can only be differentiated by a laboratory test. Nonetheless, he did not perform a

field or laboratory test on the blunt found in Mr. Rowdy’s pocket. Further, Deputy

Mitchell testified to the following: he had received training to identify marijuana,

marijuana and legal hemp look and smell similar, the blunt could have been legal

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Opinion of the Court

hemp, and the officers did not perform any testing on the blunt.

The trial court denied Mr. Rowdy’s motion to suppress because, in addition to

the odor of marijuana, several factors gave the officers justification for their actions:

(1) Mr. Rowdy’s failure to immediately stop and pull over when Deputy Baugus

initiated the traffic stop; (2) the fact that, in the experience of Deputies Baugus and

Mitchell, the West Wall Street Apartments were a “high crime area”; (3) Mr. Rowdy’s

prior convictions for narcotics offenses and carrying a concealed gun; and (4) Mr.

Rowdy’s blading, speaking on the phone during questioning, and refusing to answer

questions. The trial court concluded that Mr. Rowdy’s constitutional rights were not

violated because it found that, based on the totality of the circumstances, the officers

had reasonable suspicion to frisk Mr. Rowdy and probable cause to search his

vehicle.1

On 7 June 2023, the jury found Mr. Rowdy guilty of carrying a concealed gun

and not guilty of possession of a stolen firearm. He was sentenced to eight to nineteen

months of incarceration, suspended for thirty months of supervised probation. Mr.

Rowdy orally entered a notice of appeal in open court.

The Court of Appeals held that the trial court properly denied Mr. Rowdy’s

motion to suppress evidence and that he received a trial without error. State v.

1 Mr. Rowdy objected to the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress at the 5 June

2023 hearing, but he did not renew his objection to the admission of the evidence at trial, so whether the trial court erred by admitting evidence discovered during the searches must be reviewed under the plain error standard. See N.C. R. App. P. 10(a)(4).

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Rowdy, 296 N.C. App. 272, 285 (2024). Judge Arrowood concurred in the outcome but

wrote separately to ask this Court to clarify whether the odor of marijuana alone is

sufficient to constitute probable cause, given the legalization of industrial hemp. Id.

at 285–86 (Arrowood, J., concurring).

Mr. Rowdy appealed, seeking this Court’s review of the Court of Appeals’

opinion. On 19 March 2025, this Court entered a special order allowing discretionary

review of what the appropriate legal test is when assessing whether the odor of

marijuana gives rise to reasonable suspicion or probable cause of the commission of

a crime.

II. Standard of Review

Trial court decisions regarding motions to suppress are “strictly limited to

determining whether the trial judge’s underlying findings of fact are supported by

competent evidence, in which event they are conclusively binding on appeal, and

whether those factual findings in turn support the judge’s ultimate conclusions of

law.” State v. Cooke, 306 N.C. 132, 134 (1982). Unchallenged findings of fact are

“deemed to be supported by competent evidence and are binding on appeal.” State v.

Biber, 365 N.C. 162, 168 (2011); see also State v. Watkins, 337 N.C. 437, 438 (1994).

The trial court’s conclusions of law are reviewed de novo. State v. Julius, 385 N.C.

331, 336 (2023); see also Biber, 365 N.C. at 168; State v. Jackson, 368 N.C. 75, 78

(2015).

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III. Analysis

“No right is held more sacred, or is more carefully guarded, . . . than the right

of every individual to the possession and control of his own person, free from all

restraint or interference of others, unless by clear and unquestionable authority of

law.” Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 9 (1968) (quoting Union Pac. Ry. Co. v. Botsford, 141

U.S. 250, 251 (1891)). Both the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution

and Article I, Section 20 of the North Carolina Constitution protect against

unreasonable searches and seizures. State v. Otto, 366 N.C. 134, 136 (2012) (citing

U.S. Const. amend. IV; N.C. Const. art. I, § 20). The “central inquiry under the

Fourth Amendment” is “the reasonableness in all the circumstances of the particular

governmental invasion of a citizen’s personal security.” Terry, 392 U.S. at 19.

At issue is whether the officers had reasonable suspicion to conduct the search

of Mr. Rowdy’s person and probable cause to conduct the warrantless search of his

automobile. We hold that, considered under the totality of the circumstances, the

officers had reasonable suspicion and probable cause to conduct the searches.

A. The totality of the circumstances is the proper legal test for assessing whether law enforcement had reasonable suspicion or probable cause of the commission of a crime.

This case involves both an investigatory Terry search and a warrantless search

of an automobile. Terry searches are subject to the reasonable suspicion standard,

Terry, 392 U.S. at 30–31, while warrantless searches of automobiles require probable

cause, Collins v. Virginia, 584 U.S. 586, 592 (2018). Consistent with our longstanding

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approach, we consider the totality of the circumstances in deciding whether law

enforcement had reasonable suspicion and probable cause for searches and seizures.

See Watkins, 337 N.C. at 441; Maryland v. Pringle, 540 U.S. 366, 371 (2003) (first

citing Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 232 (1983); and then citing Brinegar v. United

States, 338 U.S. 160, 175 (1949)); Florida v. Harris, 568 U.S. 237, 244 (2013). The

odor of marijuana is a factor to be considered under the totality of the circumstances.

When an officer “has reason to believe that he is dealing with an armed and

dangerous individual, regardless of whether he has probable cause to arrest the

individual for a crime,” an officer may conduct a “reasonable search for weapons for

the protection of the police officer.” Terry, 392 U.S. at 27. An officer is permitted to

“conduct a brief investigatory stop of an individual based on reasonable suspicion that

the individual is engaged in criminal activity.” Jackson, 368 N.C. at 77 (citing Terry,

392 U.S. at 30–31). In determining whether an officer has reasonable suspicion to

conduct an investigatory Terry search, courts must consider “the totality of the

circumstances—the whole picture.” Watkins, 337 N.C. at 441 (quoting United States

v. Cortez, 449 U.S. 411, 417 (1981)).

The reasonable suspicion required to justify a Terry search is a less demanding

standard than probable cause or a preponderance of the evidence. See United States

v. Sokolow, 490 U.S. 1, 7 (1989); State v. Barnard, 362 N.C. 244, 247 (2008)). To meet

the reasonable suspicion standard, the Terry search “must be based on specific and

articulable facts, as well as the rational inferences from those facts, as viewed

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through the eyes of a reasonable, cautious officer, guided by his experience and

training.” Watkins, 337 N.C. at 441–42 (first citing Terry, 392 U.S. at 21–22; and

then citing State v. Thompson, 296 N.C. 703, 706 (1979)). Mere “inchoate and

unparticularized suspicion or ‘hunch’ ” is insufficient to meet the reasonable

suspicion standard. Terry, 392 U.S. at 27; see also Jackson, 368 N.C. at 77–78.

Warrantless searches, including of automobiles, require a higher standard

than Terry searches and are “presumptively unreasonable, though the Court has

recognized a few limited exceptions to this general rule.” State v. Terrell, 372 N.C.

657, 665 (2019) (quoting United States v. Karo, 468 U.S. 705, 717 (1984)). The

warrantless search of an automobile can be reasonable if the officer has probable

cause to search the vehicle. Collins, 584 U.S. at 592.

Probable cause does not require “proof of guilt, or even . . . prima facie evidence

of guilt, but it must be such as would actuate a reasonable man acting in good faith.”

State v. Harris, 279 N.C. 307, 311 (1971) (quoting 5 Am. Jur. 2d Arrests § 44 (1962)).

Probable cause requires “information of facts which, if submitted to a magistrate,

would require the issuance of an arrest warrant.” Id. (quoting 5 Am. Jur. 2d Arrests

§ 44). The probable cause standard “depends on the totality of the circumstances.”

Pringle, 540 U.S. at 371 (first citing Gates, 462 U.S. at 232; and then citing Brinegar,

338 U.S. at 175); see also Harris, 568 U.S. at 244.

B. Under the totality of the circumstances, the officers had reasonable suspicion to conduct a Terry search.

In the order denying Mr. Rowdy’s motion to suppress, the trial court found that

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the officers had reasonable suspicion to conduct a Terry search because, “[i]n addition

to the odor of marijuana,” (1) Mr. Rowdy failed to “immediately heed the blue lights

and siren of Baugus and immediately pull over rather than driving into the West

Wall Apartment complex”; (2) the apartment complex was a “high crime area”; (3)

Deputy Baugus discovered Mr. Rowdy’s prior convictions for narcotics offenses and

carrying a concealed gun while searching for any outstanding warrants; and (4) Mr.

Rowdy bladed away from Deputy Baugus, remained on the phone, and stopped

answering questions. These additional factors, when considered in the totality of the

circumstances with the odor of marijuana, provided the officers with reasonable

suspicion to conduct a Terry search.

At the Court of Appeals, Mr. Rowdy challenged four factual findings that the

officers smelled or saw marijuana:

9. As he received the license and registration from Defendant, Deputy Baugus was only at the window of the Blue Mustang for a very short time, and he observed a faint odor of marijuana coming from the interior of the Blue Mustang.

16. Deputy Mitchell approached the Defendant, and asked him to roll the window down. While he was speaking to the Defendant, Deputy Mitchell observed a strong odor of marijuana coming from the Blue Mustang.

22. Defendant was frisked by Deputy Mitchell, and, during that frisk, Deputy Mitchell pulled a “blunt” out of the Defendant’s left front pants pocket, and placed it on the spoiler of the Blue Mustang. When Deputy Mitchell pulled the “blunt” out, he informed the Defendant that it was “marijuana.” The Defendant did not, at any point, claim that he possessed industrial hemp.

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Opinion of the Court

23. The blunt removed from Defendant’s pocket appeared to be, in the training and experience of both Deputy Baugus and Deputy Mitchell, a marijuana “blunt.”

Rowdy, 296 N.C. App. at 276 (emphasis omitted). If challenged factual findings are

supported by competent evidence, they are binding on appeal, and appellate courts

must determine whether they supported the trial court’s conclusions of law. Cooke,

306 N.C. at 134. The officers testified that they had experience and training in

identifying marijuana and detected what seemed to be the odor of marijuana.

Further, both officers testified that Deputy Mitchell found a blunt in Mr. Rowdy’s

pocket during the search of his person that he “believed to be a marijuana blunt.”

The officers did not testify that Mr. Rowdy claimed he possessed or used legal hemp.

Therefore, the Court of Appeals correctly held that the challenged findings were

supported by competent evidence.

Marijuana is a Schedule VI controlled substance, which is illegal to

manufacture, sell, deliver, or possess. N.C.G.S. § 90-94(b)(1) (2025); id. § 90-95(a),

(b)(2) (2025). In 2015, the North Carolina General Assembly legalized industrial

hemp by amending N.C.G.S. § 90-87(16), defining marijuana, to add that “marijuana”

“does not include industrial hemp.” Industrial Hemp Act of 2015, S.L. 2015-299, § 2,

2015 N.C. Sess. Laws 1483, 1486–87. The North Carolina State Bureau of

Investigation has written that “[t]here is no easy way for law enforcement to

distinguish between industrial hemp and marijuana. There is currently no field test

which distinguishes the difference.” N.C. State Bureau of Investigation, Industrial

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Opinion of the Court

Hemp/CBD Issues 2,

https://www.sog.unc.edu/sites/default/files/doc_warehouse/NC%20SBI%20-

%20Issues%20with%20Hemp%20and%20CBD%20Full.pdf (last visited May 12,

2026). The SBI further stated that hemp and marijuana are indistinguishable

because they “look the same and have the same odor, both unburned and burned.”

Id. Even with the legalization of industrial hemp, the odor of marijuana may still be

considered as a factor in the totality of the circumstances inquiry. See Dobson, No.

190PA24.

The odor of marijuana is one factor in this case, but it is not the only factor

that gave the officers reason to search Mr. Rowdy’s person and automobile. Officers

must consider the entire situation to determine if they have adequate justification to

conduct a search or seizure. We look to the totality of the circumstances when

deciding whether law enforcement had reasonable suspicion or probable cause to

conduct a search. In addition to the odor of marijuana, the trial court’s factual

findings related to Mr. Rowdy’s failure to stop, presence in a high-crime area, prior

convictions, and evasive behavior support that, under the totality of the

circumstances, Deputy Mitchell had reasonable suspicion to conduct a Terry search.

After committing a traffic violation, Mr. Rowdy “did not immediately stop in

response to the blue lights and sirens, but proceeded into the parking lot” of a local

apartment complex. Mr. Rowdy continued not to stop once in the parking lot, even

after Deputy Baugus activated his siren several times. When a defendant flees or

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fails to stop when signaled to do so, it is “not necessarily indicative of wrongdoing,

but it is certainly suggestive of such.” Wardlow, 528 U.S. at 124. A defendant’s

failure to stop when an officer signals can contribute to the totality of the

circumstances. See id.; State v. Mitchell, 358 N.C. 63, 69 (2004).

The apartment complex was “an area with many police calls, and was a high

crime area, with numerous reports of narcotics.” The fact that the stop occurred in a

high-crime area is “among the relevant contextual considerations in a Terry analysis.”

Wardlow, 528 U.S. at 124. Even if the location being a “high crime area” is

insufficient standing alone to establish reasonable suspicion, see Jackson, 368 N.C.

at 80; State v. Johnson, 378 N.C. 236, 245 (2021), “officers are not required to ignore

the relevant characteristics of a location in determining whether the circumstances

are sufficiently suspicious to warrant further investigation,” Wardlow, 528 U.S. at

124. This Court has held that a defendant’s “presence in a high crime and high drug

area” may be considered as one of the factors under the totality of the circumstances

test. See Jackson, 368 N.C. at 80.

When Deputy Baugus checked whether Mr. Rowdy had any outstanding

warrants, he learned that Mr. Rowdy had a prior record of narcotics offenses and a

prior conviction for carrying a concealed gun. Mr. Rowdy’s criminal record “for which

[he] has already paid his debt to society” is not, alone, sufficient to prove reasonable

suspicion, but it may be considered under the totality of the circumstances. See

Johnson, 378 N.C. at 245.

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While Deputy Baugus asked him questions about the odor of marijuana, Mr.

Rowdy began speaking on his cell phone, refused to answer Deputy Baugus’s

questions, and bladed away from Deputy Baugus. While individuals have a right to

ignore police officers and refuse to cooperate when a police officer approaches them

without reasonable suspicion or probable cause, “nervous, evasive behavior is a

pertinent factor in determining reasonable suspicion.” Wardlow, 528 U.S. at 124; see

also Florida v. Rodriguez, 469 U.S. 1, 6 (1984) (per curiam) (reasoning that the

defendant’s “strange movements in his attempt to evade the officers aroused further

justifiable suspicion”). This Court has also considered a defendant’s act of blading

under the totality of the circumstances when conducting the reasonable suspicion

analysis. See Johnson, 378 N.C. at 245.

“[W]hen a criminal defendant files a motion to suppress challenging an initial

investigatory stop, the trial court can deny that motion only if it concludes, after

considering the totality of the circumstances known to the officer, that the officer

possessed reasonable suspicion to justify the challenged stop.” Jackson, 368 N.C. at

78. The reasonable suspicion standard requires “specific, articulable facts indicating

present, ongoing criminal activity,” not “a mere inchoate suspicion or ‘hunch.’ ” Id.

at 77–78. Even if some of the above factors are insufficient to prove reasonable

suspicion on their own, “we do not assess each of these factors . . . in isolation.”

Johnson, 378 N.C. at 245–46 (citing Jackson, 368 N.C. at 80). Instead, “[w]e examine

the totality of the circumstances . . . in order to achieve a comprehensive analysis as

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to whether the officer’s conclusion that defendant may have been armed and

dangerous was reasonable.” Id. at 246. Taken together, the odor of marijuana, Mr.

Rowdy’s failure to pull over, the location in a “high crime area,” Mr. Rowdy’s prior

convictions for narcotics offenses and carrying a concealed gun, and Mr. Rowdy’s

evasive behavior when questioned, under the totality of the circumstances, provided

reasonable suspicion for the Terry search. The trial court did not err in denying Mr.

Rowdy’s motion to dismiss as to the Terry search.

C. Under the totality of the circumstances, the officers had probable cause to search Mr. Rowdy’s car.

Deputy Baugus’s search of Mr. Rowdy’s vehicle was conducted without a

warrant, so it was only reasonable under the Fourth Amendment if he had probable

cause. See Collins, 584 U.S. at 592 (citing Carney, 471 U.S. at 392–93). An officer

has probable cause to conduct a search when “the facts available to him would

warrant a person of reasonable caution in the belief that contraband or evidence of a

crime is present.” Harris, 568 U.S. at 243 (cleaned up). Probable cause requires “the

kind of ‘fair probability’ on which ‘reasonable and prudent [people,] not legal

technicians, act.’ ” Id. at 244 (alteration in original) (quoting Gates, 462 U.S. at 231).

The probable cause standard “consistently look[s] to the totality of the

circumstances.” Id. (first citing Pringle, 540 U.S. at 371; then citing Gates, 462 U.S.

at 232; and then citing Brinegar, 338 U.S. at 176).

When Deputy Mitchell conducted a Terry search of Mr. Rowdy’s person, he

discovered what he “believed to be a marijuana blunt” in his left front pants pocket.

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Opinion of the Court

Deputy Mitchell informed Mr. Rowdy that it was “marijuana,” and Mr. Rowdy did not

claim that it was legal hemp. A person of reasonable caution, when discovering a

blunt that he believed to be illegal marijuana, could believe that it was contraband

or evidence of a crime, particularly when the defendant does not claim it is legal

hemp.

All of the factors that created reasonable suspicion for Deputy Mitchell to

conduct a Terry search contributed to probable cause for Deputy Baugus to conduct a

warrantless search of Mr. Rowdy’s automobile. Mr. Rowdy refused to stop in response

to police lights and sirens, he parked in a “high crime area,” Deputy Baugus

discovered his prior convictions for drug and weapons charges, the officers smelled

marijuana, and Mr. Rowdy bladed and refused to answer questions. The subsequent

discovery of what officers “believed to be a marijuana blunt” only added to the

reasonable suspicion the officers had and satisfied the higher probable cause

standard.

When considered with the reasonable suspicion factors, the discovery of the

blunt gave the officers probable cause to search Mr. Rowdy’s car without a warrant.

The trial court did not err in denying Mr. Rowdy’s motion to suppress as to the

warrantless search of his automobile. Because the trial court properly concluded that

the officers had reasonable suspicion to conduct a Terry search and probable cause to

conduct a warrantless search of Mr. Rowdy’s automobile, the court did not err in

denying Mr. Rowdy’s motion to suppress.

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IV. Conclusion

The trial court properly denied Mr. Rowdy’s motion to suppress, and he

received a trial without error. Thus, we modify the Court of Appeals’ decision

consistent with the rule articulated in this opinion to apply a totality of the

circumstances test for probable cause and affirm the Court of Appeals’ judgment.

MODIFIED AND AFFIRMED.

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