In a recent unpublished opinion by the North Carolina Court of Appeals, that Court determined that there was reasonable suspicion to conduct a Terry stop and therefore the Defendant’s conviction for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon was affirmed. State of North Carolina v. Quency Jaleel Cox arouse out of the Superior Court of Mecklenburg County. Here Mr. Cox entered a plea of guilty to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon after the trial court denied his motion to suppress. Mr. Cox argued to the appellate court that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence found by law enforcement after a Terry stop was conducted. The Defendant also raised the Constitutionality of the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon statute.
In this case, an anonymous tipster called the Charlotte Police Department and reported that an individual had pointed a firearm at a child in a Charlotte park. This called was placed at approximately 11:06 pm and the caller identified the individual who pointed the gun as one of three Black male teens. One of the individuals was identified as wearing a black t-shirt and carrying a gray backpack. The responding police officer received a computer printout of the call that provided a description of the teens, information that the teens had firearms, and that the teens were still in the park behind some rocks. This information also specifically identified a subject with a gray backpack as having a firearm. Upon arriving at the park, a six-year-old child told that officer that there was a man with a gun. The child then took the officer to his mother who then told the officer that the individuals were in the park in an area near some large rocks. The officer approached the area behind the rocks and noticed Mr. Cox along with another male. Mr. Cox matched the description that had been provided. Other officers arrived and searched Mr. Cox where they found a firearm in the waistband of his pants. Mr. Cox was later arrested for carrying a concealed gun and resisting an officer. It was subsequently discovered that Mr. Cox had a prior felony conviction.
In its analysis, the North Carolina Court of Appeals determined that the officers did have reasonable suspicion to conduct the stop under Terry and therefore the firearm that was discovered was seized lawfully. Under the totality of the circumstances, the stop and subsequent discovery of the firearm ware not unlawful. The Court reached this conclusion based upon the description given of the suspect by the caller, the description provided by the child, and the information obtained from the child’s mother. The Court acknowledged that the late hour of the incident may have made it difficult to specifically identify the suspect but this factor was not enough to make the stop unlawful.
As mentioned above, Mr. Cox did raise the argument of the constitutionality of the firearm by a convicted felon statute. However, the appellate court did not entertain this argument for two reasons. First, and perhaps most importantly, Mr. Cox did not raise this argument in the trial court and therefore it was deemed waived. Second, this argument has been raised unsuccessfully in other cases before this appellate court and the North Carolina Court of Appeals felt that it was not necessary to address it in again in this case.
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