State v. Hernandez

WYNN, Judge.

A law enforcement officer who observes a traffic law violation has probable cause to detain the motorist, and the scope of that detention may be expanded where the officer has a reasonable suspicion, based on specific and articulable facts, that criminal activity is afoot. State v. McClendon, 350 N.C. 630, 636, 517 S.E.2d 128, 132 (1999); State v. Hamilton, 125 N.C. App. 396, 399-400, 481 S.E.2d 98, 100, disc. review denied, 345 N.C. 757, 485 S.E.2d 302 (1997). Here, Defendant Jose Manuel Hernandez, who pled guilty to trafficking in cocaine, contends that he was illegally seized…