State v. McLamb

STEELMAN, Judge.

An officer’s stop of a motor vehicle based upon a mistaken belief that a speeding violation occurred is not objectively reasonable and cannot support probable cause to stop the vehicle. The trial court correctly concluded that the fruits of such a stop must be suppressed.

While patrolling Ocracoke Island on 16 May 2005, Deputy Matthew Shane Bryan (“Deputy Bryan”) observed William Roger McLamb (“defendant”) driving a sports utility vehicle around a ninety degree curve at approximately thirty miles per hour. Deputy Bryan believed the speed limit on the road was twenty miles per…