Whether you are passing through the Tar Heel State or temporarily between homes, a hotel room can be a much-needed place of refuge. For a night or two, your hotel room becomes your new home. You can expect a reasonable amount of privacy and security as you stay at a hotel – even though you do not legally “own” the premises. What happens if police try to search your hotel room for cocaine in North Carolina? Are they allowed to enter with the owner’s permission? Do they need a warrant?
Police Find $1 Million in Cocaine After Hotel Raid in Gaston County
In April of 2024, Queen City News reported that Gaston County Police had found almost $1 million in cocaine and fentanyl after raiding two hotel rooms in Gastonia. Police say that they obtained warrants for these searches after conducting a traffic stop nearby. $390,000 worth of cocaine was recovered, and this led to serious cocaine trafficking charges.
Based on this brief report, one can assume that police initially recovered drugs in the traffic stop before executing the hotel raid. Assumedly, police asked the driver where they were staying after noticing that they were from California. The defendants may have been driving a vehicle with California plates, and their out-of-state licenses would have raised flags. The existence of drugs in the vehicle may have given police probable cause to suspect additional drugs in the hotel rooms. This would have made obtaining a warrant relatively easy.
Police Must Obtain a Warrant Before Searching Your Hotel Room
What would have happened if the Gaston County Police had failed to obtain a warrant? In this situation, searching the hotel rooms likely would have been illegal. If they had searched the hotel rooms anyway, any cocaine recovered would have been inadmissible evidence in court.
If police knock on your hotel room door and ask to conduct a search, you can say no. Note that in many cases, police will phrase these “requests” as demands. For example, they might say: “We need to take a look inside. Okay?” They might also say: “You don’t have a problem with us searching your room, right?” These phrases make it seem like you have no choice in the matter – but you do. If you consent to a search, police do not need to obtain a warrant. If you refuse to allow the search, police must obtain a warrant.
Hotel owners and staff cannot consent to searches on your behalf. Only once they rent the room to you can you consent to a search. Hotel rooms represent short term rentals. In the same way that a landlord cannot consent to a search, hotel owners also lack the power to consent on your behalf.
Find a Qualified Cocaine Defense Lawyer in North Carolina
If you are serious about defending yourself against cocaine charges in North Carolina, work with an experienced criminal defense attorney. Ideally, you should work with a law firm that has specific experience with cocaine charges – such as Coastal South Law. If police searched your hotel room without a warrant or your permission, you should be able to fight your cocaine charges. Contact us today to discuss your situation and get started with a defense strategy.
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