Knock and talk detectives should have walked, Court of Appeals rules.

Byline: Bill Cresenzo

A pair ofCabarrusCounty sheriff's detectives who spotted a pot plant in a crawlspace while roaming through a man's yard should have left the premises when he didn't answer their knocks on his door, the North Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled.

In 2014, the detectives were investigating the theft of a Bobcat dirt mover, according to the Court of Appeals' June 18 decision. "Detective Helms" knocked on the front door of the home of Shawn Ellis and didn't get an answer. Anotherdetective, KevinKlinglesmith, knocked on the back door and he, too, got no response.

AsKlinglesmithwas walking around the house, he smelled marijuana. He called Helms over, who also smelled marijuana and heard the sound of a large fan coming from a crawl space. He peeped between the slates of the space's door and spotted what appearedto bea marijuana plant. The detectives secured a warrantto search the inside of the house. Elliswas chargedwith manufacturing marijuana, trafficking in marijuana, possessing drug paraphernalia, possessing marijuana with intent to sell or deliver, maintaining a dwelling used for keeping and selling a controlled substance, and trafficking in opiates.

Ellis filed a motion to suppress the evidence. A trial court denied it, and he entered an Alford plea to all but one of the charges but preserved his right to appeal.

Ellis argued to the Court of Appeals the trial court erred because it didn't take into account the limitations that apply when law enforcement enters private property to get information.

The Court of Appeals agreed, saying that theinitialsearch of outside property without awarrantviolated Ellis' Fourth Amendment rights.

By waking away from the front door, entering the sides of Ellis' yard and approaching the back door,Klinglesmithwas moving into the boundaries or curtilage of Ellis' home without awarrant, the opinion says.

Thecrawlspace's...