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A North Carolina appellate court ruled that a man convicted of cocaine possession after police shined a flashlight down his pants during a search should be granted a new trial because the search violated his legal rights.

The court decision terminates a 10 ½ to 14 year prison sentence for the convicted felon Timothy Stone. In 2002, Stone and a friend were pulled over and searched by a police officer.

While Stone initially agreed to the search, he objected when one cop aimed a flashlight down his sweat pants and found a pill bottle with crack cocaine. The state appeals court found that the evidence from the unlawful search—the key factor in Stone''s conviction— should not have been submitted into the trial.

“We conclude that a reasonable person in defendant''s circumstances would not have understood that he would be subjected to an inspection of his genitals,” said Judge Linda McGee.

Stone will face a new trial if the state Attorney General''s office decides not to appeal the appellate court''s decision.

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