STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
RAY BERNARD BOUTWELL, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Florida appellate court reversed suppression order, holding that officer had just cause to stop defendant's truck in a high-crime area and lawfully observed dynamite in plain view, supporting charges for unlawful possession of dynamite and attempted damage to railroad tracks.
An officer may lawfully stop a vehicle in a high-crime area based on reasonable suspicion and may seize contraband observed in plain view during such a stop.
[1] An officer may conduct a vehicle stop based on reasonable suspicion in a high-crime area where residents have complained of criminal activity and stolen vehicles have bee…
Previewing 1 of 1 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDeputy Suarez stopped Ray Bernard Boutwell's truck in a high-crime area near railroad tracks behind a residential area where burglaries had occurred a…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Contraband Seizure cases and more on FLexlaw
MELVIN, Judge.
This appeal brings for consideration the contention of the State of Florida that the trial judge was in error when he granted the motion to suppress evidence in the case, such motion having been filed by the defendant Ray Bernard Boutwell.
We have carefully considered the record, and it is our view that the officer had just cause to stop the truck in question under the control of Ray Bernard Boutwell. The area where the officer stopped the track was a “high crime area” . alongside the railroad track behind a residential area, a residential area that the residents complained about these vehicles being down there because of burglary. And it’s a known area, we recovered several stolen vehicles in that area, we recovered vehicles used in armed robberies in that area,” according to the testimony of Deputy Suarez. When the officer stopped the truck, he lawfully observed in plain view dynamite in the back of the truck. See Lutz v. State, 354 So. 2d 141 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978); State v. Brooks, 281 So. 2d 55 (Fla.2d DCA 1973); State v. Miller, 267 So. 2d 352 (Fla.4th DCA 1972); and State v. Stevens, 354 So. 2d 1244 (Fla.4th DCA 1978). The defendant was charged with violating Section 790.161(3), Florida Statutes, relating to unlawful attempt to do damage to tracks of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad, and also was charged with violating Sections 552.101 and 522.22, Florida Statutes, by unlawfully possessing dynamite without a license or permit to do so.
. The order suppressing the evidence is reversed and the case remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.
McCORD, C. J., and BOOTH, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
State v. Lawson, 446 So. 2d 202 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984)…r five times at a speed of ten to fifteen miles per hour, the officers had a well-founded suspicion of criminal activity to justify stopping the defendant’s vehicle. See In the Interest of G.T., 387 So. 2d 485 (Fla. 4th DCA 1980); State v. Boutwell, 367 So. 2d 231 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979); Laster v. State, 354 So. 2d 1262 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978). Reversed and remanded.…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Stevens, 354 So. 2d 1244 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)
- State v. Brooks, 281 So. 2d 55 (Fla. 2d DCA 1973)
- State v. Miller, 267 So. 2d 352 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972)
- Lutz v. State, 354 So. 2d 141 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978)