RONALD CLEMENTS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE; CARL DAVID LOWE, APPELLANT, V. STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 4th DCA | 1981-03-18
Nos. 79-1228, 79-1239
MOORE and GLICKSTEIN, JJ., concur.
396 So. 2d 217 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fourth District (1981) Caution
Cited by 8 cases

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.

Synopsis

Two defendants appealed their convictions for kidnapping, sexual battery, and robbery. The appellate court affirmed that evidence from vehicle stops was properly obtained, but reversed because the trial court erroneously admitted weapons (knives and gun) found in a vehicle search that lacked proper justification under the protective search doctrine.


Holding

The weapons should have been suppressed because the search lacked proper justification under the protective search doctrine. The search failed to satisfy the requirements that the officer had reliable information or observed a furtive gesture indicating a weapon in a particular area, and the search occurred before it appeared the suspects should be allowed to return to the vehicle.


Headnotes

[1] A protective search of a vehicle during an investigative stop is permissible only when officers have specific and articulable facts, well-founded reason to believe an acc…

[2] Evidence seized during an unlawful search must be suppressed as the fruit of the poisonous tree.

Previewing 2 of 3 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Key Quotes

“We hold that under proper circumstances a police officer making a valid investigative stop involving an automobile may conduct a carefully limited search of areas accessible to occupants of the vehicle and in which the officer has, based upon specific and articulable facts, well-founded reason to believe an accessible weapon is hidden.”

Establishes the protective search doctrine standard requiring specific articulable facts and well-founded reasons

Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Facts & Procedural History

On July 6, 1978, Clements and Lowe were involved in alleged kidnapping, sexual battery, and robbery offenses. They were apprehended after two separate…

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.


Opinion of the Court
HERSEY, Judge.

HERSEY, Judge.

Appellants Clements and Lowe were each charged by indictment with two counts of kidnapping with intent to terrorize and two counts of sexual battery with a deadly weapon. Appellant Lowe was additionally charged with robbery with a deadly weapon. These crimes allegedly occurred on July 6, 1978. After jury trial each appellant was adjudicated guilty and sentenced on all charges against him except for one count of sexual battery. It is from these judgments and sentences that appellants appeal.

Appellants first challenge the denial of their motions to suppress evidence resulting from two separate stops of a vehicle in which they were riding. The facts surrounding these stops are set forth in Clements v. State, 396 So. 2d 214 (Fla.4th DCÁ 1981). We adhere to the holding of that case; the stops and ultimate arrests of appellants were legal, thus suppression of the evidence obtained as a result thereof, with the exception of the knives and gun, was properly denied.

In the present case, however, we are faced with an additional question. Unlike the trial court in Clements v. State, supra, the trial court here did not suppress the knives and gun found in the search of the vehicle conducted during the initial stop and seized after the second stop. Thus, we must determine whether that evidence should have been suppressed.

The State argues that the search was justified as a protective search for weapons, extending beyond the immediate control of the suspects to an area where the officers could be endangered if the occupants were permitted to re-enter the vehicle, citing Brown v. State, 358 So. 2d 596 (Fla.2d DCA 1978). However, the Brown decision was specifically limited in the following manner:

We hold that under proper circumstances a police officer making a valid investigative stop involving an automobile may conduct a carefully limited search of areas accessible to occupants of the vehicle and in which the officer has, based upon specific and articulable facts, well-founded reason to believe an accessible weapon is hidden. This protective search may take place even though the occupants have been temporarily removed from the vehicle. The protective search must be limited to circumstances in which the investigating officer has received some reliable information, or has observed some furtive gesture, indicating the presence of a weapon in a particular and accessible area of the vehicle. The protective search must be conducted in a manner reasonably calculated to uncover weapons only. This extension of the scope of a protective search applies only where, at the time of the search, it appears that the suspect should be allowed to return to his vehicle. Id. at 600-601.

In the instant case, because of the nature of the crime reported in the BOLO and the circumstances surrounding the initial stop, the police officers had reason to believe that the suspects may be armed and dangerous. Nevertheless, the search cannot be justified. There was no reliable informa tion received or furtive gesture observed indicating the presence of a weapon in a particular and accessible area of the vehicle. More importantly, the search was conducted before it appeared that appellant suspects should be allowed to return to the vehicle.

Therefore, the knives and gun seized in the search should have been suppressed as fruits of the poisonous tree and admission of these items into evidence over objection was reversible error. Appellants’ remaining points are either without merit or are particular to the facts as developed at trial. Accordingly, those issues will not be addressed at this time.

REVERSED AND REMANDED.

MOORE and GLICKSTEIN, JJ., concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Hochstetler v. State, 400 So. 2d 974 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
    …ANSTEAD, Judge, dissenting: In his petition for rehearing the appellant claims that our decision herein directly conflicts with this court’s decision rendered two weeks later in the case of Clements v. State, 396 So. 2d 217 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981) wherein this court held: The State argues that the search was justified as a protective search for weapons, extending beyond the immediate control of the suspects to an area where the officers could be endangered if the occupan…
  • State v. Lamb, 484 So. 2d 1368 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986)
    …quiry, the officers would have had to allow Lamb to return to the car. Such danger, in light of Lamb reaching under the seat, clearly justified a reasonable, protective search. State v. Patrick, 437 So. 2d 217 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983); Clements v. State, 396 So. 2d 217 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Brown. Finally, Officer Miller’s search clearly did not exceed the permissible bounds of a reasonable, protective search. He testified that he only searched in the area where he saw Lamb reach. Thus, the search was confined to…
  • Clements v. State, 396 So. 2d 214 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
    …udge. On July 6, 1978, appellants were twice stopped by the police. Evidence seized as a result of these stops culminated in separate formal charges arising out of two unrelated incidents. This appeal involves one set of charges; Clements v. State, 396 So. 2d 217 (Fla.4th DCA 1981) involves the other. Appellants pled nolo contendere to kidnapping, sexual battery without a firearm and attempted robbery without a firearm, specifically reserving the right to bring these consolidated appeals from the partial de…

Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.

Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence

Authorities Cited

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw