WILLIE C. TIPPINS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the specificity of an anonymous tip combined with the discovery of contraband gave rise to probable cause to search the entire vehicle, including the trunk and containers.
[1] An anonymous informant's tip, sufficiently detailed and corroborated, can justify reasonable suspicion for a temporary detention.
[2] The plain view of a firearm during a lawful temporary detention provides probable cause for an arrest.
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PER CURIAM.
This case concerns the temporary detention of a suspected drug dealer, Tippins, based on a telephone call from an anonymous informant. The informant told the police that a black male, Willie Tippins, from West Palm Beach, driving a 1970 gold and black Cadillac with a temporary tag in the window, was selling cocaine and heroin in a specified area of Daytona Beach. The drugs were in a green bag and a gym bag.
In our view, the information was sufficiently detailed and corroborated under Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983), Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307, 79 S.Ct. 329, 3 L.Ed.2d 327 (1959), and Hetland v. State, 387 So. 2d 963 (Fla.1980), to justify at least reasonable suspicion for detention under Terry,
if not probable cause under Ross.
During the temporary detention of Tippins and his car, an open view of a partially concealed firearm occurred, justifying the arrest of Tippins. Ensor v. State, 403 So. 2d 349 (Fla.1981). The arrest justified a search of the passenger compartment of the car, which resulted in the discovery of the green bag containing contraband. New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454, 101 S.Ct. 2860, 69 L.Ed.2d 768 (1981).
It is arguable that the Chadwick3 and Sanders4 exceptions to Ross would preclude a warrantless search of the trunk of Tippins’ car, because the anonymous tip detailed that the drugs Tippins possessed were in two specified containers — a green bag and a gym bag. That argument, however, must fail in this case because the defendant has not established on this appeal that the drugs related to his convictions were found in the gym bag in the car trunk (Chadwick), rather than in the green bag in the passenger compartment (Belton). This was the burden of the appellant, not the state. The distinction between a valid warrantless search throughout an automobile based upon Ross and the necessity, under certain circumstances, for a warrant to open specific containers located within an automobile, based on the exceptions of Sanders and Chadwick, is perceptively analyzed by Judge Nimmons in the recent case of Mancini v. State, 448 So. 2d 573 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984).
AFFIRMED.
COBB, C.J., and DAUKSCH, J., concur. SHARP, J., concurs specially with opinion.
. Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968).
. United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 102 S.Ct. 2157, 72 L.Ed.2d 572 (1982).
. United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1977).
. Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979).
SHARP, Judge,
concurring specially.
I concur with the majority opinion in its analysis of the Supreme Court interpretations of the fourth amendment up to the point where the green bag was found in the passenger compartment. The finding of the money and contraband at that point plus the specificity of the anonymous tip then, in my view, gave rise to probable cause to search the whole of the gold and black Cadillac, trunk and containers included. United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798, 102 S.Ct. 2157, 72 L.Ed.2d 572 (1982). The Chadwick1 and Sanders2 exceptions need not come into play at all.
Surely the police should not be in a worse position because the tipster told them too much. Had the tipster merely said the suspect was selling drugs out of a gold and black Cadillac, Ross would have justified the search of the whole vehicle under these circumstances. Knowing the color of the bags used to contain the drugs should make no difference. To the extent the majority opinion indicates it might make a difference, I respectfully disagree.
. United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1, 97 S.Ct. 2476, 53 L.Ed.2d 538 (1977).
. Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753, 99 S.Ct. 2586, 61 L.Ed.2d 235 (1979).
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Ulysses R. Williams v. State, 640 So. 2d 1206 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)…r testimony surrounding the events that transpired after he was taken to jail. Under the law, it was his burden to demonstrate that the cocaine related to his conviction was found on his person when he was searched at the jail. See Tippins v. State, 454 So. 2d 630 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984). It was also his burden to establish the alleged invalidity of this search. State v. Lyons, 293 So. 2d 391 (Fla. 2d DCA 1974); Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.190(h)(3). See also Black v. State, 383 So. 2d 295, 297 (Fla. 1st DCA), review denied,…
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State v. Noreen Marie Wildes, 468 So. 2d 550 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985)…fic facts regarding the reliability of the informant although the acts themselves contained considerable detail indicating the presence of contraband at the residence authorized to be searched. The State cites the usual cases1 and Tippins v. State, 454 So. 2d 630 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); State v. Vanwinkle, 444 So. 2d 1005 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); Bradford v. State, 448 So. 2d 1231 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Zaner v. State, 444 So. 2d 508 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Graham v. State, 438 So. 2d 114 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). Defendant c…
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Previewing 3 of 6 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1968)
- Illinois v. Gates et ux., 462 U.S. 213 (U.S. 1983)
- Draper v. United States, 358 U.S. 307 (U.S. 1959)
- United States v. Chadwick, 433 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1977)
- United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798 (U.S. 1982)
- New York v. Belton, 453 U.S. 454 (U.S. 1981)
- Arkansas v. Sanders, 442 U.S. 753 (U.S. 1979)
- Elton E. Ensor v. State, 403 So. 2d 349 (Fla. 1981)
- Hetland v. State, 387 So. 2d 963 (Fla. 1980)
- Pierluigi Mancini v. State, 448 So. 2d 573 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)