PAUL GREGORY TURNER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the police officer lacked a well-founded suspicion to stop the defendant, rendering the subsequent search and seizure unlawful.
A police officer stopped a rental vehicle to check if it was overdue, based on a hunch and prior knowledge of its return date. The officer had no info…
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[*1182] GUNTHER, Judge.
We reverse the convictions and remand to the trial court to vacate the sentence and the order of revocation of probation.
This case arises from the stop and search of a rental vehicle on August 14,1987. We conclude that the facts in this case do not support the state’s contention that the police officer, before stopping the defendant, had a well-founded suspicion that the defendant had committed or was committing a crime.
In the course of an unrelated encounter with the same rental vehicle on August 8th, the police officer learned that the car would be due back at Hertz later that evening. She testified that she stopped the defendant on August 14th to ascertain whether the rental vehicle he was driving might be overdue. She admitted, however, that she had received no notification from Hertz to suggest that the vehicle was overdue. She did not know if the vehicle had been re-rented and she made no effort to verify her hunch before stopping the car and searching it. Under those circumstances, it is our view that her hunch that the vehicle might be stolen does not rise to the level of a well-founded suspicion of criminal activity which would justify stopping appellant.
Our ruling that the police officer did not lawfully stop appellant compels the conclusion that the property seized was the result of an unlawful search and seizure. Delp v. State, 364 So. 2d 542, 543 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978). Accordingly, the trial court erred in denying the appellant’s motion to suppress the evidence seized following the stop.
REVERSE AND REMAND.
GLICKSTEIN, J., concurs.
WALDEN, J., dissents without opinion.
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Slydell v. State, 792 So. 2d 667 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)…te, 491 So. 2d 1164 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986). Where an investigatory stop is prompted by an officer’s lack of knowledge as to whether a person is engaged in any criminal activity, such a detention is supported by no more than a hunch. See Turner v. State, 552 So. 2d 1181, 1182 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989). A mere “hunch” that criminal activity may be occurring is not sufficient. See McCloud, 491 So. 2d at 1167. In this case, the criminal activity that the police were investigating was trespassing. Section 810.09(1), Florida…
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State v. Ramos, 598 So. 2d 267 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)…orrectly points out, there is ample case law which states that a hunch does not rise to the level of a founded suspicion. See Aguila v. State, 567 So. 2d 1007 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Williams v. State, 564 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990); Turner v. State, 552 So. 2d 1181 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989); Sharpless v. State, 549 So. 2d 735 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). However, in this case, when the officer spoke to the woman, he was not conducting a Terry stop and did not need a founded suspicion. After speaking to the woman and acquirin…
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Spikes v. State, 781 So. 2d 508 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)…factors are applied and interpreted in the light of the officer’s knowledge. See State v. Pye, 551 So. 2d 1237 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). A mere suspicion or subjective hunch does not provide a proper basis for an investigatory stop. See Turner v. State, 552 So. 2d 1181 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989). In the instant case, the threshold facts required for an investigatory stop do not exist. The deputy, the sole witness for the State, testified that when he first rode away from such vehicle he had no suspicion of criminal acti…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Delp v. State, 364 So. 2d 542 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978)