STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
JOHN M. SILUK, APPELLEE
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The State appeals a trial court's order suppressing marijuana found in defendant's checked luggage. The appellate court reverses, holding that the Houston drug dog's alert provided probable cause despite the Orlando dog's failure to alert, and that information from an unknown Houston officer was reliable based on its specificity and detail.
The court held that the Houston dog's alert provided probable cause for the search, and that the Orlando dog's failure to alert did not negate this probable cause where the luggage remained under police surveillance between Houston and Orlando. The court further held that the detailed and specific information provided by the Houston officer was reliable and trustworthy, giving the Orlando officer reasonable grounds to conclude the information came from a fellow law enforcement officer.
[1] An alert by a properly trained police dog provides probable cause for a subsequent search.
[2] The failure of a second narcotics detection dog to alert to luggage does not necessarily vitiate probable cause established by a prior alert, particularly when there was…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“It is well established that an "alert" by a properly trained police dog will provide probable cause for a subsequent search.”
Establishes the foundational legal principle that a drug dog's alert creates probable cause
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOn January 31, 1987, defendant checked two bags on a flight from Houston to Orlando. A Houston drug dog alerted to the luggage during routine screenin…
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GRIFFIN, Judge.
The State appeals the trial court’s order granting a Motion To Suppress. We reverse.
On January 31, 1987, defendant checked two bags prior to departure from Houston, Texas to Orlando, Florida via Transtar Airlines. During a routine investigation of checked luggage, a dog trained to detect the presence of narcotics “alerted” to the luggage. The Houston police officer who supervised the dog reported the alert to an officer in Houston’s Narcotics Division, Roy Slay. Because the Houston police did not know who had checked the luggage, Slay decided to have his men allow the luggage on the flight. He then contacted James Aaron, a member of Orlando’s Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation, specifically identifying the luggage and giving detailed information about the qualifications of the narcotics dog.1
Officer Aaron made arrangements to meet the Transtar flight in Orlando, and asked Orange County’s Canine Unit to respond to the call. When a number of bags from the Transtar flight, including defendant’s luggage, were placed before the Orange County dog, the dog failed to alert to the presence of any drugs.
Officer Aaron then proceeded to baggage claim to wait for the luggage. After defendant collected the bags, he was stopped by Aaron and asked for permission to search the bags. When defendant refused permission to search one of the bags, Aaron seized the suitcase and obtained a search warrant for it. The bag was found to contain 1784 grams of marijuana.
After his arrest, defendant filed a Motion to Suppress on the ground that the Orlando police had no probable cause “to stop the Defendant or seize his luggage or to obtain a search warrant of [Defendant’s] suitcase.” At the suppression hearing, the defendant argued that the probable cause that existed in Houston was vitiated by the failure of the Orlando police dog to alert to defendant’s luggage.2 The defendant also argued that the information provided by Officer Slay was no more than double hearsay from an unknown informant. An order was entered suppressing the contents of the luggage.
It is well established that an “alert” by a properly trained police dog will provide probable cause for a subsequent search. See Crosby v. State, 492 So. 2d 1152, 1153 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986); Vetter v. State, 395 So. 2d 1199, 1200 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981). We do not accept the argument that the failure of the local narcotics dog to “alert” to the luggage neutralized the probable cause flowing from the alert in Houston, where, as here, it was improbable that anyone had access to the suitcase between the time it left police surveillance in Houston and came under surveillance in Orlando. Moreover, although the officer in Houston was not known to the officer in Orlando, he provided such specific and detailed information that the Orlando officer was reasonable in his conclusion that the source of information about the defendant’s luggage was a fellow law enforcement officer whose information was truthful and reliable. See State v. Beney, 523 So. 2d 744, 746 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988). See also United States v. Asselin, 775 F. 2d 445 (1st Cir.1985).
REVERSED.
W. SHARP and GOSHORN, JJ„ concur. . The dog, "Ace”, was 5 years old, had been working in the field for the previous 4 years, and had been successful in over 100 narcotics seizures. Mr. Slay also stated that "Ace" had a success rating of approximately 93%, had received training at the United States Customs Narcotics Training Center for dogs, and had been recertified annually since his initial training.
. The defense acknowledged that "if [the search] had happened in Houston, quite honestly, there’s no question they could have searched because they got a reaction from the dogs out there.”
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State v. Robinson, 756 So. 2d 249 (Fla. 5th DCA 2000)…v. Orozco, 607 So. 2d 464 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992), rev. denied, 614 So. 2d 503 (Fla.1993). An alert by a properly trained police dog provides probable cause for a search. Orozco; Osorio v. State, 569 So. 2d 1375 (Fla. 2d DCA [*251] 1990); State v. Siluk, 567 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). The only problem with drug dog sniff cases is that the detention of the driver must last no longer than is reasonably necessary for the police officer to write the traffic citation and make the customary license, tag, insurance…
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State v. Romerio Walker and Christina Young, 729 So. 2d 463 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)…uirement-though exigent circumstances would have been arguable — and obtained a valid warrant, based on a truthful affidavit in which the affiant properly and irrefutably alleged facts directly relayed to him by a fellow officer. See State v. Siluk, 567 So. 2d 26 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990)(information used to obtain warrant was provided by fellow officer); State v. Crisp, 307 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975). Those facts provided probable cause to believe that contraband would be found within the appellees’ residence…
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State v. Grue, 130 So. 3d 256 (Fla. 5th DCA 2013)…e v. Irizarry, 948 So. 2d 39, 43 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006) (citing Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 238-39; 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983)). Generally, an alert by a properly trained narcotics detection dog provides probable cause. State v. Siluk, 567 So. 2d 26, 28 (Fla. 5th DCA 1990). The alert, however, must be sufficiently reliable. See Harris II, 133 S.Ct. at 1056-58. Whether the alert is reliable enough to establish probable cause is determined based on the totality of the circumstances. See id. at 10…
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- United States v. Asselin, 775 F.2d 445 (1st Cir. 1985)
- Vetter v. State, 395 So. 2d 1199 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- State v. Beney, 523 So. 2d 744 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988)
- Crosby v. State, 492 So. 2d 1152 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)