THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
JAMES JOSEPH, APPELLEE
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Florida appeals the suppression of a marked $20 bill used in an undercover cocaine purchase. The court reverses, holding that officers had probable cause to arrest the defendant based on the undercover officer's detailed radio description, making the pre-arrest search valid and the marked bill admissible.
The court held that the officers had probable cause to arrest Joseph for the sale of cocaine based on the undercover officer's detailed radio description coupled with proximity in time and place to the crime scene. Therefore, the pre-arrest search and retrieval of the marked bill was valid and admissible.
[1] Probable cause to arrest exists when an officer has reasonable grounds to believe a person has committed a felony.
[2] A detailed physical description provided in a police BOLO, coupled with proximity in time and place to the scene of a crime, can furnish reasonable grounds for an officer…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The probable cause standard for a law enforcement officer to make a legal arrest is whether the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person has committed a felony.”
Establishes the legal standard for probable cause applicable in this case.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAn undercover police officer purchased cocaine from James Joseph in a hand-to-hand transaction, paying with a marked $20 bill. After the transaction, …
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GERSTEN, Judge.
Appellant, State of Florida, appeals the suppression of evidence in a sale of cocaine prosecution against appellee, James Joseph. We reverse.
Appellee sold cocaine to an undercover police officer in a hand-to-hand transaction. The undercover officer paid appellee with a marked $20 bill.
Once the transaction was complete, the undercover officer radioed a very detailed physical description of appellee and his clothing, to the arresting officers waiting nearby. The arresting officers stopped appellee and recovered $750 in currency from his pockets, including the marked bill.
Appellee moved to suppress all physical evidence. The trial court suppressed the $20 bill, but not the cocaine. The trial court ruled that the bill was inadmissible because it was the product of a pre-arrest search.
The issue of whether the money retrieved from appellee’s pockets is admissible depends on whether the search of appellee was legal. The legality of the search depends on whether the officers who searched appellee had probable cause to arrest appellee.
The probable cause standard for a law enforcement officer to make a legal arrest is whether the officer has reasonable grounds to believe the person has committed a felony. Blanco v. State, 452 So. 2d 520 (Fla.1984), cert. denied, 469 U.S. 1181, 105 S.Ct. 940, 83 L.Ed.2d 953 (1985); see also Robinson v. State, 556 So. 2d 450 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990).
A description provided in a police BOLO, coupled with proximity in time and place to the scene of crime, furnish reasonable grounds for an officer’s belief that appellant had committed a felony. See Blanco v. State, 452 So. 2d at 523; see also United States v. Wilson, 894 F. 2d 1245 (11th Cir.), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 110 S.Ct. 3284, 111 L.Ed.2d 792 (1990); Carroll v. State, 497 So. 2d 253 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985), review denied, 511 So. 2d 297 (Fla.1987).
Finally, where probable cause exists, the validity of a search is unaffected by the fact that the search occurred before the arrest. T.M. v. State, 570 So. 2d 1129 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Baggett v. State, 562 So. 2d 359 (Fla.2d DCA 1990); State v. James, 526 So. 2d 188 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); Acosta v. State, 431 So. 2d 715 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983); Moreland v. State, 552 So. 2d 937; review denied, 562 So. 2d 346 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989).
We find that in this case there was probable cause to arrest appellee for the sale of cocaine. Accordingly, the pre-ar-rest search and retrieval of the marked bill is admissible. Therefore, we reverse and remand for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
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State v. Russell, 659 So. 2d 465 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)…ment at the hearing was that the officer lacked probable cause at the time of the arrest. . It is well settled that a search incident to an arrest may precede the formal arrest as long as probable cause existed prior to the search. State v. Joseph, 593 So. 2d 594 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); T.M. v. State, 570 So. 2d 1129 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990); Wright v. State, 418 So. 2d 1087 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982), review denied, 426 So. 2d 29 (Fla. 1983); State v. Hughes, 375 So. 2d 615 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979).…
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State v. Clark, 721 So. 2d 1202 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…for suppression. “The validity of a search of a defendant after probable cause to arrest him has arisen is unaffected by the fact that the search comes before the arrest.” State v. James, 526 So. 2d 188, 190 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988); see State v. Joseph, 593 So. 2d 594, 595 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992), and cases cited therein. Finally, assuming arguendo that there was no probable cause to arrest the defendant until the homeowner came to the site of the stop and identified him, the evidence should not have been suppressed.…
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State v. Scott, 641 So. 2d 517 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)…e, 556 So. 2d 450 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990). [*520] The defendant was stopped approximately ten minutes after the B.O.L.O. was dispatched, and was found only a few blocks from the area indicated in the B.O.L.O. As this Court recognized in State v. Joseph, 593 So. 2d 594, 595 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992): “A description provided in a police BOLO, coupled with proximity in time and place to the scene of crime, furnish reasonable grounds for an officer’s belief that appellant had committed a felony.” Moreover, the officers obse…
Previewing 3 of 8 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (12 total)
- Blanco v. State, 452 So. 2d 520 (Fla. 1984)
- United States v. Wilson, 894 F.2d 1245 (11th Cir. 1990)
- Woodward v. Texas, 469 U.S. 1181 (U.S. 1985)
- Nw. Airlines, Inc. v. Laffey, 469 U.S. 1181 (U.S. 1985)
- Robinson v. State, 556 So. 2d 450 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)
- Carroll v. State, 497 So. 2d 253 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)
- Moreland v. State, 552 So. 2d 937 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)
- State v. Earnest James, 526 So. 2d 188 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988)
- Acosta v. State, 431 So. 2d 715 (Fla. 3d DCA 1983)
- Gale Glass Baggett v. State, 562 So. 2d 359 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)