STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
DARRYL JEROME CASH, APPELLEE
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The court held that the police had reasonable suspicion to stop the defendant's vehicle based on a corroborated anonymous tip, and a subsequent plain view observation provided probable cause for the search.
[1] An anonymous tipster's information may establish reasonable suspicion for a temporary investigatory stop if the information appears sufficiently reliable due to surroundi…
[2] Specificity of information provided by an anonymous tipster, coupled with police corroboration of significant details, can indicate the tip's reliability for purposes of…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePolice received an anonymous tip about the defendant transporting narcotics, including specific details about his identity, vehicle, and movements. Th…
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PER CURIAM.
The state appeals from a trial court order suppressing a quantity of cocaine seized from the automobile which the defendant Darryl Jerome Cash was driving. The basis for the suppression order was that the police unlawfully stopped the automobile in violation of the defendant’s Fourth Amendment rights, and, that consequently, the subsequent search and seizure of the cocaine from the automobile was unreasonable in violation of the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution. We disagree and reverse.
First, we conclude, based on the undisputed evidence adduced below, that the police had a reasonable basis to suspect that the defendant was transporting narcotics in the automobile and, therefore, were authorized to temporarily stop the automobile for further investigation. This evidence established that Officer Morales of the Metro-Dade Police Department received a telephone call from an anonymous tipster who stated that a person named Cash (the defendant herein) would be bringing narcotics to the Sugar Hill area of Miami (N.W. 71st Street and 14th Avenue) between 9:30 — 10:30 p.m. that night. The tipster indicated that Cash would be driving a rented white Mazda 323 automobile and provided both a partial license tag number and directions to Cash’s residence. The tipster further told the officer that the defendant would first leave his residence and go to another residence in the area of N.W. 151st Street and 32nd Avenue before going out to the Sugar Hill area. Upon receiving the information, Detectives Morales and Sanchez drove out to defendant’s residence where they found the vehicle described by the tipster; they then obtained the vehicle’s full tag number as well as the address of the residence. With the address, the officers obtained a phone number, which they called and asked for the defendant Cash; a woman answered and told them that Cash was outside. The officers then set up surveillance at this residence. At about 8:25 p.m., the officers followed the defendant to a house located at 3361 N.W. 190 Street. Upon leaving that house, the defendant went to a U-Totem store and then returned to his residence. At about 10:25 p.m., the defendant was seen leaving his residence, carrying what appeared to be a plastic bag which he put behind the driver’s seat. Another male got into the car on the passenger side and the defendant drove off. The vehicle headed south on 1-95, exiting at N.W. 69th Street. The police stopped the vehicle at N.W. 69th Street and N.W. 12th Avenue, a few blocks from the Sugar Hill area while en route thereto.
A temporary stop of a person for further investigation may be made by the police under the Fourth Amendment based on information obtained from an anonymous tipster if that information (1) appears sufficiently reliable because of the surrounding circumstances or the nature of the information given in the tip, and (2) establishes reasonable suspicion that the defendant is committing or has committed a crime. Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325, 110 S.Ct. 2412, 110 L.Ed.2d 301 (1990); Hetland v. State, 387 So. 2d 963 (Fla.1980). One indication of reliability of such a tip is the specificity of the information given by the tipster because such detail carries a strong indication that the information is based on the personal observation of the tipster; another such indication of reliability is when police act promptly and verify some significant part of the information given by tipster. State v. Hetland, 366 So. 2d 831, 839 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979), approved, 387 So. 2d 963 (Fla.1980).
In the instant case, the anonymous tipster gave detailed information as to the identity, location, movements, and activity of the defendant, much of which the police were able to fully corroborate. The police found a person described by the tipster at a location described by the tipster driving a car described by the tipster; moreover, the defendant’s movements that evening, as observed by the police, were substantially what the tipster had predicted. Plainly, the police had sufficient information to ef-feet a temporary detention of the defendant for further investigation. The trial judge, however, concluded the police should have waited another two blocks before stopping the subject vehicle because the vehicle, although headed for the Sugar Hill area, had not actually arrived there. We disagree. The totality of circumstances of this case clearly indicate that the police had sufficiently corroborated the basic information of the otherwise detailed tip to temporarily stop the defendant. See Alabama v. White; Kehoe v. State, 521 So. 2d 1094, 1095-96 (Fla.1988).
Second, we conclude, based on the undisputed evidence adduced below, that the police made a valid plain-view observation of four ziploc plastic bags containing suspect cocaine which were lying on the floor of the automobile behind the front seat; this observation, in turn, gave the police probable cause to search the automobile for these bags under the Carroll-Chambers moving vehicle exception to the search warrant requirement rule. Consequently, the search and seizure of the cocaine herein was reasonable under the Fourth Amendment. Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 45 S.Ct. 280, 69 L.Ed. 543 (1925); Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42, 90 S.Ct. 1975, 26 L.Ed.2d 419 (1970).
The order of suppression under review is reversed and the cause is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings.
Reversed and remanded.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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State v. Mac Dale Evans, 620 So. 2d 802 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)…e conclude that Mr. Evans’ case is controlled by White, and by our decisions in State v. Hetland, 366 So. 2d 831 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979), approved, 387 So. 2d 963 (Fla.1980) and State v. Edwards, 547 So. 2d 183 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). See also State v. Cash, 595 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992). We recognize that the factual information provided by the informant in this case concerning the accused person and the location may be somewhat less detailed than that provided by anonymous tipsters in earlier cases. The predict…
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State v. Scott, 641 So. 2d 517 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)…ble suspicion). The reliability of an anonymous tipster’s information is evaluated by looking at the specificity and detail of the information, and whether the police acted promptly in verifying significant aspects of the information. State v. Cash, 595 So. 2d 279 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992); Swanson v. State, 591 So. 2d at 1114; State v. Hetland, 366 So. 2d 831, 839 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979), approved, 387 So. 2d 963 (Fla.1980). In the present case, the anonymous tipster gave detailed information describing the appearance,…
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State v. Elain Orozco and Claudia Monegro, 607 So. 2d 464 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)…strong indication that the information is based on the personal observation of the tipster; another such indication of reliability is when police act promptly and verify some significant part of the information given by the tipster. State v. Cash, 595 So. 2d 279, 281 (Fla. 3d DCA1992). [*468] “Essential to the Court's assessment of the anonymous tip, and what emerges as a significant ingredient in the test for tip reliability, is that the informant [is] able to predict meaningful future behavior through inf…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132 (U.S. 1925)
- Chambers v. Maroney, 399 U.S. 42 (U.S. 1970)
- Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325 (U.S. 1990)
- Kehoe v. State, 521 So. 2d 1094 (Fla. 1988)
- Hetland v. State, 387 So. 2d 963 (Fla. 1980)
- State v. Hetland, 366 So. 2d 831 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979)