BARBARA WHITING, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the stop was unlawful because the anonymous tip lacked sufficient indicia of reliability and was not corroborated by independent evidence of criminal activity.
An anonymous tip reported a black female driving a black Cougar had a firearm. An officer stopped the described vehicle and driver, who then admitted …
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PATTERSON, Judge.
The appellant challenges the denial of her motion to suppress a concealed firearm found in her vehicle. We. reverse.
Officer William Spitler of the Sarasota Police Department, on regular patrol, received a communication over his police radio “[t]hat somebody had called in anonymously stating that a black female driving a black Cougar was in the area of 20th and Orange and had a firearm in her car.” About thirty minutes later, Spitler observed the appellant driving a black Cougar. He activated his emergency lights and stopped her. After ordering the appellant to exit the vehicle, Spitler told her about the anonymous tip. He testified that at that point the appellant said, “I’m going to be honest with you, there’s a gun underneath the seat of my car.” Spitler arrested her and confiscated the firearm. Spitler further testified that once he had stopped the appellant and prior to her admission, she was not free to go.
The trial court erred in denying the appellant’s motion for two reasons. First, the BOLO did not put Spitler on notice as to any criminal conduct. The possession of a firearm in a vehicle is not, in and of itself, a crime. Spitler had no information from which it could be inferred that the firearm was of an illegal type or that it was unlawfully possessed or displayed. Second, if criminal conduct could be inferred from the tip, Spitler had no independent evidence to corroborate that information. It is not enough merely to corroborate the identity, dress, description, or location of an individual who is the subject of an anonymous tip. Additional independent evidence is required. Cunningham v. State, 591 So. 2d 1058 (Fla.2d DCA 1991).
The stop was without any legal justification and, therefore, the appellant’s admission and the firearm were unlawfully obtained.
Reversed and remanded.
HALL, J., concurs.
RYDER, A.C.J., dissents.
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Patrick v. State, 603 So. 2d 640 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992)…ndow. On cross-examination he admitted that the gun was “readily visible.” Thus, the handgun was not concealed and no probable 'cause existed to search the vehicle. See Mitchell v. State, 494 So. 2d 498 (Fla. 2d DCA 1986); see also Whiting v. State, 595 So. 2d 1070 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992) (“possession of a firearm in a vehicle is not, in and of itself, a crime”). Because the state failed to establish that the appellant was a recent occupant of the car or that the weapon was concealed, the search was invalid and th…
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Leahy v. State, 770 So. 2d 269 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)…y. If safety had been a concern, Officer Search would have conducted a pat-down of appellant and searched the vehicle during the traffic stop. Second, the possession of a firearm in a vehicle is not, in and of itself, a crime. See Whiting v. State, 595 So. 2d 1070 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). In Whiting, a police officer received a communication over his radio concerning an anonymous tip that a black [*271] female was driving a black Cougar in a certain area and had a firearm in her car. Id. The officer located the ve…
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State v. Allende, 791 So. 2d 589 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)…e have serious doubts even on its own facts, is, however, meaningfully distinguishable: a. First, there was no indication in Le-ahy that, as here, the firearm was “unlawfully in the car.” See Leahy, 770 So. 2d at 271 [e.s.](citing Whiting v. State, 595 So. 2d 1070 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992) for propositions that officer “had no information from which it could be inferred that the firearm was of an illegal type or that it was unlawfully possessed or displayed. Since merely [*591] possessing a firearm in a vehicle is n…
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- Cunningham v. State, 591 So. 2d 1058 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)