DAVID S. SILVA, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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David Silva appealed the denial of his motion to suppress evidence from a warrantless search that yielded LSD. The Fifth District Court of Appeal held that probable cause existed to conduct the search based on information from a confidential informant corroborated by the officers' independent observations, and affirmed the denial of the suppression motion.
The court held that probable cause existed to justify the warrantless search. The totality of circumstances—including the confidential informant's detailed description of the crime, the suspect's name, the location, the type of container, and the positive identification of Silva, combined with the officers' independent verification that Silva appeared intoxicated—established sufficient probable cause for the search.
[1] Probable cause for a warrantless search exists when the totality of the circumstances, including the statements of a confidential informant and independent observations b…
[2] A confidential informant's tip, corroborated by law enforcement's independent verification of specific details such as a suspect's name, location, and appearance, can est…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“There were sufficient additional circumstances to establish probable cause to justify the warrantless search of Silva.”
The court's holding that the search was constitutional based on the totality of circumstances.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA confidential identified informant reported to the Citrus County Sheriff's office that he had just witnessed a purchase of LSD and described the buye…
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PER CURIAM.
AFFIRMED. David S. Silva entered a plea of nolo contendere to the offense of possession of LSD,1 specifically preserving his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress evidence. The sole issue in this case is whether there was probable cause to conduct a warrantless search. We hold there was and we affirm.
A confidential identified informant called the Citrus County Sheriffs office and reported that he had just seen the purchase of LSD. Two investigators went to his location and spoke to him about what he had seen. Because he was afraid to be seen with the two investigators, they put him in their car, which had tinted windows, so they could drive to a less conspicuous place to talk about what he had seen. He gave them a description of the man who had purchased the LSD, told them his name was “David,” and related that the LSD was in a plastic “baggie” type bag. With the confidential identified informant still in the car, the two investigators drove less than a half mile when they saw a man lying along the side of the road inside a fence marked “No Trespassing.” The confidential informant identified the man lying down as “David.” The two investigators stopped and approached the man and tried to wake him. He appeared to be under the influence of alcohol, drugs, narcotics or a controlled substance. As they tried to talk with him, they observed á plastic bag sticking out of his shirt pocket. They removed the bag and observed a piece of paper they thought contained LSD. David Silva, the man lying on the side of the road, was arrested and charged with possession of LSD. A hearing was held on the motion to suppress and denied by the trial judge.
There were sufficient additional circumstances to establish probable cause to justify the warrantless search of Silva. Cf. Gray v. State, 550 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989) (trooper who had consent to inspect the genital area of defendant had no probable cause to seize and search an opaque plastic bag discovered during the inspection). The two investigators met with the innocent confidential identified informant who'described: the crime, a drug sale; the name of the man who participated in the crime, “David”; the location of the crime; the type of container the drug was in, a plastic bag; and positively identified the man who committed the crime. When the two officers approached the man, he appeared to be intoxicated. Thus, the two investigators were able to independently verify facts which supported the observations of the confidential identified informant. These facts also helped establish his credibility. See Illinois v. Gates, 462 U.S. 213, 103 S.Ct. 2317, 76 L.Ed.2d 527 (1983); State v. Evans, 620 So. 2d 802 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Roper v. State, 588 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). The totality of the circumstances, including the statements of the confidential informant and the investigator’s own observations, established probable cause for the search to seize the drugs. Gates, 462 U.S. at 238, 103 S.Ct. at 2332; Doctor v. State, 596 So. 2d 442, 445 (Fla.1992) (evidence necessary to establish probable cause to search a defendant for drugs will depend upon the totality of the circumstances existing at the time of the search).
HARRIS, C.J., and COBB and THOMPSON,. JJ., concur. . § 893.13(l)(f), Fla.Stat. (1991).
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Bell v. State, 944 So. 2d 448 (Fla. 5th DCA 2006)…appellant was in possession of methamphetamine. Although Farah had not been established to be a “reliable” informant, most of the information he provided to the officers was able to be independently verified prior to the search. See Silva v. State, 641 So. 2d 482 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994); State v. Maya, 529 So. 2d 1282 (Fla. 3d DCA 1988). AFFIRMED. PLEUS, C.J. and LAWSON, J., concur.…
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Goodman v. State, 728 So. 2d 1232 (Fla. 3d DCA 1999)…case, particularly the accuracy of the information supplied to the police by its documented confidential informant, we conclude that the police had reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigatory stop of the appellant’s vehicle. See Silva v. State, 641 So. 2d 482, 483 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994); State v. Hadden, 629 So. 2d 1043, 1044 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Hopkins v. State, 524 So. 2d 1136, 1137-38 (Fla. 1st DCA 1988). Additionally, a preponderance of the evidence before the trial court sufficiently established that t…
Authorities Cited
- Illinois v. Gates et ux., 462 U.S. 213 (U.S. 1983)
- Terrtric Doctor v. State, 596 So. 2d 442 (Fla. 1992)
- State v. Mac Dale Evans, 620 So. 2d 802 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)
- Donte Polite v. State, 588 So. 2d 330 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991)
- Campbell v. State, 550 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)
- Gray v. State, 550 So. 2d 540 (Fla. 4th DCA 1989)