STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
MARY VANCE AND CARL WOODS, APPELLEES
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Florida appeals the suppression of evidence from a vehicle stop based on a BOLO (be on the lookout) for suspected shoplifters. The court held that the deputy had reasonable suspicion to stop the vehicle based on the specificity of the BOLO description, proximity to the crime location, and temporal closeness to the reported offense.
The court held that the stop was valid and the suppression motion should have been denied because the deputy had reasonable suspicion based on the BOLO report, the proximity to the crime location, the temporal closeness of the stop, the specificity of the vehicle and occupant descriptions, and the matching partial tag number.
[1] A vehicle stop is justified when an officer has a founded or reasonable suspicion that the occupants have recently committed a crime, based on a BOLO and subsequent obser…
[2] Factors relevant to the legitimacy of a vehicle stop pursuant to a BOLO include the time and distance from the offense, route of flight, specificity of the description, a…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Several factors are relevant in assessing the legitimacy of a vehicle stop pursuant to a BOLO: (1) the length of time and distance from the offense; (2) the route of flight; (3) specificity of the description of the vehicle and its occupants; and (4) the source of the BOLO information.”
Establishes the legal framework for evaluating BOLO stops under Florida law
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAt 8:30 a.m. on Sunday, Deputy Carlos Joseph received a BOLO describing three individuals (two black males, one black female) in a black Datsun pickup…
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PETERSON, Chief Judge.
At 8:30 on a Sunday morning, Deputy Carlos Joseph’s radio in his patrol vehicle blared out a BOLO: be on the lookout for three individuals in a black Datsun pickup truck wanted for suspicion of shoplifting. The BOLO farther informed the deputy that two of the individuals were black males, one was a black female, and that the trio was heading west toward the vicinity of State Road 436. The description was further narrowed by a partial tag number for the Datsun. Five minutes after receiving the information, Deputy Joseph spotted a vehicle with occupants matching the description, followed it, and confirmed that the partial tag number given to him matched those on the Datsun. After stopping the vehicle, the deputy observed a large number of cigarette packs and cartons in the truck’s cab and because the BOLO also informed him that cigarettes were among the items stolen, he arrested the two appellants, Mary Vance and Carl Woods, and the third occupant.
Asserting that the information supplied to Deputy Joseph prior to the stop was inadequate to justify a detention, the appellants filed a motion to suppress. The trial court granted the motion and we reverse.
In Hunter v. State, 660 So. 2d 244, 249 (Fla.1995), cert. denied, — U.S. -, 116 S.Ct. 946, 133 L.Ed.2d 871 (1996), the supreme court noted:
Several factors are relevant in assessing the legitimacy of a vehicle stop pursuant to a BOLO: (1) the length of time and distance from the offense; (2) the route of flight; (3) specificity of the description of the vehicle and its occupants; and (4) the source of the BOLO information.
The appellees in the instant case argue that the trial court correctly found the stop was not valid because the description of the vehicle and occupants was vague, and no testimony was given regarding how long after the crime occurred that the crime was reported or how long after it was reported that the BOLO was broadcast. It is true that the testimony in the instant case fails to establish how much time elapsed between the occurrence of the crime and the broadcasting of the BOLO. It is also quite clear, however, that the BOLO was being issued because someone had just reported a shoplifting incident. The deputy was within five minutes of the location of the reported crime and five minutes after receiving the BOLO, observed a vehicle with partial tag numbers and occupants matching the BOLO. The vehicle was heading west and as was also reported in the BOLO, it was a black Datsun pickup truck containing two black males and one black female.
Additionally, the vehicle was spotted near its expected location a short time after the issuance of the BOLO report.
The trial court should have denied the motion to suppress because the deputy, based on the report of the shoplifting and his sighting of the vehicle described in the report, had a founded or reasonable suspicion that its occupants had recently committed a crime. Hunter, Pierre-Louis v. State, 682 So. 2d 669 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996) (stop upheld where BOLO described suspects as several black males, possibly black females in vehicle, and officer in immediate area of crime at 4:30 a.m. saw such a vehicle within a minute, followed it, and observed occupants look nervously back at him); State v. Reyes, 680 So. 2d 1092 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996) (“there was a ‘rationale basis for the conclusion that those who were riding in the vehicle and those described in the BOLO were [three] and the same’ ”); State v. Setzler, 667 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (“the BOLO coupled with the mode, time, and direction of appellee’s travel gave the officer a reasonable indication that appellees were the robbers he had been told to be on the lookout for”).
The trial court’s order of suppression is reversed and the cause remanded for further proceedings.
ORDER REVERSED; REMANDED.
DAUKSCH and GOSHORN, JJ., concur.
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Bailey v. State, 717 So. 2d 1096 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998)…ht; 3) specificity of the description of the vehicle and its occupants; and 4) the source of the BOLO information. 660 So. 2d at 248. Under these circumstances, the trial court was correct in denying Bailey’s motion to suppress. See State v. Vance, 692 So. 2d 270 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997) (officer had reasonable suspicion to stop vehicle based on a BOLO radio alert which described the vehicle and its occupants and the officer spotted the vehicle near its expected location a short time after the BOLO was issued); F…
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Walker v. City OF Pompano Beach, 763 So. 2d 1146 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000)…occupants, all support the stop. There is also no evidence that the officer made the stop for any reason other than responding to the BOLO. Hunter, 660 So. 2d at 249; see also Berkowitz v. State, 737 So. 2d 1179 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999); State v. Vance, 692 So. 2d 270 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997). We reverse the final summary judgment entered in favor of appellee and remand to the trial court with directions that appellants’ motion for summary judgment be granted as to the issue of the legal justification for the detenti…
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State v. Goebel, 804 So. 2d 1276 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002)…imself, and he acted scared and surprised. Under the factual circumstances as found in this case, we agree with the state that the motion to suppress should have been denied. See Bailey v. State, 717 So. 2d 1096 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998); State v. Vance, 692 So. 2d 270 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997); Freeman v. State, 450 So. 2d 301 (Fla. 5th DCA 1984); State v. Jones, 417 So. 2d 788 (Fla. 5th DCA 1982). In this case the deputy saw Goebel within minutes of the robbery, driving away from the scene late at night in the only ca…
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
- Hunter v. State, 660 So. 2d 244 (Fla. 1995)
- State v. Setzler, 667 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995)
- State v. Reyes, 680 So. 2d 1092 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996)
- Pierre-Louis v. State, 682 So. 2d 669 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)