TROD OKEKA BUGGS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1997-04-04
No. 96-1039
W. SHARP and GRIFFIN, JJ., concur.
693 So. 2d 57 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1997) Positive Treatment
Cited by 5 cases

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Holding

The court held that the search warrant was supported by probable cause, even considering alleged omissions, and that sufficient evidence existed to convict the defendant of a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a minor.


Headnotes

[1] The extraction of blood and hair does not implicate Fifth Amendment rights against testimonial compulsion or enforced communication.

[2] A search warrant affidavit is sufficient if it establishes probable cause, even when considering potentially omitted exculpatory information.

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Facts & Procedural History

The defendant was convicted of burglary, sexual battery, and a lewd act in the presence of a minor. He appealed, arguing the search warrant lacked pro…

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Opinion of the Court
HARRIS, Judge.

HARRIS, Judge.

Trod Okeka Buggs was convicted of burglary of a dwelling with an assault, three counts of sexual battery on one victim, and the commission of a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a minor. He appeals his conviction; we affirm.

Of the points raised by Mr. Buggs, two warrant discussion.

Mr. Buggs contends that on the same day the information was filed in this cause, the State sought and obtained an order permitting it to seize hairs and blood from him. He reasons, therefore, that since he was in custody an evidentiary hearing with him present was required before such order could be properly entered. For this proposition, he relies on Jones v. State, 343 So. 2d 921 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1977). Although it is true that in Jones an adversarial hearing was conducted, the court does not speak to the issue of whether a hearing is required. Further, in Jones, the hearing was held long after Jones was arrested and was appointed counsel. Such are not the facts in this case.

Here, the record reflects that the information and the affidavit of probable cause were both filed on January 26. The challenged search warrant was entered ex parte the morning of January 27 and executed on Mr. Buggs immediately after he was taken into custody at around 11:30 a.m. on January 27. Mr. Buggs was not finally “booked in” until 6:00 p.m. on that date and did not make his first appearance until the following morning.

This search and seizure issue is controlled by Schmerber v. California, 384 U.S. 757, 86 S.Ct. 1826, 16 L.Ed.2d 908 (1966), which held that since the extraction of blood [and hair] did not involve “testimonial compulsion” or “enforced communication,” one’s Fifth Amendment rights are not implicated. Therefore, since defendant had no privilege to assert, he had no right to have counsel assert it. Buggs, however, did have a right not to be subjected to an intrusive body search unless and until sufficient probable cause was shown to justify the search warrant. We find such probable cause was shown.

The affidavit submitted on behalf of the search warrant alleged the following:

The victim described the assailant as a black male, approximately 6’2” tall, and approximately 30 to 40 years of age, wearing tan pants and a reddish-orange or drab brown T-shirt, having a distinctly slow pattern of speech. The affiant talked to friends of Trod Buggs who stated that about three hours before the crimes they saw Buggs about half a mile from the victim’s home, by himself, wearing a red or reddish-orange T-shirt and tan pants. Those who know Buggs have stated that Buggs habitually speaks slowly. Buggs is a black male whose age and height match the victim’s description of her rapist. Also, the victim stated that Buggs had rough hands; at the time of the offense he had been working with concrete blocks in construction work. Finally, the victim has viewed a photo lineup including a picture of [Buggs] and has positively identified him as the burglar and rapist.

Certainly the affidavit, on its face, states probable cause to justify the warrant. But Mr. Buggs claims that the affidavit misrepresents the result of the lineup and fails to include essential evidence that would have defeated the warrant. Instead of a “positive” identification, says Buggs, the victim merely stated that he “looked like” the perpetrator. Further, according to Buggs, the police developed evidence that other possible suspects were seen in the area but did not so advise the judge who authorized the search warrant. Finally, Buggs argues, the officers should have advised the judge that Buggs’ fingerprints were not found at the scene of the crime.

Applying the test mentioned in Sotolongo v. State, 530 So. 2d 514 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988), that in considering omissions from an affidavit justifying a search warrant, the court should consider the affidavit as though it included the omitted information in determining whether the warrant is based on probable cause, we find that even if the affidavit had alleged that Buggs’ fingerprints were not found, that the victim merely stated that Buggs “looked like” the assailant, and that other possible suspects were seen in the vicinity, still the affidavit would have stated probable cause justifying the warrant.

Buggs’ next point is that he should have received a judgment of acquittal on the charge of committing a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a minor since the State offered no proof that the minor was aware that the sexual battery was taking place. Although the minor was not called to the stand, the record establishes that she was the sister of the victim, sleeping on the same waterbed as the victim, was screaming and crying with the victim as the assailant said words to the effect, “shut up or I’ll kill you,” and held the victim’s hand throughout the sexual battery. The supreme court stated the rule in State v. Werner, 609 So. 2d 585, 587 (Fla.1992), that the word “presence” means that “while the child need not be able to articulate or even comprehend what the offender is doing, the child must see or sense that a lewd or lascivious act is taking place for a violation to occur.” We believe the evidence in this case meets that standard.

AFFIRMED.

W. SHARP and GRIFFIN, JJ., concur.


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    …PLEUS, J. This is an appeal from the denial of a motion for post-conviction relief after an evidentiary hearing. Buggs’ conviction was affirmed by this court on direct appeal. Buggs v. State, 693 So. 2d 57 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997). [*1100] Buggs raises eight points on this appeal. Only one merits discussion. It is contended that he was denied effective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney failed to object when the bailiff answered the jury’s qu…
  • Morris v. State, 789 So. 2d 1032 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)
    …DCA 1993). Otherwise, the apparent function of former section 800.04(4) was to proscribe lewd or lascivious acts perpetrated on a third party in the presence of a child. See Simmons v. State, 722 So. 2d 862, 862 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998); Buggs v. State, 693 So. 2d 57, 59 (Fla. 5th DCA 1997); Brinson v. State, 574 So. 2d 298, 299 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). Nothing of the kind is alleged here. Courts should not stretch a penal statute, even to cover clear evils lying outside the statute’s scope, particularly if, as Jud…
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    …r. Celenza’s signature on the contract. However, “[r]atification of an agreement occurs where a person expressly or impliedly adopts an act or contract entered into his or her behalf by another without authority.” Deutsche Credit Corp. v. Peninger, 693 So. 2d 57, 58 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992) (continuing on to note that “[a]n agreement is deemed ratified where the principal has full knowledge of all material facts and circumstances relating to the unauthorized act or transaction at the time of the ratification”).…

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