TERRENCE MCDAVID, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Terrence McDavid appealed his drug convictions after pleading no contest while reserving the right to challenge the denial of his motion to suppress. The court reversed because the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to stop McDavid's vehicle, making the seizure illegal and requiring discharge of the appellant.
The court held that the officer did not have a well-founded, articulable suspicion to justify the investigative detention. Therefore, the seizure was illegal, the trial court erred in denying the motion to suppress, and the appellant must be discharged.
[1] An investigative stop of a vehicle requires a well-founded, articulable suspicion that the driver has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime.
[2] A police officer's hunch or bare suspicion is insufficient to justify an investigative detention.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Police may temporarily detain a citizen if the officer has a well-founded, articulable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime.”
Establishes the legal standard for investigative stops under Terry v. Ohio
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceOfficer Kennedy observed McDavid driving slowly around the same residential block twice at approximately 4 a.m. The officer testified he suspected McD…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Well-Founded Suspicion cases and more on FLexlaw
PER CURIAM.
The appellant appeals his convictions for possession of cocaine and cannabis after pleading no contest and reserving the right to challenge the denial of his motion to suppress. Because the arresting officer did not have a reasonable suspicion to conduct an investigative stop of the appellant’s vehicle, rendering the resulting seizure illegal, we reverse the denial of the suppression motion and direct the trial court to discharge the appellant.
While patrolling a residential neighborhood at approximately 4 a.m., Officer Kennedy testified that he observed the appel lant driving his vehicle slowly around the same block two times. He further testified that he had a suspicion that the appellant was either casing the neighborhood or seeking to engage in drug activity based on the fact that there had been recent burglaries in the area due to the high narcotic activity there. As the appellant proceeded to exit the neighborhood, the officer followed the appellant for about ten to twelve blocks to the outskirts of the neighborhood before stopping the vehicle. Officer Kennedy testified that the appellant had not committed any traffic violations and that there was no indication that the appellant had been involved in or was involved in any burglary or drug transaction. The officer simply believed the appellant “looked out of place.”
Police may temporarily detain a citizen if the officer has a well-founded, articulable suspicion that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. See Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968); Popple v. State, 626 So. 2d 185, 187 (Fla.1993); Love v. State, 706 So. 2d 923, 924 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998).
A hunch or bare suspicion is not enough. See Popple, 626 So. 2d at 187. The operative facts in the instant case do not demonstrate a well-founded suspicion of criminal activity to justify an investigative detention. See, e.g., Love, 706 So. 2d at 924 (holding that the facts known to the officer at the time of the stop — the appellant had been driving slowly late at night in the type of vehicle that is often stolen and in a neighborhood that had experienced burglaries in the past — did not create a well-founded suspicion for an investigatory stop); Faunce v. State, 884 So. 2d 504 (Fla. 1st DCA Oct.11, 2004).
At best, all that is shown is a citizen driving his vehicle slowly around the block twice in a residential neighborhood that had experienced burglaries in the past, and then exiting the neighborhood without committing any traffic infractions or violating any laws.
For the foregoing reasons, we conclude that the trial court erred in denying the appellant’s motion to suppress. Therefore, we reverse the denial of the suppression motion and direct the trial court to discharge the appellant because the motion was dispositive of the case. See Howard v. State, 515 So. 2d 346 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)(holding that a trial court’s denial of a motion to suppress in a drug case is dis-positive where the state has no other evidence with which it can proceed to trial against the defendant).
REVERSED and REMANDED with instructions.
WOLF, C.J., KAHN and POLSTON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Allenbrand v. State, 283 So. 3d 969 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019)…d that driving slowly late at night, in a type of vehicle that is often stolen, in a ---PAGE 4--- neighborhood that has had burglaries at some unspecified time in the past will justify an investigatory stop." Id. Similarly, in McDavid v. State, 889 So. 2d 145, 145-46 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004), an officer twice saw the defendant drive slowly around the block in a residential neighborhood around 4 a.m. The officer suspected that the defendant was "either casing the neighborhood or seeking to engage in drug a…
-
Manuel v. State, 932 So. 2d 1120 (Fla. 3d DCA 2006)…he circumstances observed by the officer, when those circumstances are interpreted in the light of the officer’s knowledge.” State v. Stevens, 354 So. 2d 1244, 1247 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978). A mere or bare suspicion is insufficient. See McDavid v. State, 889 So. 2d 145 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004). The operative facts in this case do not demonstrate a well-founded suspicion of criminal activity to justify an investigative detention. The transcript clearly reflects that the arresting officer admitted at the hearing on Manu…
Authorities Cited
- Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1 (U.S. 1968)
- Tedd J. Popple v. State, 626 So. 2d 185 (Fla. 1993)
- Howard v. State, 515 So. 2d 346 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987)
- Faunce v. State, 884 So. 2d 504 (Fla. 1st DCA 2004)
- McDANIEL v. State, 706 So. 2d 923 (Fla. 1st DCA 1998)
- Love v. State, 706 So. 2d 923 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998)