PAUL S. FOSS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the stop of the vehicle was improper, rendering the subsequent seizure of marijuana illegal.
An officer stopped a car for exceeding the speed limit, but observed no erratic driving. The officer stopped the car out of concern for a passenger wh…
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PER CURIAM.
This is an appeal from a judgment of guilt on a charge of felony possession of marijuana. Appellant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the marijuana evidence. We agree and'reverse.
At the hearing on the motion, Clearwater Patrolman Robert Repp testified that one night at about 11:00 p. m. he observed a car traveling ten to fifteen miles per hour below the thirty miles per hour speed limit. However, he observed no erratic driving nor any violation of traffic laws. He further testified that he stopped the car because the passenger (appellant) appeared to be slumped over in the seat and he was concerned for-his welfare. Subsequent to the stop, Patrolman Repp and another officer shined their flashlight on appellant who was asleep in the car and saw that he was holding a clear plastic bag of marijuana. It was this marijuana which appellant asked the trial court to suppress.
It is our belief that the stop of the car in which appellant was a passenger was improper. Clearly, Officer Repp knew nothing from the facts which we have stated that would have given him a well-founded suspicion of criminal activity on the part of the occupants of the car. Moreover, the circumstances were not such as to give him a reasonable belief that an emergency existed. As a result he could not legally stop the car. Lower v. State, 348 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977); Long v. State, 310 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975).
Since the stop was illegal, the seizure of the marijuana was also illegal because it was the fruit of an improper exercise of police power. Lower v. State, supra. Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and the order placing appellant on probation and remand the case for proceedings consistent with this opinion.
HOBSON, Acting C. J., and OTT and DANAHY, JJ., concur.
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McCLURE v. State, 358 So. 2d 1187 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)…the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress. As we have noted many times before, an investigatory detention is valid only when a police officer had a reasonable or founded suspicion of the presence of criminal activity. Foss v. State, 355 So. 2d 225 (Fla.2d DCA 1978); Lower v. State, 348 So. 2d 410 (Fla.2d DCA 1977); Lewis v. State, 337 So. 2d 1031 (Fla.2d DCA 1976). Clearly, then Officer Wakowiak’s detention of appellant was improper. While appellant’s stare was most certainly annoying to Wako…
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State v. Price, 363 So. 2d 1102 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)…l situation of the stop or detention on a public street of a vehicle proceeding in a lawful manner as existed in the situations dealt with by this court in its recent decisions in: McClure v. State, 358 So. 2d 1187 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978); Foss v. State, 355 So. 2d 225 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978); Lower v. State, 348 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977); and Lewis v. State, 337 So. 2d 1031 (Fla. 2d DCA 1976). In the instant situation the policeman observed the vehicle in the parking area of a lounge open for business, but the veh…
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Moorehead v. State, 378 So. 2d 123 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980)…consented to the search. Such conduct by the police as occurred here may not be condoned, and any evidence discovered as a result thereof is tainted and may neither serve as the basis for a criminal charge nor be admissible at trial. Foss v. State, 355 So. 2d 225 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978); Taylor v. State, 355 So. 2d 180 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978); Brown v. Illinois, 422 U.S. 590, 95 S.Ct. 2254, 45 L.Ed.2d 416 (1975). We reject any contention that appellant consented to the search and that this represented a clear break i…
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
- Long v. State, 310 So. 2d 35 (Fla. 2d DCA 1975)
- Foster v. State, 348 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977)
- Lower v. State, 348 So. 2d 410 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977)