Sommer v. State

465 So. 2d 1339, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 495
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided February 21, 1985·No. 83-277·Published·Cited by 23 cases

Opinion

465 So.2d 1339 (1985)

Lothar SOMMER a/K/a Randall Flamme, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 83-277.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

February 21, 1985.
Rehearing Denied March 29, 1985.

James B. Gibson, Public Defender, and David A. Henson, Asst. Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for appellant.

Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Margene A. Roper, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.

DAUKSCH, Judge.

This is an appeal from a judgment in a drug possession case. The issue on appeal is the propriety of the court's denial of a motion to suppress the drug evidence. We affirm.

At the time Officer Long came on duty for his day shift as a police patrolman he was told there was a "suspicious" vehicle parked on the beach and earlier that morning other officers had asked the driver to leave with the vehicle. When Long came upon the legally parked vehicle at 7:30 that morning he found two males asleep in the car. The city has an ordinance against sleeping on the beach so the officer "checked out the subjects." Appellant *1340 gave his name as Randall Flamme and told Long his date of birth. He had no identification. Upon running his name "through the computers" the officer determined appellant was wanted in Ft. Lauderdale on a warrant for a misdemeanor offense — driving with no driver's license. Officer Long arrested appellant on the warrant and put him into the police car. Appellant's companion did not have a valid driver's license so the officer impounded the car for safekeeping. The officer did not offer appellant an opportunity to find an alternative to the police impoundment of the vehicle.

Before the car was towed away, the officer searched it to inventory its contents. The search revealed, in addition to cameras, telephoto lenses, a suitcase containing ten to twelve motel keys, two baggies of substances which later proved to be marijuana, LSD, petazocine and phentermine. The baggies were found in the car's glove-box. Appellant was charged in four counts with having unlawfully possessed these drugs.

Appellant raises two grounds on appeal. One, that the court erred in denying his motion to suppress because the officer had no right to initially stop or question or detain him. Two, that before impounding his vehicle and inventorying it the officer should have offered to allow him an alternative method of safekeeping.

As to the first point on appeal we believe this case is controlled by Lightbourne v. State, 438 So.2d 380 (Fla. 1983), cert. den. 104 S.Ct. 1330, 79 L.Ed.2d 725 (Fla. 1984).

In Lightbourne it was said by our supreme court that:

The defendant argues that his detention by Officer McGowan prior to his arrest on the concealed weapons charge constituted an illegal stop under the rationale of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, 88 S.Ct. 1868, 20 L.Ed.2d 889 (1968). As a result, defendant argues, all items seized as a result of the "illegal" stop should be suppressed from evidence as "fruits of the poisonous tree" from which they issued. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471, 83 S.Ct. 407, 9 L.Ed.2d 441 (1963). We disagree.
We find, under the circumstances of this case, that no unlawful intrusion occurred when Officer McGowan approached Mr. Lightbourne for the purpose of investigating a suspicious car called to his attention by a concerned citizen of the community. Although defendant is correct in his assertion that the officers had no probable cause or well-founded suspicion that the defendant was about to commit or had committed any crime, under the instant facts such a showing was not necessary. The officers were responding to a call and were not acting on their own "hunch" as in the "roving patrol" cases.
In Terry, the Supreme Court noted that "[t]here is nothing in the Constitution which prevents a policeman from addressing questions to anyone on the street." 392 U.S. at 34, 88 S.Ct. at 1886 (White, J., concurring). This is so even under normal conditions with officers having no concrete suspicion on which to rely. Of course in such situations a person would be under no duty to remain, and could continue on his way if he chose to do so. That person, instructed the Terry Court, "absent special circumstances may not be detained or frisked but may refuse to cooperate and go on his way." Id. (Emphasis added.)
There exists, therefore, a distinction between an intrusion by police amounting to a "seizure" of the person and an encounter which intrudes upon no constitutionally protected interest. Terry v. Ohio; United States v. Mendenhall, 446 U.S. 544, 100 S.Ct. 1870, 64 L.Ed.2d 497 (1980); Sibron v. New York, 392 U.S. 40, 88 S.Ct. 1889, 20 L.Ed.2d 917 (1968); United States v. Elmore, 595 F.2d 1036 (5th Cir. 1979), cert. denied, 447 U.S. 910, 100 S.Ct. 2998, 64 L.Ed.2d 861 (1980).
Officer McGowan's investigation of the suspicious vehicle in this case does not rise to the level of an unconstitutional stop or seizure. Officer McGowan simply approached the parked car, asked defendant a few simple questions as to *1341 the reason for his presence there, his current address, and then ran a routine check on defendant's car and identification. Surely the average, reasonable person, under similar circumstances, would not find the officer's actions unduly harsh. There is nothing in the record that would indicate that prior to defendant voluntarily relinquishing his driver's license to Officer McGowan he was not free to express an alternative wish to go on his way. The Court need not consider here the question of what would happen if a citizen, asked for identification under somewhat similar conditions, and who upon declining to surrender such identification, was placed under arrest. The implication is that in reality, rather than theory, one who has been so confronted by an officer is not free to leave.
The Supreme Court has repeatedly acknowledged the need for police questioning as a tool for effective enforcement of our criminal laws. United States v. Mendenhall. Florida courts have recognized that, in this context, law enforcement officers can indeed initiate contacts with citizens without creating a stop and seizure situation.
In State v. Rawlings, 391 So.2d 269 (Fla. 4th DCA), petition denied, 399 So.2d 1145 (Fla. 1981), an individual heard some shots outside his home and, upon investigating saw someone outside, but could not identify him. He called the police who arrived on the scene to find the defendant and a woman on the street in the vicinity. The officer engaged the defendant in conversation and while doing so, noticed the outline of a gun in his back pocket. The officer then conducted a pat-down search which revealed a .25 caliber pistol. The court in Rawlings held that the police in that case did not have a founded suspicion to justify a detention of the defendant.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Sommer v. State, 465 So. 2d 1339, 10 Fla. L. Weekly 495 (Fla. Ct. App. 1985).

465 So. 2d 1339 (Sommer v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Tardif v. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
829 F. Supp. 2d 1219 (M.D. Florida, 2011)
Brown v. State
24 So. 3d 671 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2009)
Lee v. State
761 So. 2d 494 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 2000)
J.P. v. State
732 So. 2d 1226 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1999)
M.T. v. State
715 So. 2d 361 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1998)
State v. Unruh
658 So. 2d 1011 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1994)
Thomas v. State
644 So. 2d 597 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1994)
Woodson v. State
579 So. 2d 381 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1991)
Peek v. State
575 So. 2d 1380 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1991)
Jenkins v. State
567 So. 2d 528 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1990)
State v. Melican
564 So. 2d 245 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1990)
State v. Porterfield
36 Fla. Supp. 2d 107 (Broward County Court, 1989)
J.C.W. v. State
545 So. 2d 306 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1989)
State v. Blanco
513 So. 2d 739 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1987)
State v. Schley
22 Fla. Supp. 2d 117 (Volusia County Court, 1987)
State v. Roy
496 So. 2d 583 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1986)
State v. Small
483 So. 2d 783 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1986)
State v. Smith
477 So. 2d 658 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1985)
State v. Arnold
475 So. 2d 301 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1985)
State v. Diaz
474 So. 2d 903 (District Court of Appeal of Florida, 1985)