State v. Stevens

574 So. 2d 197, 1991 WL 7111
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedJanuary 23, 1991
Docket89-2819
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 574 So. 2d 197 (State v. Stevens) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Stevens, 574 So. 2d 197, 1991 WL 7111 (Fla. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

574 So.2d 197 (1991)

STATE of Florida, Appellant,
v.
Charles STEVENS, Appellee.

No. 89-2819.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.

January 23, 1991.

*198 Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Carolyn J. Mosley, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellant.

Alvin L. Peters, of McCauley & Peters, Panama City, for appellee.

WIGGINTON, Judge.

The state brings this appeal from the trial court's order granting appellee Charles Stevens' motion to suppress statements he made to the police. The court expressly based its ruling on the United States Supreme Court's decision in Dunaway v. New York, 442 U.S. 200, 99 S.Ct. 2248, 60 L.Ed.2d 824 (1979). Implicated in the trial court's ruling are Stevens' rights under both the Fourth and the Fifth Amendments to the United States Constitution, made applicable to the states by the Fourteenth Amendment. Based on our review of the record and pertinent case law, we affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand for further proceedings.

Stevens was indicted for the first-degree murder and robbery of one Henry Pflegl in Bay County. Thereafter, he filed two motions to suppress his statements made to the police on the eighth and ninth of July 1988. A hearing was held on the motions on three consecutive days at which testimony was presented. However, the trial court did not finally rule on the motions until after trial had commenced and further testimony was presented. The court denied an additional motion to suppress physical evidence seized pursuant to a warrantless search of Stevens' sister's residence. However, it granted Stevens' motions to suppress his statements made by him on the eighth and ninth of July.[1]

The facts that were developed through the testimony of the witnesses during the suppression hearings and trial, and upon which the court relied are as follows.

On July 5, 1988, at approximately 5:00 p.m., one Mrs. Pflegl reported her son, Henry, missing. She also reported missing from the family's business a utility-type butcher knife. Based on the information received, Officer Quinn with the Panama City Police Department made out a missing person's report. Later that same day, Mrs. Pflegl called the police back and told them that some of the victim's friends had located his truck parked in front of a residence located at 2615 West Ninth Street. (The truck was later to be identified as parked in front of Stevens' sister's apartment.) When Officer Quinn arrived, he observed the friends by the truck. The truck was unlocked, the windows were down, and there was no key in the ignition. Officer Quinn inquired of nearby apartment residents as to the truck's owner, but received no significant information.

Officer Quinn left the scene but returned around 9:00 p.m. that evening pursuant to a call by one of the apartment residents that another resident had returned that evening who might have information as to the truck's owner. When Quinn arrived, he observed two males working underneath the hood of the truck who appeared to be *199 attempting to start the truck. Officer Quinn approached the two men and asked for the victim by name. A white male identified himself as Mike Kelly (later discovered to be Stevens), gave his date of birth and stated he lived in a green and white trailer on Michigan Avenue. He told Quinn that the truck had broken down, that Henry Pflegl had attempted to start it with a knife, and that Pflegl had just left with two females to obtain help. He further stated that Pflegl had been drinking and that he was probably going back to some of the west side bars.

Quinn inquired about the knife and "Kelly" retrieved a utility-type knife from underneath the truck and handed it to Quinn. Observing nothing unusual about the knife, Quinn placed it under the front seat of the vehicle where "Kelly" said Pflegl had retrieved it to start the vehicle.

Quinn also ran a registration check on the truck parked next to Pflegl's and found that it was registered to Robert Walker, the other male present at the truck (later discovered to be Stevens' sister's boyfriend). "Kelly" explained that he had called Walker to pick him up because he was under the belief that Pflegl would not be returning. Officer Quinn again left the scene and proceeded to investigate three bars on the west side of town unsuccessfully trying to locate Pflegl.

Three days later on July 8, 1988, the victim's body was found lying beside a highway. After viewing the body, Detective Dufresne with the Bay County Sheriff's Office returned to his office, and, after being informed of officer Quinn's report and with the assistance of Detective Winterman of the Panama City Police Department, located Robert Walker. Walker advised the detectives that Stevens had been with him the day they were found at the victim's truck and that he had given a false name to Officer Quinn. The detectives received Walker's consent to search his residence and were then directed by Walker to the apartment owned by Stevens' sister, Genine Taylor. In the meantime, two other detectives with the sheriff's office, Willoughby and Flowers, were ordered to make all efforts to attempt to locate Stevens. During their search conducted from information received by Walker, they were advised by a third party of Stevens' mother's place of employment. They contacted the mother, Sara Poche, who provided Detective Flowers with her address, but stated that she had not seen Stevens for two or three days. After speaking with her, the two detectives decided to check the residence to see if in fact, Stevens was there.

When Detectives Willoughby and Flowers arrived at the residence, at approximately 6:30 p.m. on July 8, the door was answered by Genine Taylor. The detectives identified themselves and Taylor allowed them to enter. Sitting in the living room was one James Gosnell.

Taylor denied knowing the whereabouts of Stevens and refused to grant the detectives permission to search the apartment without first obtaining permission from her mother. However, upon request by the detectives, Gosnell went to the back bedroom and told Stevens that some police officers wanted to talk to him. Stevens, who had allegedly been sleeping in the back bedroom, walked into the hallway and asked the police what they wanted. They told him they wanted to talk to him about his giving a false name to a police officer. Stevens responded that he did not want to go downtown and suggested that they talk to him in the house. Stevens later testified that he was given the impression that he had no choice but to accompany the detectives to the police station and was not permitted to retrieve a shirt and shoes from the back bedroom. Rather, according to Stevens, he was guided to the police car where he sat in the front seat on the passenger's side. To the contrary, according to the detectives, Stevens was informed that they needed him to come downtown because they were not the officers who desired to question him. It was their testimony that had Stevens refused to come with them to the sheriff's office, he would have been allowed to remain at the apartment and the case agent, Detective Winterman, would have been contacted. However, it is undisputed that neither Willoughby nor Flowers formally arrested Stevens.

*200 When they arrived at the sheriff's office, Stevens was taken to an office in the back and remained there with Willoughby and Flowers approximately 15 minutes until Detectives Winterman and Dufresne arrived at 7:00 p.m.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
574 So. 2d 197, 1991 WL 7111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-stevens-fladistctapp-1991.