Baker v. State, X--331

Decision Date12 August 1975
Docket NumberNo. X--331,X--331
Citation316 So.2d 657
PartiesDean Allen BAKER, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

Richard W. Ervin, III, Public Defender, and David J. Busch, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.

Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., and Michael M. Corin, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

MILLS, Judge.

Appellant-defendant (Baker) appeals from a judgment adjudicating him guilty of carrying a concealed firearm and sentence of three years. The issue here is whether the trial court erred in denying defendant's motion to suppress the evidence on the ground of illegal search and arrest. The trial court did not err, and we affirm.

After denial of his motion to suppress, defendant pled nolo contendere, was adjudicated guilty and sentenced. A review of the facts adduced at the hearing on the motion supports the findings of the trial court that probable cause existed for defendant's arrest, and that the arresting officer complied with the requirements of the 'stop and frisk law', Section 901.151, Florida Statutes.

A citizen, who had just given defendant a ride in his automobile, complained to a Sergeant of the St. Augustine Police Department that defendant showed him a pistol that he was carrying, and defendant was at that moment walking around downtown St. Augustine with a concealed pistol. This information was reliable enough to constitute probable cause that defendant was carrying a concealed firearm. West v. State, 239 So.2d 611 (Fla.App.1970).

Upon receiving this information, the police officer drove uptown where he saw defendant, previously known to him, walking around with a jacket over his arm. He parked his car, and defendant walked over and greeted him. The officer opened the car door and in getting out of it, his hand brushed a hard object in the jacket. He immediately snatched the jacket from defendant, threw it onto the front seat, and placed defendant against the car. He frisked defendant, found nothing on him, and placed him in the car. The officer then checked the defendant's jacket where he found a pistol and box of shells. Defendant was charged with carrying a concealed firearm. These facts support an application of the 'stop and frisk law', Supra. A police officer may temporarily detain a person under circumstances which reasonably indicate that the person is committing a violation of a criminal law, for the purpose of ascertaining the circumstances which led the officer to...

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6 cases
  • T.P. v. State, 90-490
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • August 22, 1991
    ...670 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); Stitely v. State, 368 So.2d 937, 938 (Fla. 3d DCA), cert. denied, 379 So.2d 210 (Fla.1979); Baker v. State, 316 So.2d 657, 658 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975). Courts sometimes distinguish between hard and soft objects with respect to an officer's reasonable belief that the obje......
  • Phillips v. State
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • August 2, 1978
    ...was not so informed. Ingram v. State, 264 So.2d 109 (Fla. 4th DCA 1972), Cert. denied, 271 So.2d 141 (Fla.1972); Baker v. State, 316 So.2d 657 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975). See also McNamara v. State, 357 So.2d 410 (Fla.1978). But none of those circumstances are present here. This search was unlawfu......
  • State v. Thompson, 75-1799
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • July 8, 1977
    ...involved in West v. State, 239 So.2d 611 (Fla.2d DCA 1970); Street v. State, 239 So.2d 870 (Fla.2d DCA 1970); and Baker v. State, 316 So.2d 657 (Fla.1st DCA 1975). For the foregoing reasons we reverse the order of suppression and remand the cause to the trial court for further REVERSED AND ......
  • Ingram v. State, 77-1096
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • November 15, 1978
    ...§ 901.15(2), Fla.Stat. (1975); Whitley v. State, 349 So.2d 840 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977).5 § 901.15(2), Fla.Stat. (1975); Baker v. State, 316 So.2d 657 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975).6 § 901.15(6), Fla.Stat. (1975); Whitley v. State, supra; Bennett v. State, 344 So.2d 315 (Fla. 1st DCA 1977).7 § 901.15(5), F......
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