Baxter v. State
| Decision Date | 26 November 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. SS-19,SS-19 |
| Citation | 390 So.2d 475 |
| Parties | Paul Clifford BAXTER, III, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Stephen H. Donohoe, Jacksonville, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Carolyn M. Snurkowski, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Having pled nolo contendere to three counts of possession of controlled substances contrary to the provisions of § 893.13(1)(e), Florida Statutes, appellant appeals from the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress evidence found in his car. We affirm.
At approximately 10:30 a. m. on May 15, 1979, Detective George Howell of the Vice Squad of the Duval County Sheriff's Office received a tip from a confidential informant, whom he characterized as previously reliable. Howell testified that he had known the confidential informant for at least three to four months and had successfully obtained search warrants on information received by the informant. He testified that three arrests had been made of persons who had been trafficking in drugs based on information received from the confidential informant. The informant notified Howell that appellant and a Mr. Thomas were going to Orlando from Jacksonville to obtain controlled substances and that they would return to Jacksonville with those substances. Earlier, Officer Howell had been advised by the informant that appellant "had been using his automobile and traveling to Orlando and picking up drugs and returning to Jacksonville." Howell knew that appellant's pattern was to return home with his contraband. The informant had previously told him that he had been present when appellant returned to his home, and he had observed appellant remove drugs from his car and take them into his home. Appellant had told the informant where he had obtained the drugs. Howell had been expecting a call from the informant to tell him when appellant would be making his next trip.
After receiving the tip, Howell went to appellant's residence to determine whether appellant's car was there. He found that the car was not at the home and he could not locate it at the other places he checked. At approximately 12:30 p. m., Howell returned to the police station and attempted to obtain appellant's tag number from the National Crime Information Center, but was unsuccessful since several tags were listed in appellant's name, and it was unclear as to which cars they were assigned. Howell testified that he knew appellant's car by sight and could describe it specifically. Shortly thereafter, Howell went to the State Attorney's Office on other business and, while there, he sought advice as to whether or not he should seek a warrant to search appellant's car when appellant returned to Jacksonville. Because there was no indication from the tip when or how appellant would return to Jacksonville, because Howell was unable to obtain the tag number for the car, and because the Assistant State Attorney who spoke to Howell indicated that no warrant could be obtained based on the circumstances at that time, Howell returned to the police station to pick up his partner in order to drive out to the interstate highway and wait for appellant's car to pass. Howell sent another police team to cover a second major road into Jacksonville from Orlando. Howell and his partner parked on an interstate exit at approximately 3:30 p. m. and at approximately 5:00 p. m., he spotted appellant's car proceeding on the interstate toward Jacksonville. With the assistance of a uniformed patrol car, he stopped appellant's vehicle, finding appellant and Mr. Thomas therein. Officer Howell and his partner then searched appellant's car. They found contraband in the interior of the car and in the locked trunk. Thereupon, appellant was arrested.
The trial court denied appellant's motion to suppress but made no specific finding regarding the informant's reliability. Appellant asserts that Officer Howell did not have sufficient information to provide probable cause to search the vehicle and that, even if he had had probable cause to search the interior of the vehicle, the search of the locked trunk was invalid since there was no need for the police to unlock the trunk without a warrant. He contends that there was even less necessity or justification for the police to open a manila...
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