Frame v. State, 79-967
| Citation | 388 So.2d 1381 |
| Decision Date | 22 October 1980 |
| Docket Number | No. 79-967,79-967 |
| Parties | Dale Gene FRAME, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
Jack O. Johnson, Public Defender, Bartow, and Judith L. James, Asst. Public Defender, Tampa, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Peggy A. Quince, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.
The state charged Dale Gene Frame with possession of burglary tools, grand theft of a firearm, and dealing in stolen property, specifically some Klaus tools, among other offenses. Frame moved to suppress the alleged burglary tools, the firearm, and the Klaus tools. When the trial court denied his motions, Frame pled nolo contendere in each case reserving his right to appeal. The court adjudicated Frame guilty and sentenced him to two years on each charge to be served consecutively. Frame appeals contending that the court erred in denying his motions to suppress.
The alleged burglary tools were a slide hammer and bolt cutters. The state presented no evidence that these were not "innocent items" and, therefore, it had to show not only possession, but use or attempted use of them as burglary tools. Preston v. State, 373 So.2d 451 (Fla.2d DCA 1979); see State v. Thomas, 362 So.2d 1348 (Fla.1978). The state, however, failed to demonstrate this. Consequently, the trial court erred in denying Frame's motion to suppress the tools.
The trial judge refused to suppress the firearm on the ground that firearms are contraband per se. The trial judge was incorrect, however, since firearms are not contraband per se. Porter v. State, 363 So.2d 41 (Fla.2d DCA 1978). The state now attempts to sustain the denial of Frame's motion because Frame was a felon possessing a firearm in violation of section 790.23, Florida Statutes (1979). Nevertheless, the state introduced no evidence showing that the officers who seized the firearm knew that Frame was a felon. Consequently, the trial court erred in denying Frame's motion to suppress the firearm.
Finally, Frame contends that the trial court should have suppressed the Klaus tools. Since the state had charged Frame with dealing in stolen property, it had to establish that the police who seized the tools had probable cause to believe that they were stolen. Ludwig v. State, 215 So.2d 898 (Fla.3d DCA 1968), cert. denied, 396 U.S. 927, 90 S.Ct. 261, 24 L.Ed.2d 225 (1970). At the hearing on the motion to suppress the tools, Frame's counsel...
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Thomas v. State
...(Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Hubbell v. State, 446 So.2d 175 (Fla. 5th DCA), petition for review denied, 453 So.2d 44 (Fla.1984); Frame v. State, 388 So.2d 1381 (Fla. 2d DCA), dismissed, 394 So.2d 1152 (Fla.1980); Preston; Crosby v. State, 352 So.2d 1247 (Fla. 2d DCA However, we find that this disti......
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K.W. v. State
...(Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Hubbell v. State, 446 So.2d 175 (Fla. 5th DCA), petition for review denied, 453 So.2d 44 (Fla.1984); Frame v. State, 388 So.2d 1381 (Fla. 2d DCA), appeal dismissed, 394 So.2d 1152 (Fla.1980); Crosby v. State, 352 So.2d 1247 (Fla. 2d DCA 1977). Here, as in Frame, the stat......
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James v. State, 84-34
...present evidence of item's actual use in burglary or attempted burglary to establish requisite criminal intent.) Accord Frame v. State, 388 So.2d 1381 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980) (slide hammer and bolt cutters were innocent items which would not support finding of guilt absent evidence of use in bur......
- Frame v. State