Isham v. State, 77-871
| Decision Date | 28 March 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. 77-871,77-871 |
| Citation | 369 So.2d 103 |
| Parties | James Robert ISHAM, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender, and Frank B. Kessler, Asst. Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Robert L. Bogen, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.
This appeal arises from a denial of a motion to suppress evidence obtained through a police search following a telephone call from an anonymous tipster. We reverse.
An anonymous telephone call to the police advised that appellant was, at that moment, on a certain street corner attempting to sell drugs to two females. In a detailed description the informant described appellant as a young, black male, approximately 5'8 tall, wearing a bluejean Levi cap with a bill, a bluejean Levi jacket with no shirt, and blue flannel plaid pants. Plainclothed detectives immediately went to the scene where they spotted the appellant walking toward them. One officer exited his vehicle, identified himself, and stated that he wanted to talk to the appellant. Thereupon appellant, who was approximately three feet from the detective, attempted to flee and the officer detained him. A search of his person revealed cocaine in a container exactly as described during the telephone call.
We have not forgotten that we have recently held that an anonymous tip will not, without more, support implementation of the stop and frisk law, St. John v. State, 363 So.2d 862 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978), but that is not to say the police are required to ignore such a tip altogether. Indeed, if an unidentified caller told the police that an accurately described, flipped-out, disgruntled client was on the way to the public defender's office to kill the occupants, all would enthusiastically thank the police for investigating the tip and making a stop. Both the Second and Third Districts have so held in cases involving dangerous weapons. State v. Francois, 355 So.2d 127 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978) and State v. Hetland, 366 So.2d 831 (Fla. 2d DCA 1979).
Adapting this rationale to the case at bar, the police had a perfect right, and perhaps a duty, to investigate the call. When they then saw the, described in detail, appellant at the very location, we believe they also had a right to talk to him. 1 As they attempted to do so the appellant ran away which reaction in our...
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Hernandez v. State
...3d DCA 1980) (observation of defendant peering from an alley into first floor window of an apartment plus flight); Isham v. State, 369 So.2d 103 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979) (informant's detailed tip concerning an impending drug sale by the defendant plus flight); Gibson v. State, 368 So.2d 667 (Fla......
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State v. Hoover, 87-0784
...382 So.2d 119 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980) (defendant seen peering from alley into first floor window of apartment plus flight); Isham v. State, 369 So.2d 103 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979) (informant's detailed tip regarding defendant's impending drug sale plus flight); Gibson v. State, 368 So.2d 667 (Fla. 3d ......
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Byrd v. State
...District Court of Appeal in St. John appears to have been implicitly disapproved by that court's later decision in Isham v. State, 369 So.2d 103, 104 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979), holding that the police had the right and even a duty to investigate a telephone call received from an anonymous informa......
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State v. Webb
...of Hetland and State v. Francois, 355 So.2d 127 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978), cert. denied, 361 So.2d 832 (Fla.1978), in Isham v. State, 369 So.2d 103 (Fla. 4th DCA 1979), cert. denied, 381 So.2d 770 (Fla.1980), it held that, based upon an anonymous call to police advising that defendant was on a cer......