Rose v. State, LL-249
| Decision Date | 11 April 1979 |
| Docket Number | No. LL-249,LL-249 |
| Citation | 369 So.2d 447 |
| Parties | Charles A. ROSE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Robert A. Harper, Jr., Gainesville, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Raymond L. Marky, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
The primary issue on this appeal is whether appellant voluntarily consented to a Hamilton County agricultural inspector's search of closed boxes in the camper top compartment of his pickup truck. We find that he did not, and reverse the trial court's denial of a motion to suppress evidence found in the search.
The record reveals that appellant's truck by-passed the station early one morning in December, 1977 and was subsequently stopped by on-duty Inspector Leonard Pease. Upon being stopped, appellant identified himself as the owner of the vehicle and, in compliance with Pease's request, opened the camper top. Pease observed two loose avocados and several large cardboard boxes which were taped shut. The record is somewhat unclear at this point, but it appears that appellant then refused Pease's request to inspect the boxes. The truck was escorted back to the station, and Pease called his supervisor, Garth Nobles, to indicate a problem with the inspection of the boxes. Nobles arrived at the station and appellant again opened the topper door to the truck. Without further request, Nobles then reached inside one of the boxes, discovered marijuana, and called the county sheriff's office to arrest appellant.
This court has consistently invalidated agricultural inspection searches which have taken place in circumstances indicating coercion or involuntary acquiescence. Sarga v. State, 322 So.2d 592 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975); Powell v. State, 332 So.2d 105 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); Gonterman v. State, 358 So.2d 595 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978). In these cases, we have made it clear that a search warrant must be obtained in accordance with the statutory provisions of Section 570.15(1)(b), Florida Statutes (1977) where there are no exigent circumstances, consent is not offered voluntarily, and there is no probable cause to suspect that the vehicle contains contraband. Here, Officer Pease testified specifically that he had absolutely no cause to suspect that there was contraband in the boxes before the search.
On this record, we do not find that the state has proven a free and voluntary consent to search the boxes in appellant's truck. While it is true that appellant was cooperative in opening the camper top to his truck, it is equally true that he had indicated his lack of consent to a further search of the closed boxes. Moreover, Nobles was aware of appellant's resistance to searching the boxes; that was the reason he had been called into the case by Pease.
This court's recent decision in Bagocus v. State, 359 So.2d 885 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978), is...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
State v. Wells
...allowed access to vehicle but asked "Don't you need a warrant" when officers approached containers and luggage); Rose v. State, 369 So.2d 447 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979) (no consent when defendant allowed officers to look in camper but apparently denied access to containers); Raleigh v. State, 365 ......
-
Martin v. State
...proper consent. See Bailey v. State, 319 So.2d 22 (Fla.1975); Villari v. State, 372 So.2d 522 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979); Rose v. State, 369 So.2d 447 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979); Gonterman v. State, 358 So.2d 595 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978); and Powell v. State, 332 So.2d 105 (Fla. 1st DCA Despite, however, the ......
-
Villari v. State, LL-381
...the state's burden to produce clear and convincing evidence showing voluntary consent by Villari. See Powell, supra, and Rose v. State, 369 So.2d 447 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979). To accept the state's version would require that we interpret appellant's remarks to mean that he did not consent to the......
-
State v. Carney, 82-808
...a detailed search of hidden compartments and containers. See Luxenburg v. State, 384 So.2d 742, (Fla. 1st DCA 1980); Rose v. State, 369 So.2d 447 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979); Gonterman v. State, 358 So.2d 595 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978); Taylor v. State, 355 So.2d 180 (Fla. 3d DCA Affirmed. ...