State v. Cromatie, 95-01838

• Decision Date: 01 March 1996
• Docket Number: No. 95-01838,95-01838
• Citation: 668 So.2d 1075
• Parties: 21 Fla. L. Weekly D565 STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Roger CROMATIE, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

Page 1075

668 So.2d 1075

21 Fla. L. Weekly D565

STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Roger CROMATIE, Appellee.

No. 95-01838.

District Court of Appeal of Florida,

Second District.

March 1, 1996.

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Pinellas County; Nelly N. Khouzam, Judge.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Tonja R. Vickers, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellant.

James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, Bartow, and Allyn Giambalvo, Assistant Public Defender, Clearwater, for Appellee.

DANAHY, Acting Chief Judge.

The State of Florida challenges a suppression order entered in a prosecution for possession of cocaine. Based on the undisputed facts presented at the suppression hearing, we agree with the state that the trial court erred in concluding that, after a valid stop, the search during which the police discovered the cocaine was illegal.

Officer Mailhiot was patrolling in the late afternoon and observed a car with two occupants roll through a stop sign. Also, the car's left rear brake light was not operating properly. The appellee was the passenger in the front seat. The officer stopped the car, informed the occupants of the reason for the stop, had them remain in the vehicle, and ran their driver's licenses through a computer check which produced negative results. He then issued two citations for the traffic violations to the driver.

The officer then asked the driver if there was anything illegal in the car and if he could search the car. The driver consented to the search. At that point the two occupants exited the vehicle and stood nearby with back-up officers who had arrived in the meantime. The search produced a cigarette package containing several pieces of folded aluminum foil whose contents tested positive for cocaine. Based on this finding the driver and the appellee were taken into custody and placed in separate patrol cars. Upon questioning, the driver admitted that the cigarette pack belonged to him but denied any knowledge of the drugs contained in it. Because the driver admitted to owning the cigarette pack, the officer decided to release the appellee. After the appellee emerged from the back seat of the patrol car, an officer checked it and found cocaine. Based on this second finding of cocaine, the appellee was arrested. It is the evidence of cocaine found in the back of the patrol car which the trial court suppressed.

The appellee argues that the stop which began as a valid traffic stop turned into an illegal stop because it was prolonged beyond its lawful purpose once the citations for the two traffic violations were issued. See Powell v. State, 649 So.2d 888 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995). The appellee's only possible argument must be based on the validity vel non of the prolonged stop since it is clear that the appellee has no standing to contest the search of the car or the consent given for that search by the driver. We find it is the consent given by the driver to the search of his car, setting up the sequence of events which eventually led to the discovery of the appellee's possession of cocaine, which legalizes these events and shields the evidence from...