State v. Knapp, Nos. 73--841
| Court | Court of Appeal of Florida (US) |
| Writing for the Court | GRIMES; HOBSON, Acting C.J., and BOARDMAN |
| Citation | 294 So.2d 338 |
| Decision Date | 01 May 1974 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 73--841 |
| Parties | STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Geoffrey KNAPP, Appellee. STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Anthony J. BOGART, Appellee. to 73--844. |
Page 338
v.
Geoffrey KNAPP, Appellee.
STATE of Florida, Appellant,
v.
Anthony J. BOGART, Appellee.
Rehearing Denied June 7, 1974.
Page 339
Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Robert J. Landry, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellant.
Philip J. Padovano of Ruiz & Padovano, St. Petersburg, for appellees.
GRIMES, Judge.
This is an interlocutory appeal from an order granting the defendants' motion to suppress evidence. The factual narration which follows is taken from the transcript of testimony given at the hearing on the motion to suppress.
In the spring of 1973, Officer Parks of the St. Petersburg Police Department received information from various sources which led him to believe that a large scale transfer of marijuana in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area was imminent. A confidential informant, a Winnebago dealer who had provided reliable information in the
Page 340
past, informed him that one Dale Morehouse and another man had been to his place of business to rent a Winnebago motor home and had expressed concern over the weight the vehicle could safely carry. The informant had found scraps of marijuana in a Winnebago he had previously rented to Morehouse. Through street rumors, Parks heard that the price of marijuana was soon going to drop in the area because a large shipment was comming in on the weekend of May 5. A member of the State Attorney's Task Force on drugs from Gainesville advised Parks that a large shipment of marijuana was expected to come up Interstate 75 to Gainesville in two Winnebago campers. Because of this information, Officer Parks decided to conduct surveillance on the Winnebago rented from the confidential informant by Dale Morehouse. Morehouse was listed in the Intelligence Bureau files as being involved in narcotics.Surveillance of the Winnebago was continuous from Wednesday, May 2, to Friday, May 4. Throughout this period, the rented vehicle did not move from where it was parked at a residence in Tampa. On Friday night the investigators observed the arrival of a U-Haul truck at the residence, whereupon large packages were unloaded and transferred into the Winnebago. The driver then re-entered the U-Haul truck and left the residence. Officer Parks was informed to these events by car radio. He intercepted the U-Haul and followed it to a parking lot behind some business establishments in Pinellas Park. He stationed himself approximately on hundred yards away and began to watch the truck through binoculars.
A few minutes later the defendant, Knapp, drove up in a Dodge van and parked at a ninety degree angle so that the back door of the van was about six feet from the rear of the U-Haul truck. The defendant, Bogart, opened the back of the U-Haul and started removing large bundles which were dark brown in color. At this point, Parks radioed to his associates that a transfer of crocus sacks was being made and directed that they should move in to make arrests.
Pursuant to the instructions of his superior, Officer Holloway approached the defendants with his gun drawn. As he neared the vehicles he smelled the distinct odor of marijuana. He announced his presence and stated that the defendants were under arrest. He then observed what appeared to him to be leafy particles o marijuana lying in the back of the open U-Haul truck. At this point Officer Parks arrived and also smelled and saw the marijuana.
The automobile was impounded and a search warrant was obtained. The vehicles were searched and large quantities of marijuana were found.
The trial judge held that the officers did not have probable cause to make the arrests. He quashed the evidence of what the officers observed at the time of making the arrests as being the fruit of an unlawful arrest. He held that the affidavit for the search warrant was defective and invalidated the search.
There was considerable dispute over whether Officer Parks was able to see whether the packages being transferred consisted of burlap or crocus bags. The significance of this is that it was established that marijuana is frequently transported in such containers. The court doubted Parks' ability to identify the packages as being crocus bags because of the distance involved and the lighting conditions at the time in question. Construing the testimony most favorable to the defendants (as we must because the trier of fact held in their favor), we can only conclude Officer Parks may have thought he saw crocus bags since this is what he...
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Moore v. State, 3 Div. 426
...by circumstances sufficiently strong in themselves to warrant a cautious man in believing the accused to be guilty. State v. Knapp, 294 So.2d 338, 341 (Fla.App.1974); see 34 Words and Phrases, "Probable Cause". Probable cause for arrest without a warrant is something less than pro......
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Nance v. State, 4 Div. 967
...by circumstances sufficiently strong in themselves to warrant a cautious man in believing the accused to be guilty. State v. Knapp, 294 So.2d 338, 341 (Fla.App.1974); see 34 Words and Phrases, 'Probable Cause'. Probable cause for arrest without a warrant is something less than proof needed ......
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Hammond v. State, 6 Div. 359
...circumstances." Moore v. State, 415 So.2d 1210, 1216 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1041 (1982) (quoting State v. Knapp, 294 So.2d 338, 341 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.), cert. denied, 302 So.2d 415 Our review of the evidence convinces us that probable cause existed for Hammond's arrest. S......
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Bush v. State, Nos. 78-1043
...State v. Profera, 239 So.2d 867 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970); see also Russell v. State, 266 So.2d 92 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972); State v. Knapp, 294 So.2d 338 (Fla. 2d DCA "Under the totality of the circumstances, Officer Cantillo had probable cause to believe that the packets contained cannabis (mari......
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Moore v. State, 3 Div. 426
...by circumstances sufficiently strong in themselves to warrant a cautious man in believing the accused to be guilty. State v. Knapp, 294 So.2d 338, 341 (Fla.App.1974); see 34 Words and Phrases, "Probable Cause". Probable cause for arrest without a warrant is something less than pro......
-
Nance v. State, 4 Div. 967
...by circumstances sufficiently strong in themselves to warrant a cautious man in believing the accused to be guilty. State v. Knapp, 294 So.2d 338, 341 (Fla.App.1974); see 34 Words and Phrases, 'Probable Cause'. Probable cause for arrest without a warrant is something less than proof needed ......
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Hammond v. State, 6 Div. 359
...circumstances." Moore v. State, 415 So.2d 1210, 1216 (Ala.Cr.App.), cert. denied, 459 U.S. 1041 (1982) (quoting State v. Knapp, 294 So.2d 338, 341 (Fla.Dist.Ct.App.), cert. denied, 302 So.2d 415 Our review of the evidence convinces us that probable cause existed for Hammond's arrest. S......
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Bush v. State, Nos. 78-1043
...State v. Profera, 239 So.2d 867 (Fla. 4th DCA 1970); see also Russell v. State, 266 So.2d 92 (Fla. 3d DCA 1972); State v. Knapp, 294 So.2d 338 (Fla. 2d DCA "Under the totality of the circumstances, Officer Cantillo had probable cause to believe that the packets contained cannabis (mari......