Thomas v. State, O--331
| Decision Date | 01 July 1971 |
| Docket Number | No. O--331,O--331 |
| Citation | 250 So.2d 15 |
| Parties | Leroy THOMAS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Louis O. Frost, Jr., Public Defender, and Gerald Sohn, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.
Robert L. Shevin, Atty. Gen., Michael J. Minerva and Joseph W. DeMember, Asst. Attys. Gen., for appellee.
Appellant seeks reversal of a conviction upon a trial by jury on charges of carrying a concealed firearm. The sole point raised on appeal is the contention that the pistol found in appellant's hip pocket should not have been admitted in evidence over appellant's objection on the ground it had been obtained by an illegal search and seizure.
The trial court based its denial of appellant's motion to suppress the pistol squarely on the recently enacted 'Florida Stop and Frisk Law', Section 901.151, Florida Statutes, F.S.A. The pertinent sections provide:
'(2) Whenever any law enforcement officer of this state encounters any person under circumstances which reasonably indicate that such person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a violation of the criminal laws of this state or the criminal ordinances of any municipality or county, he may temporarily detain such person for the purpose of ascertaining the identity of the person temporarily detained and the circumstances surrounding his presence abroad which led the officer to believe that he had committed, was committing, or was about to commit a criminal offense.
'(6) No evidence seized by a law enforcement officer in any search under this section shall be admissible against any person in any court of this state or political subdivision thereof unless the search which disclosed its existence was authorized by and conducted in compliance with the provisions of subsections (2)--(5).'
The facts underlying the charges against appellant arose at American Beach in Nassau County, Florida, at approximately 5 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon. Appellant got out of a car and walked toward a snack bar. Two officers were on duty directing traffic. One of them observed the appellant and stated to the other, 'Ben, this fellow is carrying a mighty big knot in his hip pocket there, * * * I think we should check him when he comes back.' When appellant returned to his car from the snack bar, the second officer observed the bulge in appellant's hip pocket and the officer started to approach him. Upon noting the officer approaching, appellant accelerated his pace toward the car and upon reaching it sat down. The officer having next arrived asked appellant what he had in his pocket and then, without awaiting an answer, felt the outside of the pocket and, noting the sharpness of the object, put his hand in the pocket and found the pistol.
Though recognizing the provisions of Section 901.151, Florida Statutes, F.S.A., appellant contends that what the officer observed was insufficient to give him probable cause to believe that the appellant was armed with a dangerous weapon. This contention...
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