Wilson v. State, s. 82-2512
| Decision Date | 01 July 1983 |
| Docket Number | Nos. 82-2512,82-2513,s. 82-2512 |
| Parties | Leonard David WILSON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Jerry Hill, Public Defender, Bartow, and Bryan E. Hopkins, Asst. Public Defender, Tampa, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Robert J. Krauss, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.
The appellant, Leonard David Wilson, has appealed from an order denying a motion to suppress certain tangible evidence. Since the law enforcement officers did not have the necessary "founded" suspicion to stop and detain the appellant, we reverse.
The appellant was charged with violating the terms and conditions of his probation by stealing forty shirts valued at $160. The facts surrounding the appellant's detention and subsequent arrest were presented at his probation revocation hearing.
Detectives Gutch and Pierce of the Tampa Police Department first observed the appellant at approximately 10:00 a.m. on Wednesday, September 8, 1982. At that time, he was walking away from the Paradise Bar with a bag under his right arm. After observing the detectives, the appellant transferred the bag to his left arm and changed directions. He then proceeded across a lawn onto the front porch of a house where a girl was sitting. Detective Gutch, while still in his patrol car, asked him if he lived there. When he responded that he did not, and that he was there to visit the girl, the detectives left the patrol car and approached the appellant on the porch. From their respective positions, the officers noticed numerous items of clothing in the bag. When they asked the appellant what was in the bag, he pulled out a shirt. Subsequent questioning led to the seizure of the bag, which contained forty shirts, and the arrest of the appellant.
The appellant's motion to suppress the evidence and subsequent statements given to the officers was denied. After the court heard additional testimony concerning the ownership and value of the shirts, the appellant was found guilty of violating the terms and conditions of his probation, and it was revoked. After the court sentenced the appellant on the underlying charges, this appeal timely followed.
We agree with the appellant's contention that none of his actions supported a well-founded suspicion of criminal activity, and therefore, his motion to suppress should have been granted.
A police officer may detain a person on less than probable cause but not on a bare suspicion that he has violated, is violating, or is about to violate the law. Coladonato v. State, 348 So.2d 326 (Fla.1977).
In order to justify a temporary detention of a person, there must be a "founded" suspicion in the mind of the officer that the person has committed, is committing, or is about to commit a crime. Freeman v. State, 433 So.2d 9 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); R.B. v. State, 429 So.2d 815 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); Kearse v. State, 384 So.2d 272 (Fla. 4th...
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