5D05-1625 F.J.R. v.State

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State: Florida

Court: Florida Fifth District Court

Docket No: 5D05-1625

Case Date: 02/13/2006

Preview:IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA FIFTH DISTRICT JANUARY TERM 2006 F.J.R., A CHILD, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. ________________________________/ Opinion filed February 17, 2006 Appeal from the Circuit Court for Orange County, Gail A. Adams, Judge. James S. Purdy, Public Defender, and Allison Havens, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellant. Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Jeffrey R. Casey, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee. Case No. 5D05-1625

PALMER, J. F.J.R. (defendant) appeals his judgment and sentence which were entered by the trial court after he pled nolo contendre to the charges of possession of cocaine and resisting an officer without violence. The defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress. We agree and, therefore, reverse. A ruling on a motion to suppress comes to the appellate court as presumptively correct as to disputed facts and all reasonable inferences and deductions drawn from them; however, the trial court's application of the law to the facts is reviewed under the de novo standard. Murphy v. State, 898 So. 2d 1031 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005).

Here, the defendant was a passenger in a car driven by Antoine. It is undisputed that Sheriff Deputy Williams conducted a valid traffic stop of Antoine's vehicle. Once the car was stopped, Antoine and the defendant exited the car and started walking away. Deputy Williams advised both of the individuals to stop, but they continued walking. Deputy Williams caught up with them and arrested the defendant for resisting an officer without violence. During a search of the defendant incident to his arrest, cocaine was found in the defendant's pocket. The defendant was subsequently charged with committing the crimes of possession of cocaine 1 and resisting an officer without violence.2 The defendant filed a motion to suppress all evidence obtained as a result of his arrest on the ground that his arrest was improper. At the hearing on the motion to suppress, Deputy Williams admitted that the defendant was not doing anything illegal but summarily testified that he ordered the defendant back into the vehicle for officer safety reasons. Williams admitted that the defendant had not committed any crimes between the time he observed the defendant sitting in the passenger seat of the vehicle and the time he attempted to walk away from the scene. Williams stated that he arrested the defendant for resisting without violence simply because he walked away. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court denied the defendant's motion to suppress, reasoning: Once the car stopped, this child was ordered to remain or get back in the car, pursuant to a lawful stop and for safety purposes. When he refused to obey that order and the lawful command of this police officer, I believe at that time, there's
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