State of Florida v. Travis Cornelius Simpson

Orlando, Florida criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with trafficking in ten grams or more of dimethylpentylone and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.



Three police officers, including Officer Michael Collazo, were patrolling an area in Orlando known for narcotics and firearms transactions. They first saw Simpson standing outside his car at a gas station with another man. The car had dark tinted windows. At least two times, the officers watched Simpson and the other man open the car's doors, reach inside to take something out, and then walk into the gas station convenience mart. But the officers could not see what Simpson retrieved because of the dark window tinting.



Based on the suspected tint violation, Officer Collazo called another unit to assist in a traffic stop. Simpson left the gas station, and the other unit stopped Simpson to check the tint. Simpson, who was the car's only occupant, opened his door and said the driver's side window did not lower. He then lowered the passenger side windows to allow police to test the tint.



By that time, Officer Collazo's unit had arrived. After Officer Collazo approached the passenger side, he alerted his colleagues that he smelled fresh cannabis "on the cross breeze" formed by Simpson's open driver's-side door and passenger-side window. Officer Collazo said that he recognized the smell from ten years of law enforcement experience, during which he encountered different narcotics, including cannabis, "[a]lmost daily." The officers then removed Simpson from the car and handcuffed him, explaining to him that Officer Collazo had smelled cannabis.



During this exchange, Officer Collazo was searching the car. He found a handgun in the car's center console. Another officer opened a backpack on the car's passenger seat. Inside the backpack, the officer found about four ounces of cannabis in an opened vacuum-sealable bag. The backpack also contained dimethylpentylone and cocaine.



* * *



A reasonable search generally involves a warrant. See Riley v. California, 573 U.S. 373, 382 (2014). The "automobile exception," however, stands apart from this general requirement, allowing police to conduct a warrantless search of a vehicle in reasonable circumstances. See California v. Acevedo, 500 U.S. 565, 569 (1991); State v. Betz, 815 So.2d 627, 631-32 (Fla. 2002). The reasonability of a search grounded in the automobile exception turns on whether probable cause existed for the search. See Acevedo, 500 U.S. at 569; Betz, 815 So.2d at 631-32. The automobile exception arises from a century-old case, Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 160 (1925), which Florida has expressly adopted. See § 933.19, Fla. Stat. (1927). The Carroll Court described a flexible test anchored in the facts and circumstances within law enforcement's knowledge and reasonable belief that the searched vehicle was carrying contraband or evidence of a crime. Carroll, 267 U.S. at 162. This included the geographic area in which the search occurred. Id. at 15960 (citing The Apollon, 22 U.S. 362, 374 (1824)).



* * *



Legal issue Can the smell of fresh cannabis, along with the context of a high-crime area, establish probable cause to search a vehicle without a warrant under the automobile exception?

Headnote



CRIMINAL PROCEDURE. MOTION TO SUPPRESS. The case involves an appeal by the State of Florida against the trial court's decision to grant a motion to suppress evidence seized from Travis Cornelius Simpson's car, challenging the finding that there was no probable cause for the search based solely on the smell of cannabis in conjunction with the car being located in a high-crime area.



CONSTITUTIONAL LAW. FOURTH AMENDMENT SEARCH AND SEIZURE. The appellate court had to determine whether the smell of cannabis, combined with the police officers' training and the area's reputation for narcotics, provided probable cause to justify a warrantless vehicle search under the automobile exception to the Fourth Amendment.



EVIDENCE. PROBABLE CAUSE. The court reviewed and reversed the trial court's decision, finding that the totality of the circumstances, including the officers' specialized training and experience in a high-crime area and the detection of cannabis odor, collectively established probable cause for the vehicle search.



Key Phrases Traffic stop. Motion to suppress. Automobile exception. High-crime area. Probable cause.

Motion to suppress granted.



Reverse