Florida Woman Busted with “Bag of Drugs”
Officers arrested a 41-year-old St. Petersburg woman who allegedly had a container labeled “Bag of Drugs” in her purse.
Just before 11:30 a.m., officers spotted the woman in her vehicle, albeit not at the wheel, without a seatbelt and rummaging around the passenger floorboard, the affidavit said. The trooper pulled the driver over and noticed a small, used and burnt piece of tin foil and a plastic straw in the car. Additionally, the driver said she was under the influence of alcohol.
The driver was arrested for having an open container, according to Florida Highway Patrol. She was also asked to get out of the car as Florida Highway Patrol conducted a probable cause search, the arrest report said.
A bag labeled “Bag of Drugs” was reportedly found inside her purse. The bag contained, among other things, a plastic baggie with white residue, a needle, 3.25 grams of cocaine, one gram of crystal meth, and 4.5 pills of alprazolam.
Reasonable Suspicion and Probable Cause
Reasonable suspicion, or an evidence-based hunch, is the standard of evidence police officers must have before they detain motorists. Probable cause is a higher standard that’s just short of beyond a reasonable doubt, the standard of evidence at trial, is the standard of evidence for arrests.
Based on the information available in the above story, it appears that officers may not have had reasonable suspicion before they detained this motorist. Additionally, the facts as presented could give a Tampa criminal defense lawyer the opportunity to present a reasonable alternative to the evidence the prosecutor presents.
Let’s start with reasonable suspicion. More than likely, officers would state that they were performing a “safety check” on a motorist who may have been in trouble. Safety checks could justify police stops, as long as officers reasonably believe the person may be in danger.
There’s nothing dangerous about sitting in a car. However, if the woman was sitting in a car and obstructing traffic or otherwise causing a hazard, the “safety check” excuse might hold up in court.
The officer stated the woman was arrested for having an open container of alcohol in the car. However, the facts in the article only state that the officer smelled an odor of alcohol. Prosecutors must justify that inconsistency in court, since the state has the burden of proof.
Search Incident to Arrest
Once upon a time, police officers could “arrest” suspects for trivial offenses like speeding, and extensively search their vehicles, looking for contraband. However, the Supreme Court has sharply limited such searches to basically a weapons pat-down. Officers can search any part of the vehicle within the defendant’s reach where a weapon might be concealed. On the surface, a woman’s purse certainly fits into that description.
However, in many cases, women put their purses in the back seat, where the purse is out of reach. If that was the case, police officers may have exceeded their authority by searching her purse.
Additionally, officers searched the woman’s purse after she exited the vehicle. At that point, the purse was definitely not within her reach, even if it was in the front seat.
The fruit from a poisonous tree rule applies in criminal court. If police conduct an illegal search, any evidence they seize as a result of that church is fruit from a poisonous tree and therefore inadmissible. This rule also applies to indirectly-connected evidence (e.g. officers conduct an illegal search and find a map showing the location of contraband).
Reach Out to a Detail-Oriented Hillsborough County Attorney
A criminal charge is not the same thing as a criminal conviction. For a confidential consultation with an experienced criminal defense lawyer in Tampa, contact the OA Law Firm. Convenient payment plans are available.
