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State v. Rodriguez6/17/2005
The state appeals an order suppressing cocaine seized after law enforcement officers stopped Frankie Rodriguez for a traffic law violation. The trial court ruled Rodriguez did not violate any civil traffic infraction and his unusual driving style did not justify the stop. Concluding Rodriguez' driving provided an objectively reasonable basis for making the stop, we disagree and reverse. See Whren v. U.S., 517 U.S. 806, 808 (1996); Holland v. State , 696 So. 2d 757, 759 (Fla. 1997).
Sergeant Hopkins ("Hopkins") of the Orange County Sheriff's Office testified that at about 2:00 a.m. on 16 December 2003, while parked on the right-of-way on Bumby near the East-West Expressway, he saw a vehicle exit from either a business or Jackson Street, but he could not ascertain which. However, he did think the intersection of Bumby and Jackson was controlled by a stop sign. The vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, and it was obvious from its speed that the driver had not stopped before entering the roadway. A vehicle is required to stop before entering a roadway from a parking lot. The area was residential, and the speed limit was 25 m.p.h. Hopkins could not clock the speed, but testified that the vehicle "just blew out of this parking lot or . . . blew through this stop sign." The vehicle traveled two blocks to Pine Street and turned right. It proceeded east in the westbound lane of Pine Street, which had a double yellow center line for about 30 feet. The vehicle continued in the wrong lane for about 50 feet and turned into an apartment complex. Hopkins clarified that some drivers swing out a bit when they take a right turn into a business, but this was not that type of swinging; it was definitely the wrong side of the roadway. Hopkins could have driven next to Rodriguez in the correct lane.
Hopkins thought the driver might be impaired due to his erratic driving. After the driver entered the apartment complex, he made a wide loop and parked. Hopkins, who was by then in front of the vehicle, activated his overhead lights and asked the driver to step out of the vehicle with his license. He stopped the driver to find out why he was driving erratically; he suspected Rodriguez was driving under the influence . After Rodriguez exited the vehicle, Hopkins observed that his eyes were red and glassy. His speech was slow and occasionally slurred. Hopkins smelled the strong odor of alcohol on his breath. When asked if he knew why he had been stopped, Rodriguez responded that he was stopped because he ran the stop sign. Rodriguez told him that he was coming from the Southern Nights Bar. The deputy testified that he stopped the driver for driving on the wrong side of the road and running a stop sign. Hopkins arrested Rodriguez for DUI and transported him to the DUI center for booking.
After removing the subject from the patrol car at the DUI center, Hopkins found Rodriguez' keys on the seat and a stamp-sized baggy of suspected cocaine. Hopkins had checked the vehicle before placing him inside, and there were no keys or baggy in the patrol car. Another baggy was found in Roriguez' pocket, and a presumptive test proved positive for cocaine. Rodriguez was charged with possession of cocaine.
Rodriguez filed a motion to suppress arguing that Hopkins had no probable cause to believe that he was committing or about to commit a crime. He contended that he did not commit a traffic violation and his driving did not justify the stop.
The state argued that Rodriguez violated two Florida Statutes: Section 316.125(2), which requires a driver of a vehicle emerging from an alley, building, private road or driveway within a business or residential district to stop prior to entering a road
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