Lugo v. State
Docket: No. 5D03-4084
Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida; December 16, 2004; Florida; State Appellate Court
Joseph Lugo pled no contest to possession of a controlled substance after reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress evidence obtained during his detention. Lugo argues that the evidence should have been suppressed due to an unlawful detention by Officer Cerce, who observed Lugo and a group of men with red plastic cups during a crowded event in Daytona Beach. Officer Cerce approached Lugo after noticing him attempt to avoid the officer and asked about the contents of his cup. Lugo admitted to drinking Hennessy, leading to his arrest for violating the city's open container law. A search incident to this arrest revealed MDMA. The trial court acknowledged that Officer Cerce detained Lugo before questioning him, but concluded that the officer had reasonable suspicion based on Lugo’s behavior of trying to conceal the cup and avoid the officer. The appellate court noted that suppression orders in possession cases are typically appealable. It emphasized that while the trial court's findings of disputed facts are accepted if supported by substantial evidence, the legal application of those facts is reviewed de novo. To justify detention, an officer must have a well-founded suspicion of criminal activity, which relies on the totality of circumstances observed prior to the stop, not mere hunches or nervous behavior. Lugo contends that his motion to suppress should have been granted, arguing that Officer Cerce lacked reasonable suspicion since the contents of his opaque cup were not visible. Lugo contends that merely avoiding a police officer does not constitute reasonable suspicion necessary for a lawful detention. The State counters that reasonable suspicion is assessed through the totality of circumstances, asserting the stop was justified based on the facts of the case. The right to privacy is emphasized as a fundamental right. The record indicates that Lugo was walking on a busy sidewalk, navigating around pedestrians while holding an opaque cup, without displaying any signs of impairment or disorderly conduct. Despite this, Officer Cerce approached and detained Lugo based solely on a hunch, which does not satisfy the threshold for suspicion required for detention, as established in Terry v. Ohio. Without the unlawful detention, Officer Cerce lacked grounds to arrest Lugo for the open container violation, leading to the reversal of the trial court's decision denying the motion to suppress evidence. The case is reversed and remanded, with Judges Pleus and Torpy concurring.