Case Name: David Emory EASON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1989-06-28
Citations: 546 So. 2d 57
Docket Number: No. 88-576
Parties: David Emory EASON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: BARFIELD, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 546
Pages: 57–61

Head Matter:
David Emory EASON, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 88-576.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, First District.
June 28, 1989.
Elizabeth L. White and William J. Sheppard, Sheppard and White, Jacksonville, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and William A. Hatch, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.

Opinion:
ZEHMER, Judge.
David Emory Eason appeals an order withholding adjudication of guilt and placing him on probation entered pursuant to his negotiated plea of nolo contendere to charges of possession of drug paraphernalia and more than twenty grams of marijuana. Eason pled nolo contendere to these charges after the trial court denied his motion to suppress evidence seized following a warrantless entry into his home. On appeal, Eason contends that the trial court erred in concluding that the warrantless entry into his home was lawful and in denying his motion to suppress. We agree and reverse.
At the hearing on the motion to suppress, police officer Robert Harding testified that on November 1, 1987, at approximately 8:00 a.m., he and his partner responded to a call alerting them that a small child was wandering in the parking lot of an apartment complex. Upon arriving at the complex, the caller led the officers to the child, whom she had taken into her home. The child was male, appeared to be about 2 or 3 years old, and showed no signs of having been abused. Upon being asked his name and whether he knew where he lived, the child said he had to get his tennis shoes, and ran off. With the officers in pursuit, he stopped in front of an apartment, pointed to the front door and said, "Mama is in there." Officer Harding stated that he and his partner did not know whether the child was pointing to the correct apartment, whether the apartment was being burglarized, or whether someone inside the apartment might need help, so they drew their service revolvers. Harding then knocked on the door, which opened while he was knocking on it, and announced that he was a police officer. Upon hearing no reply, the officers entered the apartment. Still holding his gun in his right hand, Officer Harding opened the bedroom door and saw Eason and a woman lying in the bed. Harding determined that the child belonged to the woman and that there was no emergency. While standing in the room, however, Harding noticed a large marijuana plant, dried marijuana leaves, a pipe, a bong, and a set of scales. Harding asked Eason if he could search the rest of the apartment and Eason refused, stating that he needed to see his attorney. The police subsequently obtained a search warrant, thoroughly searched the apartment, and seized 500 grams of marijuana, $2,415 in cash, and assorted items of drug paraphernalia.
Eason argues that the circumstances surrounding the officers' initial entry did not rise to the level of exigency necessary to justify the officers' warrantless intrusion into his home. On this particular set of facts, we agree.
The fourth amendment to the United States Constitution specifically protects the right of the people to be secure in their homes. This right is so unequivocal that warrantless searches and seizures inside a home are considered presumptively unreasonable. Payton v. New York, 445 U.S. 573, 100 S.Ct. 1371, 63 L.Ed.2d 639 (1980). Furthermore, even when a felony has been committed and officers have probable cause to believe that incriminating evidence will be found within a home, in the absence of exigent circumstances a war-rantless entry into the home to search for weapons or contraband is unconstitutional. Payton v. New York, 100 S.Ct. at 1381. The term "exigent circumstances" has been defined as "a situation where the inevitable delay incident to obtaining a warrant must give way to an urgent need for immediate action." United States v. Burgos, 720 F.2d 1520, 1526 (11th Cir.1983). Circumstances that typically have been considered exigent include danger of harm to police officers or the public, and potential destruction of evidence. Vale v. Louisiana, 399 U.S. 30, 90 S.Ct. 1969, 26 L.Ed.2d 409 (1970); United States v. Burgos, 720 F.2d 1520, 1526.
In this case, Officer Harding admitted that prior to entering Eason's apartment he saw no evidence that the child had been, or was going to be, physically or mentally abused, saw no evidence that medical intervention was necessary, and saw no evidence of a murder or robbery. Officer Harding also testified that, upon his arrival at the apartment complex, the child appeared to be in the care of a responsible adult. We must conclude, therefore, that the state did not satisfy its burden of proving that the officers had reasonable grounds to believe exigent circumstances existed, and the presumption that the war-rantless search and seizure was unconstitutional remained unrebutted. See Earmann v. State, 265 So.2d 695 (Fla.1972). For this reason, the trial court erred in denying Eason's motion to suppress. As the ruling on the motion to suppress is dispositive of the case, we reverse and remand with directions to enter a judgment of acquittal.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
BARFIELD, J., concurs.
SMITH, C.J., dissents with opinion.