Arias v. State
Arias v. State
Opinion of the Court
This case is before us on remand from the Supreme Court of Florida, which quashed this Court’s opinion and remanded for reconsideration in light of Jardines v. State, 73 So.3d 34 (Fla. 2011), ajfd, — U.S.-, 133 S.Ct. 1409, 185 L.Ed.2d 495 (2013). See Arias v. State, 90 So.3d 269 (Fla. 2012). We affirm.
Detective Donnelly received an anonymous “crime stoppers” tip regarding a suspected marijuana grow house. Detective Donnelly went to the home with Sergeant Ramirez, Detective Valdez, and Detective Valdez’s drug detecting dog, “Babe,” in order to conduct surveillance and obtain consent to search through employing the
The subsequent search of Arias’ home revealed that it was operating as marijuana grow house, and Arias was arrested and charged with trafficking in cannabis. After a hearing, the trial court entered a detailed order denying Arias’ motion to suppress. Arias pled guilty and reserved his right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress.
Based on the Florida Supreme Court’s holding in Jardines, the dog sniff in the instant case was an illegal search. However, the trial court, in denying Arias’ motion to suppress, did not rely on the dog sniff. The trial court found that there was independent evidence in the affidavit to support probable cause:
[E]ven if the dog alert to the drugs is eliminated from the probable cause affidavit, there is sufficient probable cause for the issuance of the warrant. In addition to smelling the live marijuana plants, the affidavit sets forth that Detective Donnelly observed that there were three vehicles in the driveway, the blinds were closed on the windows, and the air conditioning unit on the east side of the residence was continuously running without recycling.
Arias argues that Detective Donnelly’s detection of marijuana odor was influenced by Babe’s alert and thus not independent. See Jardines, 73 So.3d at 55 (noting the trial court’s finding that although there was evidence that the officer also detected the smell of marijuana plants coming from the home, it was only after the drug detection dog had alerted and was, therefore, “only confirming what the detection dog had already revealed”); State v. Rabb, 920 So.2d 1175, 1196 n. 8 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (Gross, J., dissenting) (noting the majority’s concern that the dog alert preceded the officers’ detection of the odor of live marijuana). While it is true that the affidavit does not detail whether Detective Donnelly smelled live marijuana before or after Babe alerted,
The trial court found Detective Donnelly’s testimony credible and the two officers’ testimony consistent. The officers’
While an appellate court defers to a trial court’s factual findings, it reviews de novo the application of the law to the facts. Id. at 1231. Detective Donnelly’s detection of the odor of live marijuana, along with noticing three cars in the driveway, the blinds of the home drawn closed, and the air conditioning unit continuously running without recycling, corroborated the anonymous crime stoppers tip that Arias’ home was being used as a grow house. Therefore, the trial court correctly applied the law to the facts of the case when it found that, absent the dog sniff, Detective Don-nelly had sufficient probable cause to procure a warrant.
Affirmed.
. The affidavit states that the "K-9 did alert to the odor.... "Your Affiant” also detected the smell of live marijuana....”
. There was some discrepancy in the officers' testimony about when exactly Detective Don-nelly knocked on Arias’ front door. Detective Donnelly testified that he knocked on Arias' front door before learning of Babe’s positive alert, while Detective Valdez testified that he gave Detective Donnelly a thumbs up and the knock occurred immediately thereafter. The timing of the knock is not relevant to the issue of whether Detective Donnelly had probable cause to seek a search warrant absent Babe's sniff and alert. Detective Donnelly was permitted to approach Arias' house and conduct a knock and talk absent Babe’s alert or even his own detection of the odor of marijuana. State v. Triana, 979 So.2d 1039, 1043 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008) (holding that the knock and talk procedure is a legitimate investigative procedure that may be initiated without any level of suspicion).
. A finding that independent and lawful probable cause existed is different from a finding that the evidence would have been inevitably discovered, i.e., absent the dog sniff, the officer would have inevitably smelled the marijuana and developed probable cause. See State v. Jardines, 9 So.3d 1, 8-9 (Fla. 3d DCA 2008), rev’d, 73 So.3d 34 (Fla. 2011). There is no way to know that the officer’s later detection of marijuana is not in some way tainted by the dog's alert. However, in the instant case, the trial court found that Detective Don-nelly smelled the marijuana before the dog alerted, making the development of probable cause truly independent from Babe’s alert.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.