K.H. v. State
K.H. v. State
Opinion of the Court
K.H., a juvenile, appeals the trial court's disposition order, which found that K.H. had committed the delinquent act of resisting an officer without violence. The trial court withheld adjudication and placed K.H. on probation. K.H. asserts that the trial court erred by failing to grant her motion for judgment of dismissal because the State failed to prove the officer was engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty. We find her argument meritorious and reverse.
I. FACTS
On September 12, 2016, an officer with the Tampa Police Department responded to a call for service regarding a trespass at a gas station. The report received by the officer alleged that two Hispanic females were panhandling but failed to provide any other information, such as the age, height, weight, or clothing of the females. There was no testimony as to the identity of the caller.
Upon arriving at the gas station, the officer saw two females; one was later determined to be K.H. As he approached, the females walked away. The officer ordered them to stop; they did not. Rather, they continued walking around the side of the building. Again, the officer ordered the two to stop. Instead, K.H. departed by running away. Another officer testified to his involvement in helping to locate K.H. after she ran.
Upon this evidence, the trial court concluded the officer was engaged in the performance of a legal duty and denied the motion for judgment of dismissal. The adjudicatory hearing proceeded, and the trial court found that K.H. committed the delinquent act of resisting an officer without violence.
II. DISCUSSION
We review the denial of a motion for judgment of dismissal de novo. E.A.B. v. State,
To establish the offense of resisting an officer without violence, "the State must prove: (1) the officer was engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty; and (2) the defendant's action, by his words, conduct, or a combination thereof, constituted obstruction or resistance of that lawful duty." C.E.L. v. State,
To be justified in making the stop, the officer must possess a reasonable suspicion of criminal activity when the suspect is ordered to stop. M.R. v. State,
In M.R., an officer on patrol observed M.R. and three other juveniles riding bicycles in an apartment complex.
In reversing the adjudication of delinquency, this court observed in M.R. that "the officer must be justified in making the stop at the point when the command to stop is issued."
In T.P. v. State,
The State argued at trial that the officer had reasonable suspicion to detain T.P. based on the call about someone looking in windows.
Here, the officer was responding to a call for service from an unidentified caller *688regarding panhandling and possible trespass. The officer never observed K.H. panhandling.
Regarding the possible trespass, we conclude that the evidence is still insufficient to support a stop. "Mere presence on the property is insufficient to give rise to a reasonable suspicion of trespass and a reasonable suspicion of trespass must be based upon something more than 'a mere hunch or guess.' " D.T. v. State,
Here, the State presented no evidence that a prior warning had been issued to K.H., either by posting or communication, nor does the evidence show that the officer was authorized to issue a warning by the property owner. There was no testimony regarding who placed the call for service, and anonymous 911 calls are inherently unreliable. See Baptiste v. State,
III. CONCLUSION
Because the State failed to establish all of the elements of resisting an officer without violence, the trial court erred by denying the motion for judgment of dismissal.
Reversed and remanded.
BADALAMENTI and ROTHSTEIN-YOUAKIM, JJ., Concur.
The record is silent as to whether panhandling violates a state statute, a county ordinance, or a municipal ordinance. Cf. Lawshea v. State,
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.