Whitfield v. State

FERGUSON, Judge.

C.W. Whitfield appeals a conviction and sentence for trafficking in cocaine. We reverse on a finding that the facts of this case place it squarely into the prohibited pretextual search mold defined by the supreme court in Kehoe v. State, 521 So.2d 1094 (Fla.1988).

Police officers, Roberts and Morales, acting on an anonymous telephone tip about a drug sale in the area, were dispatched to a northwest Miami intersection. They stopped Mr. Whitfield because he was a black male wearing clothing allegedly matching that described by the anonymous informant. Whitfield explained to the…