Massey v. State

Following a jury trial, Reginald Massey was convicted of possession of cocaine and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. We reverse because the defense was precluded from placing into evidence certain non-hearsay statements of the lead detective and the State’s main witness.

The charges in this case arose from a traffic stop. A detective with the Okeechobee County Sheriffs Office came across a car with two men stopped at a stop sign. The detective recognized Massey as the passenger, whom the detective described as having a “very panicked look in his eye.” The detective then proceeded…