I have a joint in here, but I didn't smoke it in here. >> No one's in any trouble for a joint, all right there. >> Well, I actually don't have marijuana in the car. >> You told me you did. >> No, I don't. It's not there. >> You told me it was in your hand. >> On July 6th, 2025, a Santa Rosa County Deputy initiated a traffic stop that would expose a near trafficking amount of methamphetamine. >> Hi. >> Hi. >> How are you? >> Good. How are you? >> I'm good. So, my name's Deputy Nave, Santa Rosa County Sheriff. >> All right. >> Please put it in park. >> All right, it was in park. >> Are we in park? >> Yeah. >> Okay. I am Deputy Nave, Santa Rosa County. All right, the reason for the stop when you pulled out in front of me on Berry Hill, and then you took that sharp right turn, all right, you went over the dividing line to make your turn, all right, then we thought came down to 90, you turned took a right off Shavers, and I watched you bounce over the right the fog lane twice and the center lane once, then you cut across traffic to get to this parking lot, where I actually had to stop and let you past me. All right, all of which are giant red flags someone's driving impaired. >> I'm not impaired. >> All right, do you have your driver's license, registration, proof of insurance with you? >> I will. >> I appreciate you. I don't This was stuck to the back of your license. I don't want to litter. How you doing, ma'am? How you doing, ma'am? I'm good. Have we met? You look familiar. You don't know? Okay. It's probably a good thing if we haven't. All right, so while you're looking for that, if you go back through my body camera, I ask everyone the exact same questions. 17-year-old kids, 98-year-old grandmas. I ask everyone the exact same thing, all right? Any knives, guns, explosives, anything in the vehicle? >> No. >> No? Is there anything in the vehicle that's not supposed to be? >> No. >> No? Do you use marijuana? >> Um I do. >> Okay. Have you smoked marijuana in this vehicle? >> Um >> I You know what? Before you answer, I do not care about a little bit of weed. I care about honesty. All right, cuz over the perfume >> There's a joint I have a joint in here, but I didn't smoke it in here. >> No one's in any trouble for a joint. All right? That's No one's in any trouble for a joint, okay? I can promise you that. All right? If that's all it is, then it is no big deal. So, I'm going to hand these two back to you. All right? Make sure that you get the insurance card updated, okay? Um and I'll be right back with you. Do me a favor, um just stay in the vehicle. I know you you want to go to Walgreens, but just stay in the vehicle till we're done, okay? All right. I'm going to add her to the car real quick. I haven't added the passenger yet. Um and then we're going to pull them out. All right? Okay, what was your first name? >> Lana. >> Lana. Okay, Ms. Lana. So, I'm someone who I I like to explain things so people know what to expect, okay? So, I appreciate your honesty about the joint. I'm going to take your joint from you. All right? Don't reach for it. I'll We'll get there. All right? But what's going to happen now is because you do have marijuana in the car, I'm going to have you step out. You're going to wait with this deputy uh this officer back here. I'm going to have your passenger step out. He's going to She's going to wait with the deputy back there. Um I actually don't have any marijuana in the car. You told me you did. No, I don't. It's not there. You told me it was in your hand. I thought I did, but unfortunately, I don't have any marijuana. I thought I had a joint right there, but I don't. I didn't I never cuz I don't ever bring Let me explain it to you a different way. The reason I asked you I asked you about marijuana is cuz I could smell it. I can still smell it. So, that's why I asked you about marijuana. You were honest with me about it, and I appreciated that. But let me put it to you a different way. What is in this car that you don't want me to find? There is nothing in this car. Cuz I'm searching it either way. So, what's in the car? There's nothing in my car. Okay, then you have nothing to worry about. I You told me you had weed. I smell marijuana. I thought I did, but I don't have marijuana in the car. I thought there was a joint right here because we were sitting I'm going to have you step out and wait with this officer back here, please. Please and thank you. You This is a lawful order. It's not a question. You're not allowed to search my vehicle. I I probable cause to search your vehicle. >> have probable cause. >> Step out of the vehicle, please. >> You don't have probable cause. >> Do it now, please. >> You're not allowed to search my vehicle. >> Ma'am, step out of the vehicle. Do it. If you do not step out of the vehicle right now, I am going to take you out of the vehicle. >> Okay. >> It is that It is that simple. >> my car at all. >> Then you have nothing to worry about. Step back with this officer back here, please. I have PC to search this car right now. >> I don't have PC to search my car. You don't have the right to search it. >> Hold on. Hold on. That's great. >> You're being ugly for no reason. >> I have been nothing but polite to you. >> You're pulling me out of my vehicle when I need to be at home. Like I don't >> pulled into a wall at CVS. >> I know, because I'm getting cleaning supplies. I have a cleaning company, and I'm >> You're going to sit on that bumper. You're not going to move from the bumper. >> Okay. I need to get my phone, please. >> You're not grabbing your phone right now. All right? Don't go Don't go near that car. I don't know if you just heard me or not, but I asked you to sit on that bumper and stay there. Last chance. I'm searching the car. Is anything in it? >> There's nothing in my car. >> Cool beans. >> You're not I don't give you permission >> I don't need it. >> Yes, you do. You're violating my rights. >> Then file a complaint. Then someone will review the body camera, and you'll be fine. So now you can put the cigarette down, turn around, put your hands behind your back. >> What did I do? >> do it right now. >> What did I do? >> Drop the cigarette. >> What did I do? >> What are those white crystals on your driver's seat? >> Um >> Sit back here. Put your butt on the bumper. Can you read her, please? >> Yep. >> What are these? >> Um It looks like methamphetamine. >> It does look like methamphetamine. I appreciate your honesty. Thank you. So how much more meth am I going to find in the car? >> I don't know. >> Appreciate that honesty, too. >> I got you. >> It's just what it is. >> Okay. That's fine. You can put it on the >> Just give it to Deputy Auto, here. >> Okay. Right. Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. Pick that back up, right there. I knew I smelled the pot, man. >> I don't know. >> And an open container. >> Here. >> I'm pretty sure that the reason that they're on the seat is cuz they tucked them down the front of their pants. >> did. >> I think that while I was behind you, you were shoving meth down your pants, thinking that your females and that we're not going to be able to >> Don't you have gloves on? >> Hey, whose chip bag is this? >> Stuffed in between the center console and the passenger seat. >> Whose bag of Ruffles is it? >> I have no idea and nothing to eat. I've been drinking alcohol. >> So, you're saying it's hers? >> I'm not saying it's anybody's. I'm saying that's not mine. I just got in the car and rode with her. >> So, I retract my previous statement. You didn't shove it down your pants, you shoved it in her chip bag. Copacetic. You're both going for meth for me possession. All right? When you get to the jail, you're going to be Stop. When you get to the jail, we'll stop. When you get to the jail, you're going to go through a body scanner. >> Can't we talk to Chat Boy? >> So, she's saying it's not her She So, it's not her chips, but it's her car and it's not your chips. >> bag. We had cookies. >> So, it's not her chips and it's not your chips, either. So, it's just a bag of nothing. >> I just got in the car. We were eating cookies. I have The only thing I have to eat is cookies trying to absorb some of my alcohol. >> Have we been able to separate? No, I haven't even started. >> Okay. >> But, there are pretty big shards. >> Yeah, I saw those. >> And then the small shards are in that one. >> Okay, cool. I'm going to throw them all together cuz I can know Where was this found? >> So, it was stuffed in between the center console and the passenger seat. Stuffed like as far down as it can to the ground. >> Got you. Now that we know we're caught, right? Talk me through it. >> sure. I just don't want both of us to go to jail cuz >> Miss Lana, the reason I'm asking you to tell me the truth right now is cuz you're both already going to jail. It's already done and said. >> I I have anything to do with it. >> There's no her up. I just >> I just picked her up. She didn't have anything to do with it. At all. I just literally just >> Well, then you set your friend down a bad path. All right, because I have no way of believing you right now. >> She was going She had I really I picked her up and she's going to help me with my HUD inspection. That I don't know what you're talking about. I don't know about the chat boy. >> So, as of right now, you're both going. All right. I just want you to know that. >> She had nothing to do with the chat boy. >> if you would be so kind as to >> Can you can you you >> I don't play I don't play the chat boy thing. >> No, I'm just saying like can you >> Can I what? Let you go? >> No. >> With a with a with a almost close trafficking amount of meth, I mean, in a neighborhood that's already struggling. You want me to let you go? >> I don't know. I I have a lot going on right now. I do. And I don't >> Deputy Carey, do you have a lot going on right now? >> I just I had just had surgery. My daughter broke her foot. I just got back I I have cancer. >> I'm close to $20,000 in medical debt right now. >> I'm sorry. >> I'm not out here driving around with meth. >> Is she messing with >> She's She's back and forth on it. >> No, I don't know where that I don't know where it came from. >> See? >> No, I don't know who he's talking about. I don't know what bag he's talking about. >> Please put your butt on the bumper. Thank you. >> I what was in the seat >> What's your first name? >> Tiffany. >> Tiffany. Right now, I I swear we've met before. >> It's been a little controversial in the last few days or few months. It's been a little controversial. >> after. Um So, right now, Miss Tiffany, we are running alongside the truth train. All right. The truth train is right beside us, but I want to jump on it. Okay? Truth train. So, >> All right. >> what happened in that car? >> I just got in my seat. >> Okay. >> Which is her seat in her car. I just got picked up because I wanted her to pick me up. >> Mhm. >> I don't know what to tell you about the meth bag and the chip bag and the whatever bag. >> Where were you going? >> Just get the hell out of house. >> Just to get the hell out of your house. >> Yes, I just went through a breakup, bad. >> Okay. >> So, I don't know what to say. I had her pick me up. I've been at my mom's. I've been at my daughter's. I needed a break. I needed her to come and get me. >> So, when I got behind you on Berryhill, where were you coming from? >> The house right on Berryhill Road, right across the >> Miss Tiffany, I mean no disrespect. You're making my head hurt. I'm >> Berryhill's a pretty busy road. Let's go. >> I'm done with it. I'm done. No, I didn't. Try again. Going back and forth, saying that it's yours, saying that it's hers, saying that it's her yours, saying that it's hers. >> of [ __ ] She just picked me up and I was just [ __ ] going to ride with her. I needed to get out of the house. I can't do this. It's not my [ __ ] >> So, what happened in the car? >> Nothing happened in the car. >> Nothing happened in the car. She didn't hand you the and say tuck this. You didn't see her grab that bag and tuck it. I am looking >> a lot of things. >> Start listing them. >> Just putting [ __ ] all around on the floor. She's putting [ __ ] on her on her in her seat. She's putting her seat belt on. All of that. >> Okay. Did she tuck anything? Did you see her slip or put something in her bra? >> I saw her tuck things around all of her seat. I said, "What are you doing?" And she's like, "We're fixing to get pulled over." If she had something going on, then she needs to own it. I don't know what she tucked. I just know she tucked. I'm telling you she tucked. I don't know what she tucked. She wouldn't tell me. >> I cannot give you any legal advice, all right? But tonight you're going. >> Why am I going for her drugs? This is not okay. >> I don't have another choice here. >> Why? If she had a bag and she tucked a bag >> No, we're not. >> Lana. What are you doing? >> Stop talking to her. Stop talking to her. And then 2 seconds later she's going to say I have no idea what you're talking about. >> She's not She's telling you the truth. I didn't. >> You're going to >> She had her bag. She had her stuff. She tucked her [ __ ] down where she needed to do it in her car. >> You're going to go through a scanner. You don't have anything on you? >> No, I swear to God. And this is not my stuff. That's not fair. This is her car. It's her drugs. It's not my [ __ ] >> I told you she had it tucked. The only thing I can do right now is suggest you have better friends in the future. You better step back over here if you >> do this. She said she's not a talker. It was her stuff. Her deal, her things, her stuff. She said that to you. >> seat. >> What the hell? Why would you say THAT AND THAT'S NOT >> MICHELLE, I'm over here. And she said it was all of her shirt, this entire thing. I'll do you a solid and then we're good. >> All right, appreciate it. >> I can take both if you want. >> Uh she's already loaded up and she's pissy. Ms. Lana, how can I help you? >> Um is is there any way that we can is there anything that we can do? I cannot My mom just broke her hip and I'm I should not have come out tonight. I just got back from Vegas and I'm sorry that I lied to you. I I just >> Ms. Lana, I am nothing but the consequences of your own actions. Okay? >> Sorry. >> So, unfortunately, right now you are taking the ride. All right? You'll be able to bond when you get to the jail if you're eligible for one. I don't know. That's on the jail staff. All right, but tonight you're taking the ride. All right? I honestly wish you all the best. I truly do. And I hope you genuinely get help with your problem. I do. Because meth is one [ __ ] hell of a drug. All right? I hope you get help. >> All three of us were watching cuz I was doing a search and it instantly we all just look at it. She's like >> [laughter] >> I know what that is. >> [ __ ] >> It's not my problem. >> I'll transport her. >> This stop gets interesting. The legal question is not whether the arrest was dramatic. >> [music] >> The question is whether every step taken by law enforcement was constitutionally sound and where both subjects went wrong. The foundation of this entire stop is the Fourth Amendment probable cause requirement under Carroll v. United States, 1925. The automobile exception permits a warrantless search when an officer has probable cause to believe a vehicle contains contraband. Probable cause is not a single fact. It is the totality of circumstances, the standard established in Illinois v. Gates, 1983. Here, the deputy stacked four independent layers, documented traffic violations, odor of marijuana, the driver's verbal admission, and visible crystalline residue on the seat. Any one of those elements alone raises reasonable suspicion. >> [music] >> Combined, they satisfy probable cause before the deputy even reaches the center console. The driver's objection that the search was unlawful was legally incorrect the moment she acknowledged the smell and the joint in the same [music] breath. The exit order is governed by Pennsylvania v. Mimms, 1977. The Supreme Court held that during a lawful traffic stop, ordering a driver out of the vehicle requires no additional justification beyond the stop itself. Maryland v. Wilson extended that authority to passengers in 1997. Both orders in this stop were lawful. Refusal did not create a legal defense, it created a separate compliance issue. On the question of Miranda, the driver and passenger both made voluntary statements before any custodial arrest occurred. Under Berkemer v. McCarty, 1984, a routine traffic stop is not custody for Fifth Amendment purposes. Miranda warnings were not required at that stage. Every admission made at the window, the marijuana, the identification of the crystals, the account [music] of concealment was legally admissible. The chip bag concealed between the center console and passenger seat [music] triggers Florida statute section 893.13 for possession of a controlled substance. [music] More critically, and the deputy's reference to trafficking adjacent weight, points to section 893.135, Florida's trafficking statute, which sets a mandatory minimum at 14 g of methamphetamine, regardless of to intent to distribute. If the recovered quantity meets that threshold, the charge framework changes entirely. The open container adds Florida statute section 316.1936 to the probable cause record, not as a stand-alone arrest basis, but as a corroborating layer reinforcing the totality of circumstances analysis. Combined with erratic driving under Section 322.19. The stop was legally airtight from the first second. The passenger's legal exposure is the most complex element of this stop. Constructive possession under Florida law does not require physical handling of contraband. It requires proof of two things: knowledge of the contraband's presence and the ability to exercise control over it. The passenger's own voluntary statements [music] about observing the driver conceal items and hearing the driver say they were fixing to get pulled over may satisfy the knowledge prong independently. That is the critical error, believing that describing what you witnessed protects you from liability. In a constructive possession analysis, demonstrating awareness of concealment behavior can be the very evidence that establishes knowledge. The Fifth Amendment right to silence was available at every moment of this conversation. >> [music] >> Neither subject exercised it. Now to the grades. Deputy David Nathan receives an A- minus. His probable cause construction was methodical and legally defensible at every layer. The exit orders were grounded in established precedent. The search scope was appropriate [music] under United States Ross 1982, which permits officers to search every part of a vehicle where contraband could be concealed once probable [music] cause is established. His handling of manipulation attempts, the shifting stories, >> [music] >> the sympathy appeals, the repeated false assertions about search authority was consistent and controlled. The A- minus is withheld because occasional sarcastic commentary carries marginal professionalism risk in any subsequent body camera review. It did not affect the legal outcome. It is a note, not a deduction. Driver Lana receives a D. [music] The Fourth Amendment objection was raised after probable cause had already been established, making it legally moot, not legally meaningful. The repeated retraction of her marijuana admission did not undo it. It added a demonstrated consciousness of guilt to a record that was already strong. Her attempt to invoke personal hardship as an implicit defense reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of criminal procedure. Sympathy and legal standing are not the same thing. Passenger Tiffany [music] receives a C plus. Physical compliance was adequate. The initial distancing was legally appropriate. However, her pivot to providing a detailed account of witnessing the driver's [music] concealment behavior without invoking her right to silence created a knowledge record that now belongs to the state's constructive possession analysis. The C plus reflects a situation not entirely of her making handled in a way that materially complicated her own legal position. Key lessons from this stop. First, probable cause is cumulative. Officers are not required to stop observing after the first indicator. Each additional element compounds the legal foundation for a search. Drivers who believe a single objection will halt a search after probable cause is established [music] fundamentally misunderstand how the automobile exception operates. Second, voluntary statements made before custodial arrest carry no Miranda protection. Anything said at a car window during a traffic stop is admissible. The right to silence exists the moment contact begins. Most people talk themselves into charges they could have avoided entirely. Third, proximity is not innocence. >> [music] >> Riding in a vehicle where contraband is present does not automatically create criminal liability, but it creates exposure. The degree of that exposure is determined by what you say, what you observed, and what your words place on the constructive possession record. Fourth, concealment methodology is itself evidence. Hiding contraband in a chip bag wedged between a console and seat demonstrates knowledge and deliberate intent under the totality standard. [music] That behavior does not protect you from a charge. It strengthens the charge against you. Let us know if there is an interaction or legal topic that you would like us to discuss in the comments below. Thank you for watching and do not forget to watch more engaging videos on our channel.