Reynerio E. Lara v. State Florida

Lara pled nolo contendere to a charge of possession of cocaine, reserving the right to appeal the denial of his motion to suppress evidence discovered in a warrantless search of his car. We affirm. In May 1985, an officer stopped Lara for speeding. Lara exited the vehicle and was asked for his license and registration. Lara produced the license, but had to re-enter the vehicle on the passenger side to retrieve the registration from the glove compartment. The officer remained outside the open door until he saw that Lara was having trouble opening the compartment. He then leaned into the vehicle to assist him and detected an odor of marijuana which had not been noticeable from outside the car. A subsequent search of the vehicle led to the discovery of the cocaine upon which the instant charge was based.