Desperate need of help...

What is the name of your state? Florida

I was arrested the past weekend for Loitering and prowling, i have been arrested before on for graffiti, and i happened to have markers on me. I was with a friend of mine. We were not caught doing any graffiti so i guess the petty officers wanted to haul us off to jail. I was told that if you have money on you over $5.00 you can't be charged with loitering and prowling. I just need some type of help on how to beet this case. In advance i greatly appreciate any help.
Thank you

[HomeGuru]

Originally Posted by Miami305

What is the name of your state? Florida

I was arrested the past weekend for Loitering and prowling, i have been arrested before on for graffiti, and i happened to have markers on me. I was with a friend of mine. We were not caught doing any graffiti so i guess the petty officers wanted to haul us off to jail. I was told that if you have money on you over $5.00 you can't be charged with loitering and prowling. I just need some type of help on how to beet this case. In advance i greatly appreciate any help.
Thank you

**A: nope, the law is that if you have money over $5 on you, you can't be charged with being broke. You can't beet this case, unles you a rastafarian vegetarian.

[BelizeBreeze]

Aside from number 2's idiotic responses, you have absolutely no case based on the facts (or lack thereof) that you supplied.

In Florida, the crime of loitering and prowling consists oftwo elements:
(1) the accused must loiter and prowl in a manner not usual for law abiding
individuals; and
(2) the loitering and prowling must be under circumstances that warrant concern for the public safety. See § 856.021(1), Fla. Stat.

And in case you think that you were not doing anything to arouse suspicion, think again.

[i]n Hardie v. State, 333 So. 2d 13 (Fla. 1976), the convicted defendant was observed at 2:55 a.m. rummaging through two separate cars at a closed gas station, but before he made any move to steal or attempt to steal the cars. In Bell v. State, 311 So. 2d 104, 110-11 (Fla.), cert. denied, 423 U.S. 1019, 96 S.Ct. 455, 46 L.Ed.2d 391 (1975), the convicted defendant was found hiding in the bushes at a private dwelling at 1:20 a.m., but before he made any move to break into or attempt to break into the dwelling. In In re A.R., 460 So. 2d 1024 (Fla. 4th DCA 1984), the adjudicated juvenile was observed on two occasions standing on the sidewalk in a high-crime area watching traffic at 10:00-11:00 p.m. while his companion entered fenced car lots, peeked into car windows and tried car doors, but before the juvenile made an overt act to aid and abet his companion in the commission of any burglary.

And you can forget challenging the charge on constitutional grounds. The Florida Supreme Court has already spoken on this issue in CASE NO. SC02-2452:

The defendants contend that this statute authorizes police officers to use their unbridled discretion to arrest whomever they please. We disagree. This statute only authorizes an arrest where the person loitering or prowling does so under circumstances which threaten a breach of the peace or the public safety. While the statute might be unconstitutionally applied in certain situations, this is no ground for finding the statute itself unconstitutional.

Now number two, want to get the hell out of here before you're invited to leave with a boot in your brains?