Court of Appeals allows ‘Pill mill’ evidence obtained by local sheriff’s deputy

TALLAHASSEE - State prosecutors recently strengthened their case against several defendants accused of running a “pill mill” in Vero Beach. The Fourth District Court of Appeals overturned an earlier ruling and found police work done by a local sheriff’s deputy outside his jurisdiction was admissible.

The order usurps Circuit Court Judge Cynthia Cox’s earlier determination that Maj. Eric Flowers, then a narcotics detective with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office, was acting out of bounds when he secured search warrants for defendants’ property in Broward and Palm Beach counties.

Florida statute has no requirement that someone who applies for a warrant be an officer of the law, therefore jurisdiction is not relevant, opined Judge Spencer Levine. Appeals Court Justices Burton Conner and Alan Forst concurred.

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