was likely to be destined for use (or to have recently been used) by a non-skiing robber, very possibly an armed robber. Accordingly, Officer Callis was justified in looking in the bag under the ski mask for weapons. Terry v. Ohio, supra, 392 U.S. at 27, 88 S.Ct. at 1883; see Michigan v. Long, supra note 8, 463 U.S. at 1046-1051, 103 S.Ct. at 3479-3482 (search for weapons in leather pouch under front seat armrest justified after officers saw a large knife on floor next to driver's seat); Marbury v. United States, supra, 540 A.2d at 116 (frisk of driver permissible because, inter alia, police noticed large bulge in his waistband); United States v. Thomas, supra note 8 (furtive movement by passenger upon approach of police officers justified protective search of area surrounding passenger's seat); United States v. Green, 151 U.S.App.D.C. 35, 465 F.2d 620 (1972) (furtive movement by driver upon approach of police officers justified protective search under driver's seat); see also, e.g., State v. Thompson, 348 So.2d 618 (Fla.App. 1977) (probable cause for arrest established by, inter alia, two ski masks in plain view on front seat of car in Florida in the month of June); City of St. Paul v. Johnson, 288 Minn. 519, 179 N.W.2d 317 (1970) (two men entered store while wearing ski masks in relatively mild weather, left after a purchase, and were later found hiding in a car; arrest and search upheld as based on probable cause for officer, who followed them from the store, to believe that he had interrupted an attempted robbery). We note that several federal circuits are in agreement that suspicious behavior can support police intervention even if some innocent explanations for it cannot be ruled out.
eption" — recognized both in the federal interpretations of the Fourth Amendment as well as in the case law in our own state — authorizes police to "search an automobile and the containers within it where they have probable cause to believe contraband or evidence is contained." Acevedo, 500 U.S. at 580, 111 S.Ct. 1982; State v. Betz, 815 So.2d 627, 631 (Fla. 2002); Myers v. State, 546 So.2d 754, 755 (Fla. 3d DCA 1989) (concluding that probable cause existed to seize revolver observed through car window under driver's seat after occupant exited vehicle and was arrested for traffic violation); State v. Poole, 496 So.2d 224, 225 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986) (holding that probable cause existed under "automobile exception" to seize gun observed protruding from under driver's seat after the defendant's arrest where officers, acting on a tip that the defendant was carrying a weapon, observed the defendant, who exercised control over both the car and gun, put something in car and walk away from it); State v. Thompson, 348 So.2d 618 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977) (finding that probable cause existed to seize object observed by police to have been placed under seat of car prior to occupant exiting vehicle and being arrested). See generally Phillip A. Hubbart, Making Sense of Search and Seizure Law: A Fourth Amendment Handbook, 310-13 (2005).
Men wearing masks at 5 a.m. in the morning, acting furtively and watching a 7-Eleven store would appear to furnish probable cause to arrest for attempted robbery or conspiracy to commit robbery.See People v. Terrell, 110 Ill.App.3d 1086, 66 Ill.Dec. 816, 443 N.E.2d 742 (1982) (affirming conviction for attempted armed robbery, where defendant was observed hiding in weeds of an empty lot about 25 feet from recently opened gas station, was seen wielding a gun, fled when police arrived and was found with black ladies' stockings in his pocket); Hampton v. State, 468 N.E.2d 1077 (Ind.Ct.App. 1984) (holding evidence sufficient to support conviction for attempted robbery where defendant parked his car near restaurant building next to a busy highway, hid in the bushes attempting to avoid light from passing cars and was found wearing a ski mask which could be pulled down over his face, even though defendant did not enter restaurant or accost employees); see also State v. Thompson, 348 So.2d 618 (Fla. 4th DCA 1977); City of St. Paul v. Johnson, 288 Minn. 519, 179 N.W.2d 317 (1970). We note that by statute, wearing a mask has been made a misdemeanor of the second degree under certain circumstances.