“Just Hiding From the Cops”: Why Being Suspicious (or Skipping School) Is Not a Crime

By: John Guidry

Many folks live with a constant fear of police abuse. From what I’ve seen over the years, that fear is completely understandable. There are several ways law enforcement abuses citizens.

• The Subtle: The “I smell weed” routine. (This has never happened to my 98-year-old grandpa, who is shockingly still driving, but it happens to my teenage clients constantly).
• The Catch-All: The “Loitering and Prowling” arrest.

The Problem: Most judges are suspicious of loitering cases. As one court put it, the statute is not to be used as a “catchall” when police lack the evidence to arrest you for a real crime. Let’s look at a case where the police tried to turn “skipping school” into a criminal conviction.

Did the police arrest you just because you looked “out of place”?

Suspicion is not a crime. Call John today at (407) 423-1117.

The Case: C.C. v. State (The Backpack & The Bushes)

The case is C.C. v. State, 137 So. 3d 466 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014).

• The Scene: It was 10:00 AM on a school day. An officer saw juveniles walking down the street who should have been in class.
• The BOLO: He broadcast a “Be On the Lookout” for two black males wearing black t-shirts (stupid in the Florida sun, but not a crime).
• The Evasion: When the kids saw the cops, they dropped their backpacks in some bushes and hid behind a truck.
• The Arrest: The “super sleuth” officers found them and arrested them for Loitering and Prowling.
• The Search: After the arrest, they searched the backpacks and found a pry bar (burglary tool).

The Trial: The State used the pry bar to prove that the kids were up to no good. C.C. was convicted.

The Ruling: You Can’t Use “After-the-Fact” Evidence

The Appeals Court overturned the conviction. Why? Because Loitering and Prowling has two specific elements:

1. Aberrational Behavior: Loitering in a place/time/manner not usual for law-abiding individuals.
2. Immediate Alarm: The behavior must cause a justifiable and reasonable alarm for the safety of persons or property.

The Fatal Flaw: The Court ruled that the crime must be completed prior to any police action.

• The Pry Bar: The pry bar was found after the arrest. Therefore, it could not be used to justify the officer’s alarm before the arrest.
• The Hiding: Hiding behind a truck during school hours suggests they were playing hooky (Truancy), not that they were about to burglarize a house. Truancy is not an “immediate threat to property.”

John’s 2026 Update: AI “Dwell Time” & Geofencing

Note: In 2014, a cop had to see you hiding. In 2026, the camera sees everything.

1. AI “Loitering” Detection (Gait Analysis) In 2026, smart cameras in parking lots and school zones use “Dwell Time” algorithms.

• The Tech: If you stand in one spot for more than 5 minutes without entering a building, the AI flags you as “Loitering” and dispatches police.
• The Defense: We argue that an algorithm cannot determine “Alarm.” Standing still waiting for an Uber is not a threat to property, no matter what the computer says.

2. Digital Truancy (Geofencing) In C.C., the cop knew they were skipping school because he saw them.

• The 2026 Reality: Students’ school-issued iPads or IDs often act as Geofence Trackers. If the device leaves the school zone during class hours, it alerts the School Resource Officer (SRO) automatically.
• The Impact: Police don’t need to “patrol” for truants anymore; they just go where the GPS dot tells them. However, just like in C.C., being off-campus is a status offense, not a criminal threat to property.

3. The “Retroactive” Probable Cause Trap Police still try to fix bad arrests with evidence found later.

• The Tactic: They arrest you for Loitering, find a vape pen in your pocket, and then say, “Actually, I arrested him for the vape.”
• The Defense: We use Body Cam timestamps to prove the Loitering arrest happened before the search. If the Loitering arrest was bad (no immediate alarm), the search was bad, and the vape gets suppressed.

Don’t Let Them Use Loitering as a “Catch-All”

If the police stopped you just because they “had a feeling,” that is not enough. The law requires “Immediate Alarm,” not just curiosity.

Call me at (407) 423-1117. Let’s suppress the stop.

About John Guidry II

John Guidry II is a seasoned criminal defense attorney and founder of the Law Firm of John P. Guidry II, P.A., located in downtown Orlando next to the Orange County Courthouse, where he has practiced for over 30 years. With more than three decades of experience defending clients throughout Central Florida since 1993, Guidry has successfully defended thousands of cases in Orange, Seminole, Osceola, Brevard, Lake, and Volusia counties. He has built a reputation for his strategic approach to criminal defense, focusing on pretrial motions and case dismissals rather than jury trials.

Guidry earned both his Juris Doctorate and Master of Business Administration from St. Louis University in 1993. He is a member of the Florida Bar and the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. His practice encompasses the full spectrum of Florida state criminal charges, with a particular emphasis on achieving favorable outcomes through thorough pretrial preparation and motion practice.

Beyond the courtroom, Guidry is a prolific legal educator who has authored over 400 articles on criminal defense topics. He shares his legal expertise through his popular YouTube channel, Instagram, and TikTok accounts, where he has built a substantial following of people eager to learn about the law. His educational content breaks down complex legal concepts into accessible information for the general public.

When not practicing law, Guidry enjoys tennis and pickleball, and loves to travel. Drawing from his background as a former recording studio owner and music video producer in the Orlando area, he brings a creative perspective to his legal practice and continues to apply his passion for video production to his educational content.