A simple traffic stop in Manatee County, Florida, has resulted in an eight-year prison sentence for a woman caught with fentanyl and cocaine. The case began in 2019 when a police officer pulled over Tamara Jeanette Cadet because she had a glowing blue Uber sign on her dashboard.

The Traffic Stop

The officer didn’t stop her for speeding or running a red light. Instead, the stop was made because the illuminated sign is prohibited under Florida’s vehicle code, which strictly prohibits civilian vehicles from displaying blue lights, reserving them almost entirely for police and specific correctional vehicles.

After walking up to the car, the officer smelled marijuana, which gave police the right to search the vehicle. They soon found fentanyl and cocaine hidden inside the center console. Cadet eventually pleaded no contest to trafficking in fentanyl and possessing cocaine with intent to sell, and a judge handed down an eight-year prison sentence.

The Appeal

Cadet later appealed the decision, arguing that the police never had a valid reason to pull her over in the first place. Her defense claimed the glowing Uber sign didn’t actually count as a prohibited lamp or device under Florida’s vehicle code, suggesting the state never intended to ban rideshare drivers from using signs that help riders safely identify their cars.

However, the Second District Court of Appeal rejected that argument and upheld her conviction. The court ruled that the state statute broadly and intentionally captures any equipment that “shows” or “displays” blue light visible from the front of the vehicle. Because the sign violated this rule, the officer had clear probable cause to initiate the traffic stop, making the subsequent drug discovery fully legal and admissible in court.

Original reporting: Tampa Free Press — read the source article.