EDWARD JAMES THOMAS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Edward James Thomas appeals convictions for burglary and grand theft arising from two residential break-ins on November 1, 1979. The First District Court of Appeal affirmed the convictions but vacated consecutive sentences for theft of a firearm and other property, holding that theft of multiple items in a single criminal episode constitutes one offense under Florida law, not multiple offenses subject to separate consecutive sentences.
First, the speedy trial clock began running when Thomas was arrested on September 2, 1980, not when he was questioned on November 29, 1979, while detained on unrelated charges; therefore he was brought to trial within the prescribed time period. Second, theft of a firearm and other property taken during the same criminal episode constitutes a single theft offense under Florida Statute Section 812.014, not separate offenses subject to separate consecutive sentences under Section 775.021(4).
[1] A defendant held in jail on unrelated charges is not considered "taken into custody" for speedy trial rule purposes when questioned about new charges.
[2] The time for speedy trial begins to run from the date of arrest on the charges for which the defendant is being tried.
Previewing 2 of 5 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We do not agree that appellant was taken into custody for purposes of the speedy trial rule on November 29, 1979, when he was questioned while being held on completely unrelated charges. The time began to run when he was arrested September 2, 1980, and therefore he was brought to trial within the time period prescribed in the speedy trial rule.”
Establishes that speedy trial period commences upon arrest for the specific charges, not upon interrogation while detained on unrelated charges.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThomas was questioned about two burglaries and thefts on November 29, 1979, while detained on unrelated charges in Duval County jail, and confessed. H…
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PER CURIAM.
Thomas appeals judgments and sentences for two incidents of burglary and second degree grand theft. Two informations were filed, one charging appellant with burglary and second degree grand theft with regard to the York residence, the second charging him with burglary and two counts of second degree grand theft with regard to the Whitmore residence. Both incidents occurred November 1, 1979. Two points are raised on appeal: (1) the trial court erred in denying appellant’s motion for discharge under the speedy trial rule; (2) the trial court erred in imposing separate consecutive sentences for theft of property valued at more than $100 but less than $20,000, and theft of a firearm, pursuant to the second information.
Appellant was questioned with regard to these incidents on November 29, 1979, at which time he confessed to the crimes. At the time, he was being held in the Duval County jail on unrelated charges. Appellant was not arrested on the instant charges until September 2, 1980, and the trial took place November 4, 1980. We do not agree that appellant was taken into custody for purposes of the speedy trial rule on November 29, 1979, when he was questioned while being held on completely unrelated charges. The time began to run when he was arrested September 2, 1980, and therefore he was brought to trial within the time period prescribed in the speedy trial rule. Wiggins v. State, 384 So. 2d 43 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980), and State v. N. B., 360 So. 2d 162 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978), cert. denied, 383 So. 2d 1199 (Fla.1980), on which appellant relies, are distinguishable. We affirm on the first point. See State v. Stanley, 399 So. 2d 371 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981); Giglio v. Kaplan, 392 So. 2d 1004 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981).
The second information charged appellant with two counts of grand theft. One of the counts charged appellant with taking from the Whitmore residence on November 1, 1975, property, specifically fishing equipment, electronic video equipment, a clock, silver coins, and savings bonds, valued at over $100 but less than $20,000, in violation of Section 812.014, Florida Statutes. Another count charged appellant with theft from the same person on the same date, of a firearm, in violation of Section 812.014, Florida Statutes. Appellant was convicted of both counts of grand theft and received five year sentences on each count, to be served consecutively.
Reference to the text of Section 775.-021(4), Florida Statutes, is required in order to place appellant’s second argument in context. That section provides:
Whoever, in the course of one criminal transaction or episode, commits an act or acts constituting a violation of two or more criminal statutes, upon conviction and adjudication of guilt, shall be sentenced separately for each criminal offense, excluding lesser included offenses, committed during said criminal episode, and the sentencing judge may order the sentences to be served concurrently or consecutively.
Appellant argues that the consecutive sentences for theft of property valued at over $100 and theft of a firearm were erroneous because all of the items, including the firearm, were taken during a single criminal incident and both crimes are enumerated in the same criminal statute, thus Section 775.021(4) does not authorize separate sentences. Appellant does not argue that 775.-021(4) is inapplicable because one of the offenses is a lesser included offense of the other. The determinative question, therefore, would seem to be whether the mandate of Section 775.021(4) extends to subsections of the same criminal statute.
There are cases which reveal that, under some circumstances, separate sentences have been imposed for violations of different provisions of the same criminal statute. For example, in Portee v. State, 392 So. 2d 314 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980), separate sentences for sale and possession of cannabis were approved, since possession was not a lesser included offense of sale in that case. Both sale and possession are proscribed in Section 893.13 Florida Statutes. Section 893.13(l)(a) prohibits the sale of cannabis and Section 893.13(l)(e) prohibits possession of cannabis. In a previous opinion, Fundak v. State, 362 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978), the Second District observed, in a footnote:
Section 775.021, Fla.Stat. (1977) requires separate sentencing for violation of two or more criminal statutes in the course of one transaction, excluding lesser included offenses. It would apply to the facts in the instant case because possession of marijuana was not a lesser included offense of sale of marijuana based upon the allegations in the information. Additionally, each of the two counts can be considered as arising out of a different statute because § 893.13(l)(a), Fla.Stat. (1977) and § 893.13(l)(e), Fla.Stat. (1977) are not interdependent. Each can be read to stand alone as a separate criminal violation.
Section 893.13(l)(a) and Section 893.13(l)(e) each contain a complete description of the offense, together with the applicable punishment. In contrast, the elements of the offense of theft are enumerated in Section 812.014(1). The subparts of Section 812.-014(2) serve to distinguish certain types of property for the purpose of determining the degree of the offense and the applicable punishment. A reading of Section 812.-014(2)(b)l or Section 812.014(2)(b)3 in isolation would not provide a complete description of the offense.1 Thus we are dealing with one offense, theft, as opposed to two distinct offenses, possession of cannabis and sale of cannabis. Section 775.021(4) does not apply to this situation to mandate separate sentences. Therefore, we agree with the view expressed by the Fifth District in Drakes v. State, 400 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981), and hold that theft of a firearm and other property at the same time constitutes a single theft offense. This result is consistent with the views expressed in Hearn v. State, 55 So. 2d 559 (Fla. 1951), and Joiner v. State, 382 So. 2d 1357 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980).
The state urges that a recent United States Supreme Court case, Albernaz v. United States, 450 U.S. 333, 101 S.Ct. 1137, 67 L.Ed.2d 275 (1981), should apply to authorize separate sentencing in this case. A careful reading of that case does not lead us to a different conclusion. In Albernaz, consecutive sentences had been given for conspiracy to distribute marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 846 and conspiracy to import marijuana in violation of 21 U.S.C. § 963. It was important to the decision that there were “separate offenses with separate penalty provisions that are contained in distinct subchapters of the Act.” 67 L.Ed.2d at 280. Unless distinct statutory provisions are involved, it is not appropriate to apply the legislative intent test of Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299, 52 S.Ct. 180, 76 L.Ed. 306 (1923). The Court in Albernaz did not repudiate the rationale of its decision in Braverman v. United States, 317 U.S. 49, 63 S.Ct. 99, 87 L.Ed. 23 (1942). On the contrary, it distinguished Braverman from the situation before it because the conspiracy in Braverman, although it had many objectives, violated only one criminal statute. The Braverman court had said:
Since the single continuing agreement, which is the conspiracy here, thus embraces its criminal objects, it differs from successive acts which violate a single penal statute and from a single act which violates two statutes. ... The single agreement is the prohibited conspiracy and however diverse its objects it violates but a single statute, § 37 of the Criminal Code. For such a violation, only the single penalty prescribed by the statute can be imposed. (Citations omitted)
On the theory that the theft in this case violated only a single distinct statute, we vacate the consecutive five-year sentence imposed for second degree grand theft of a firearm. Drakes, supra, cf. Williams v. State, 397 So. 2d 438 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981). In all other respects the judgments and sentences are
AFFIRMED.
McCORD and SHIVERS, JJ., and LILES, WOODIE A. (Retired) Associate Judge, concur. . We do not hold that under no circumstances can a defendant be convicted of more than one offense under Section 812.014(2)(b). The information and proof may show sufficient separation in time, place, and circumstances so that the taking of different items enumerated in that section constitutes separate criminal episodes. See Hearn v. State, 55 So. 2d 559 (Fla. 1951).
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Taylor v. State, 425 So. 2d 1191 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)…981); see § 812.014(2)(c), Fla.Stat. Appellant’s second point is that the theft of the “CB” and beer truck was one act, as opposed to two separate acts of theft, and that he could therefore only be sentenced to one charge of theft. Thomas v. State, 405 So. 2d 1015 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981); Getz v. State, 428 So. 2d 254 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982). We disagree. We consider the two charged offenses were sufficiently separated in time as to constitute two valid, separate offenses. As was recently explained in Castelberry v.…
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State v. Getz, 435 So. 2d 789 (Fla. 1983)…fteen years for the burglary, five years for the grand theft, and one day for the petit theft. The issue before this Court is the validity of the respondent's sentence for petit theft. The district court, relying on its decision in Thomas v. State, 405 So. 2d 1015 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), held that respondent’s sentence for petit theft must be vacated because both petit theft and grand theft of a firearm are defined in the same statute, section 812.014, Florida Statutes (1979). In Thomas, the district court inter…
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Wheeler v. State, 549 So. 2d 687 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)…of which refer directly or indirectly to Fletcher, the amendment was intended to allow separate convictions and sentences for violations of two offenses described in subparts of a single statute, avoiding results such as the one in Thomas v. State, 405 So. 2d 1015 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981), in which this court ruled that convictions and consecutive sentences for grand theft of property and for grand theft of a firearm stolen during the course of one burglary violated only a single distinct statute since the offense…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited (14 total)
- Blockburger v. United States, 284 U.S. 299 (U.S. 1932)
- Albernaz v. United States, 450 U.S. 333 (U.S. 1981)
- Braverman v. United States, 317 U.S. 49 (U.S. 1942)
- Hearn v. State, 55 So.2d 559 (Fla. 1951)
- Fundak v. State, 362 So. 2d 295 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)
- Portee v. State, 392 So. 2d 314 (Fla. 2d DCA 1980)
- Drakes v. State, 400 So. 2d 487 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)
- Carmine John Giglio v. Honorable Stanton S. Kaplan, 392 So. 2d 1004 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981)
- State v. Stanley, 399 So. 2d 371 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- Joiner v. State, 382 So. 2d 1357 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)