IN THE INTEREST OF C.M., A CHILD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the evidence was insufficient to support the adjudication of delinquency for petit theft.
C.M. and his brother were observed in a grocery store, with the brother making a motion as if concealing an item, though nothing was seen. Cans of rav…
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LEHAN, Judge.
C.M. appeals from an adjudication of delinquency based upon the trial court’s finding that he was guilty of the crime of petit theft. We reverse because the evidence was insufficient to support the finding.
The facts are simple. C.M. was seen walking around a grocery store with his brother. In the canned goods section, a store employee observed C.M.’s brother make a motion as if he were putting something into his pants. The store employee, however, never saw anything in the brother’s hand. C.M. and his brother were later seen loitering in an area outside the store where several cans of ravioli and insect repellent were found. No one saw the appellant or his brother take anything from the store, nor were any goods from the store found on their persons.
Where the only proof of guilt is circumstantial, a conviction cannot be sustained unless the evidence is inconsistent with any reasonable hypothesis of innocence. Thomas v. State, 374 So. 2d 508 (Fla.1979); Davis v. State, 90 So. 2d 629 (Fla.1956). The hypothesis of innocence espoused by C.M. was that he and his brother went to the grocery store to get something to eat but left before purchasing anything because they didn’t have enough money. The evidence presented by the state is not inconsistent with the appellant’s explanation. Accordingly, the adjudication is reversed.
REVERSED.
DANAHY, A.C.J., and SCHOONOVER, J., concur.
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Cited By
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Jones v. State, 466 So. 2d 301 (Fla. 3d DCA 1985)…ceny conviction reversed); J.K. v. State, 448 So. 2d 71 (Fla. 3d DCA 1984) (state’s evidence linking juvenile to a school burglary and theft deemed insufficient; delinquency adjudication based on burglary and theft findings reversed); C.M. v. State, 434 So. 2d 5 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983) (state's evidence deemed insufficient to link juvenile to a shoplifting or to exclude a viable theory of innocence; delinquency adjudication based on a theft finding reversed); Owen v. State, 432 So. 2d 579 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983) (sta…
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A.M., III v. State, 440 So. 2d 478 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983)…ial evidence was not inconsistent with appellant’s reasonable hypothesis that someone else perpetrated the crime and, consequently, is not legally sufficient to sustain his adjudication. See Thomas v. State, 374 So. 2d 508 (Fla.1979); C.M. v. State, 434 So. 2d 5 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983). Indeed, none of the neighbors actually witnessed the burglary, observed the occupants of the suspicious-looking, yellow Volkswagen, or obtained the vehicle’s license number. No fingerprints or other physical evidence linking appe…
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Q.A.T. v. State, 500 So. 2d 259 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986)…ffense was unable to state that the defendant had the unpaid-for food in his possession when he left the store.1 We therefore hold that the evidence does not support the trial court’s finding of guilt, and we reverse the adjudication. C.M. v. State, 434 So. 2d 5 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983); see P.R. v. State, 389 So. 2d 1078 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980); cf. J.M. v. State, 292 So. 2d 398 (Fla. 3d DCA 1974) (evidence sufficient to support adjudication of delinquency where store security guard testified he observed juvenile tak…
Authorities Cited
- Hoyt Dan Davis v. State, 90 So. 2d 629 (Fla. 1956)
- Thomas v. State, 374 So. 2d 508 (Fla. 1979)