DANIEL BENITEZ, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the defendant's contentions regarding his sentence were without merit, affirming his convictions and sentences.
The defendant was convicted of cocaine trafficking and carrying a concealed firearm. He elected to be sentenced under the guidelines, but the trial co…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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SCHEB, Judge.
Defendant was adjudicated guilty of trafficking in cocaine and carrying a concealed firearm in violation of sections 893.135 and 790.01(2), Florida Statutes (1983). The trial court sentenced him to thirty years imprisonment with a fifteen-year mandatory sentence and a $250,000 fine on the trafficking conviction and imposed a concurrent five-year sentence on his conviction for carrying a concealed firearm.
Defendant contends that it is unclear whether the trial court imposed a guidelines or nonguidelines sentence. If the sentence was imposed under the guidelines, defendant contends that the court erred in departing from the recommended sentence.
The record reveals that defendant elected, in writing, to be sentenced under the guidelines as was his privilege, since the offense for which he was prosecuted occurred prior to October 1, 1983. See In re Rules of Criminal Procedure, 439 So. 2d 848, 849 (Fla.1983). The record discloses that the trial court sentenced defendant under the guidelines after reviewing the scoresheet. Further, the record shows that the trial judge articulated clear and convincing reasons for his departure from the guidelines: the amount of cocaine involved and the use and involvement of a weapon. See Mitchell v. State, 458 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Fleming v. State, 456 So. 2d 1300 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984); Garcia v. State, 454 So. 2d 714 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). The sentences imposed are permitted under sections 893.135(1)(b)(3) and 775.082(3)(d), Florida Statutes (1983).
Accordingly, we find no merit to defendant’s contentions and affirm his convictions and sentences.
RYDER, C.J., and HALL, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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Cited By
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Mullen v. State, 483 So. 2d 754 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986)…crime is committed. Brown v. State, 480 So. 2d 225 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985). The quantity of drugs involved in a crime has also been held to be a [*756] proper reason for departure even though it is an element of the convicted offense. Benitez v. State, 470 So. 2d 734 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); Mitchell v. State, 458 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). The second reason for departure considers Mullen’s prior convictions for drug possession which were too remote in time to be calculated in the scoresheet. Recent decisions by…
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Atwaters v. State, 495 So. 2d 1219 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)…upport departure in this case. We disagree. Reasons a) and b), which are essentially one reason — a large quantity of drugs — may constitute an appropriate reason for departure. Mitchell v. State, 458 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984); Benitez v. State, 470 So. 2d 734 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985); Mullen v. State, 483 So. 2d 754 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986). In State v. Villalovo, 481 So. 2d 1303 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986), the court allowed a downward departure from the recommended guidelines sentence based upon the small amount of contra…
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Stanley v. State, 507 So. 2d 1131 (Fla. 5th DCA 1987)…2d 239 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Miller v. State, 492 So. 2d 1191 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986); Fletcher v. State, 491 So. 2d 354 (Fla. 5th DCA), review denied, 500 So. 2d 545 (Fla.1986); Yost v. State, 489 So. 2d 131 (Fla. 5th DCA 1986). . See Benitez v. State, 470 So. 2d 734 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 479 So. 2d 117 (Fla.1985); Irwin v. State, 479 So. 2d 153 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985), review denied, 488 So. 2d 830 (Fla.1986); Pastor [*1133] v. State, 498 So. 2d 962 (Fla. 4th DCA 1986); Birchfield v. State, 497 So. 2d 944, 9…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- In re Rules of Criminal Procedure (sentencing Guidelines), 439 So. 2d 848 (Fla. 1983)
- Onelia Garcia and Matthew Lee Wilson v. State, 454 So. 2d 714 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
- Mitchell v. State, 458 So. 2d 10 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
- Fleming v. State, 456 So. 2d 1300 (Fla. 2d DCA 1984)