K.C., A JUVENILE, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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A juvenile was charged with petit theft and two counts of resisting a merchant's efforts to recover candy from a grocery store. The Florida Third District Court of Appeal affirmed the delinquency adjudication on all counts, rejecting the appellant's argument that the resisting merchant charges could not be brought until after conviction for the underlying theft.
The court affirmed the adjudication of delinquency on all counts. The evidence supported the petit theft conviction as every reasonable hypothesis of innocence had been excluded. The resisting merchant charges were properly brought and adjudicated because the trial court's finding that the juvenile committed the petit theft satisfied the statutory requirement that one must be guilty of the underlying theft to be convicted of resisting a merchant.
[1] A trial court's denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal is affirmed when the evidence supports the determination that every reasonable hypothesis but that of guilt h…
[2] A finding of guilt for petit theft satisfies the statutory requirement for conviction of resisting a merchant.
Previewing 2 of 4 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“the evidence supported the trial court's determination that every reasonable hypothesis but that of the juvenile's guilt had been excluded”
Establishes the legal standard for sufficiency of evidence in theft cases
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceK.C., a juvenile, took candy from a Winn Dixie grocery store. When two store employees attempted to recover the candy, the juvenile resisted their eff…
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HENDRY, Judge.
The juvenile appellant was charged by petition for delinquency with one count of petit theft for taking candy from a Winn Dixie grocery store, in violation of section 812.014(2)(c), Florida Statutes (1983), and two counts of resisting the efforts of two store employees to recover the candy, in violation of section 812.015(6), Florida Statutes (1983).1 He was adjudicated delinquent on all counts.
We affirm the delinquency order under review upon the following briefly stated legal analysis. As to the petit theft charge, we reject appellant’s contention that the court erred in denying the juvenile’s motion for a judgment of acquittal. While the juvenile’s and other witnesses’ versions of the events were conflicting, the evidence supported the trial court’s determination that every reasonable hypothesis but that of the juvenile’s guilt had been excluded. See R.A.S. v. State, 458 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984).
We also affirm the adjudication of delinquency for the two counts of resisting a merchant. The trial court’s finding that the juvenile had committed the charged act of petit theft satisfied the requirement of section 812.051(6) that in order to be convicted for resisting a merchant, one must be found guilty of the underlying theft. We are not persuaded by appellant’s argument on appeal that the motion for judgment of acquittal as to these counts should have been granted because the statute precludes the bringing of such charge until after a conviction for petit theft has been obtained.2 We recognize that two other district courts have taken this position. In the Interest of J.L.P., 490 So. 2d 85 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986) (affirming delinquency adjudication based on theft of bicycle pump, but remanding for dismissal of charge of resisting a merchant, holding that the statute required a finding of guilt on the theft charge before a defendant could be charged with resisting arrest); K.M.S. v. State, 402 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981) (failure of count charging juvenile with resisting a merchant to include element that juvenile was subsequently found to be guilty of theft of the subject merchandise entitled juvenile to granting of motion to dismiss).
Affirmed.
. Section 812.015(6) provides as follows:
An individual who resists the reasonable effort of a law enforcement officer, merchant, merchant’s employee ... to recover merchandise ... which the law enforcement officer, merchant, merchant's employee ... had probable cause to believe the individual had concealed or removed from its place of display or elsewhere and who is subsequently found to be guilty of theft of the subject merchandise ... is guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.-083, or s. 775.084, unless the individual did not know, or did not have reason to know, that the person seeking to recover the merchandise ... was a law enforcement officer, merchant, merchant’s employee....
(Emphasis supplied.)
. In moving the trial court for a judgment of acquittal as to the charges of resisting a merchant, the juvenile’s appointed counsel argued only that the state had failed to prove the petit theft charge, and thus, the motion should be granted.
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K.C. v. State, 524 So. 2d 658 (Fla. 1988)…PER CURIAM. We have for review K.C. v. State, 507 So. 2d 769 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987), which is in express and direct conflict with decisions of other district courts. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. The state charged K.C., a juvenile, with one count of petit theft for taking candy from a groc…
Authorities Cited
- In the Interest of K. M. S. v. State, 402 So. 2d 593 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)
- R.A.S. v. State, 458 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984)
- King v. State, 490 So. 2d 85 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986)