WILLIAM N. VICKERY, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed consecutive mandatory minimum sentences imposed for cocaine trafficking and conspiracy, finding these offenses constituted a single criminal episode and thus were not sufficiently distinct to warrant consecutive sentences under Florida law.
Consecutive mandatory minimum sentences for cocaine trafficking and conspiracy offenses must be vacated because these offenses arose from a single transaction involving the same contraband and were not sufficiently distinct to warrant consecutive sentences. The cannabis offense, however, was sufficiently separate and distinct to permit a consecutive mandatory term.
[1] Consecutive mandatory minimum sentences may not be imposed for multiple offenses arising from a single criminal episode.
[2] Offenses of trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, stemming from the same transaction and involving the same contraband, are not sufficiently distinct to warra…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the offenses of trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine arose from a single transaction involving the same contraband. These offenses were not sufficiently distinct to permit consecutive mandatory sentences.”
Establishes the core holding that offenses from the same transaction cannot receive consecutive mandatory sentences
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant met with undercover law enforcement for a cocaine transaction at a motel, with negotiations in the parking lot and consummation in a motel r…
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WENTWORTH, Judge.
Appellant seeks review of consecutive mandatory minimum sentences which were imposed pursuant to section 893.135, Florida Statutes, for trafficking in cocaine, conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, and conspiracy to traffic in cannabis. Because the cocaine offenses constituted a single criminal episode and were neither separate nor distinct, consecutive mandatory minimum sentences should not have been imposed for both of these offenses.
In accordance with a prior arrangement appellant and two companions were met by undercover law enforcement personnel for a cocaine transaction at a motel. Negotiations occurred in the motel parking lot and the participants consummated the transaction inside a motel room. Plans were also made for a later cannabis transaction. Appellant and his companions were arrested and after a jury trial appellant was convicted of conspiracy to traffic in cannabis and both trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine. Consecutive mandatory minimum sentences were imposed pursuant to section 893.135, Florida Statutes, for each offense.
In Palmer v. State, 438 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1983), the Florida Supreme Court declined to permit consecutive mandatory minimum sentences for multiple offenses which occurred during a single criminal episode. The court later indicated in State v. En-mund, 476 So. 2d 165 (Fla.1985), that consecutive mandatory terms may be imposed for multiple offenses which are separate and distinct. See also, Murray v. State, 491 So. 2d 1120 (Fla.1986); State v. Thomas, 487 So. 2d 1043 (Fla.1986); compare Wilson v. State, 467 So. 2d 996 (Fla.1985); State v. Ames, 467 So. 2d 994 (Fla.1985).
While these cases addressed the imposition of mandatory minimum sentences for the possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, the rationale expressed is likewise applicable to mandatory minimum sentences imposed pursuant to section 893.-135 for trafficking in contraband narcotics.
We find that the cannabis offense in the present case is sufficiently separate and distinct from the other offenses to permit a consecutive mandatory term of imprisonment.
However, the offenses of trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine arose from a single transaction involving the same contraband. These offenses were not sufficiently distinct to permit consecutive mandatory sentences. In accordance with Palmer, supra, the mandatory minimum sentences for the cocaine offenses should be concurrent.
The consecutive mandatory minimum sentences for the cocaine offenses are hereby vacated. The orders appealed are otherwise affirmed and the cause is remanded.
SMITH, C.J., and JOANOS, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By (12 total)
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Peoples v. State, 576 So. 2d 783 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)…when the multiple offenses for which sentences are imposed are committed during a single continuous episode.- Palmer v. State, 438 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1983). This rationale is applicable to sentences imposed pursuant to section 893.135. Vickery v. State, 515 So. 2d 396 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987). In Vickery, the defendant was found guilty of trafficking in cocaine, conspiracy to traffic in cocaine, and conspiracy to traffic in cannabis. The court found that the conspiracy to traffic in cannabis was sufficiently separate…
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McDONALD v. State, 564 So. 2d 523 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990)…pose only one three-year mandatory minimum sentence for all offenses arising from a single criminal episode. In that case, the defendant was charged with committing armed robbery against 13 different people simultaneously. Also, in Vickery v. State, 515 So. 2d 396 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987), this court followed the Palmer rationale and determined that consecutive mandatory minimum sentences could not be imposed pursuant to Section 893.135, Florida Statutes, for three drug offenses which occurred in a single criminal…
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Short v. State, 572 So. 2d 1007 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)…Because the offenses of trafficking and conspiracy to traffic in cocaine arose from a single criminal episode involving the same contraband, the offenses were “not sufficiently distinct to permit consecutive mandatory sentences.” Vickery v. State, 515 So. 2d 396 (Fla. 1st DCA 1987), citing Palmer v. State, 438 So. 2d 1 (Fla.1983). See McGouirk v. State, 493 So. 2d 1016 (Fla.1986) (consecutory mandatory minimum sentences improper for crimes arising out of single criminal episode). Compare Berrio v. State, 53…
Previewing 3 of 12 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Dean v. Publix Supermarkets, Inc., 438 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1983)
- Murray v. State, 491 So. 2d 1120 (Fla. 1986)
- State v. Thomas, 487 So. 2d 1043 (Fla. 1986)
- State v. Carney, 476 So. 2d 165 (Fla. 1985)
- State v. Enmund, 476 So. 2d 165 (Fla. 1985)
- Wilson v. State, 467 So. 2d 996 (Fla. 1985)
- THE Florida BAR v. Napier, 467 So. 2d 994 (Fla. 1985)
- State v. Ames, 467 So. 2d 994 (Fla. 1985)