STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
WILLIAM LLOYD DREYER, APPELLEE; WILLIAM LLOYD DREYER, APPELLANT, V. STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The Florida District Court of Appeal consolidated two criminal appeals involving William Lloyd Dreyer's convictions for uttering forged instruments and other offenses. The court reversed his two uttering convictions due to the state's failure to prove venue, and reversed his sentences for the remaining offenses because the trial court imposed a downward departure without written reasons.
The court reversed the two uttering convictions because the state failed to prove venue in Pinellas County, as the victim's testimony established delivery occurred in Hillsborough County. The court also reversed the sentences for the remaining offenses and remanded for resentencing because the guidelines at the time of the offenses did not provide a permitted range, requiring written reasons for any downward departure.
[1] Venue for the crime of uttering a forged instrument is established where the instrument is received by the person to whom it is delivered, not where it is delivered by th…
[2] A conviction for uttering a forged instrument must be reversed if the state fails to prove venue in the county where the prosecution is brought.
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 crime of uttering a forged instrument is not complete until the paper comes to the hands of some one other than the accused; until it is received by the person to whom it is delivered.”
Establishes the legal test for venue in uttering forgery cases—the place of delivery/receipt determines venue.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceDreyer was charged with grand theft, two counts of forgery, and two counts of uttering a forged instrument for offenses occurring between July 22 and …
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PER CURIAM.
We consolidate these two appeals on our own motion. The defendant, William Lloyd Dreyer, was convicted of several offenses but appeals only his two convictions for uttering forged instruments. We reverse those convictions because the state failed to prove the issue of venue. The state challenges the defendant’s sentences, which are downward departures from the sentencing guidelines. Because the guidelines did not provide a permitted range as well as a recommended range at the time of these offenses, we reverse the remaining offenses for resentencing within the guidelines.
Mr. Dreyer was charged with grand theft, two counts of forgery, and two counts of uttering a forged instrument. All offenses occurred between July 22 and September 24,1987. He pleaded no contest to the grand theft charge, and a jury found him guilty of the forgery and uttering charges.
The trial court sentenced the defendant for all offenses on August 30, 1990. Al though the recommended guidelines range for these offenses was 3½ to 4¾⅛ years’ imprisonment, Mr. Dreyer received 2½ years’ imprisonment, to be followed by 2½ years’ probation for the grand theft conviction. For each of the two forgery convictions, he also received 2V2 years’ imprisonment, concurrent with the grand theft sentence. He received concurrent 5-year terms of probation for the two uttering convictions, consecutive to the probationary term ordered for the grand theft conviction. The trial court knew that these sentences were a downward departure and intended to file written reasons in the record to justify the departure. No written reasons were filed.
The defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on the uttering charges because the state failed to prove venue existed in Pinellas County. We agree. In Harrell v. State, 79 Fla. 220, 83 So. 922 (1920), the supreme court held that “[t]he crime of uttering a forged instrument is not complete until the paper comes to the hands of some one other than the accused; until it is received by the person to whom it is delivered.” 79 Fla. at 230, 83 So. at 925. In this case, the state’s only evidence concerning venue was the testimony of the victim. This evidence established that the defendant delivered the forged instruments to the victim in Hillsborough County, not Pinellas County. Accordingly, venue did not exist in Pinellas County, and the trial court erred in denying defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal on these charges. Therefore, we reverse and vacate Mr. Dreyer’s convictions and sentences for the two counts of uttering a forged instrument. Because of this disposition, we do not address his remaining point on appeal.
The state contends that the trial court erred in departing downward one cell from the recommended guidelines sentencing range without providing written reasons. At the time the defendant committed these offenses in 1987, the guidelines did not include a permitted range. Thus, the trial court could not depart one cell from the recommended range without providing written reasons. See Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701(d)8; ch. 88-131, § 1, Laws of Fla. Because the trial court failed to provide written reasons for the downward departure from the recommended guidelines range, we reverse defendant’s sentences for grand theft and forgery, and remand for resentencing within the guidelines. State v. Cook, 571 So. 2d 22 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990).
FRANK, Acting C.J., and PATTERSON and ALTENBERND, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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State v. Percell J. Wise, 664 So. 2d 1028 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)…ring a forged instrument, found venue proper in the county where the forged instrument was received. The court opined the uttering was not complete until the forged instrument was received by the person to whom it was delivered. See State v. Dreyer, 594 So. 2d 327 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 605 So. 2d 1263 (Fla.1992). On the federal side, Congress has enacted 18 U.S.C. § 3237(a), a venue statute. This statute allows prosecution in the district where a crime began, continued or ended. In addition, any crim…
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State v. McMAHON, 605 So. 2d 544 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992)…years’ incarceration and permitted a range of four and one-half to nine years’ incarceration. The trial court erred when it did not provide written reasons for imposing a sentence which departed from the sentencing guidelines. See State v. Dreyer, 594 So. 2d 327 (Fla. 2d DCA), juris, accepted, 599 So. 2d 655 (Fla.1992); State v. Cook, 571 So. 2d 22 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990). When a trial court fails to provide written reasons for departure, upon remand it must resentence the defendant to a guidelines sentence. Owe…
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Jackson v. State, 37 So. 3d 370 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010)…Hillsbor-ough County. Because the evidence failed to prove that Jackson committed trafficking by possession in the charged venue of Hillsbor-ough County, the trial court erred when denying his motion for judgment of acquittal. See State v. Dreyer, 594 So. 2d 327, 328 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992) (holding that trial court erred in denying motion for judgment of acquittal when State failed to prove venue). Therefore, we reverse the conviction for trafficking, but we note that Jackson may be retried in the proper ven [*…
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
- Hamilton Harrell v. State, 79 Fla. 220 (Fla. 1920)
- State v. Mychel Marie Cook, 571 So. 2d 22 (Fla. 2d DCA 1990)