VICENTE H. URIBE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 1992-04-03
No. 91-1540
PETERSON and GRIFFIN, JJ., concur.
596 So. 2d 768 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (1992) Positive Treatment
Cited by 4 cases

AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.

Synopsis

Vicente Uribe appealed a restitution order requiring him to pay $10,000 to Florida Farm Bureau for damages arising from a car accident he caused while driving without a valid license. The court reversed the restitution order, holding that restitution was improper because the offense of driving without a license (for which restitution was imposed) was disposed of without probation, and thus could not support a restitution condition.


Holding

The court reversed the restitution order, holding that restitution was improper because the misdemeanor charge of driving without a valid license was disposed of without probation, and thus could not support a restitution condition. The court also noted that under State v. Williams, leaving the scene of an accident would not support restitution for damages incurred in the accident itself.


Headnotes

[1] Restitution may not be ordered for damages not flowing directly or indirectly from the charged offenses.

[2] Restitution cannot be imposed on a misdemeanor offense for which the defendant has already served the sentence and is not on probation.

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Key Quotes

“the charge of driving with an invalid license was disposed of without probation. Uribe has served his 'sentence' on that offense. There is no probation on that charge on which to affix restitution.”

The court's primary holding that restitution cannot be imposed on a charge without an accompanying probation sentence.

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Facts & Procedural History

Uribe drove without a valid license and struck another vehicle driven by Deana Ray, causing her substantial injuries. He fled the scene. Uribe pleaded…

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Opinion of the Court
HARRIS, Judge.

HARRIS, Judge.

Vicente H. Uribe, while driving without a valid license, drove into the rear of a car being driven by Deana Ray causing her substantial injuries. Uribe fled the scene.

He was apprehended and pled nolo con-tendere to leaving the scene of an accident (a third degree felony) and driving without a valid license (a second degree misdemean-or). Uribe pled pursuant to an agreement that reserved the issue of restitution — both as to appropriateness and amount. On April 5, 1990, he was sentenced to three years probation on the felony and to time served on the misdemeanor. It appears in the record, although not mentioned in either brief, that Uribe some three weeks after his sentence agreed to an Order of Modification of Probation requiring him to:

Pay $25 to Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ray;

Pay restitution in the amount of $1074 to International Services Company; and

Pay restitution to Florida Farm Bureau for victim's medical expenses once restitution is determined.

Apparently the order was entered under the plea agreement’s reserved issue of restitution; however, there is no indication in the record that the court considered the appropriateness of restitution even though the defense had specifically reserved that issue. Although Uribe appears to have signed the order indicating his agreement, there is no indication that his attorney was aware that the order had even been presented to Uribe for signature. This order was not appealed and the record does not show that a copy of the executed order was even furnished to Uribe or his attorney.1

Subsequently — a year later — a formal restitution hearing was held. The previous order of modification was not mentioned. Defense counsel strongly urged that restitution was inappropriate because the damages did not flow, directly or indirectly, from the charged offenses. The court, acknowledging State v. Williams, 520 So. 2d 276 (Fla.1988), agreed that leaving the scene of an accident would not support restitution for damages incurred in the accident. The trial court did hold, however, that restitution would be proper based on the charge of driving without a license. The court reasoned that the offense — illegal driving — was at least indirectly related to the accident which caused the injuries and awarded $10,000 to Florida Farm Bureau which included $3,000 for medical expenses and $7,000 for pain and suffering. Even if the trial judge’s analysis is correct, the charge of driving with an invalid license was disposed of without probation. Uribe has served his “sentence” on that offense. There is no probation on that charge on which to affix restitution.2

A more interesting issue would be to what extent Uribe’s agreement to pay restitution under his felony probation (if indeed such an agreement was validly made) could change the Williams result. In other words, can one involved in criminal conduct that might justify cumulative and alternative charges agree to a negotiated plea which would allow restitution, proper under certain charges abandoned because of the plea agreement, to be attached to a charge that would not permit restitution in absence of the agreement?

Since it does not appear that either the state or the trial court relied on the first Order of Modification of Probation in their consideration of the restitution which is the subject of this appeal (thus the defense, even if aware of the previous order, had no reason to contest its validity), that issue is not before us.

Based on this record, the order requiring restitution in the amount of $10,000 to Florida Farm Bureau is reversed.

REVERSED.

PETERSON and GRIFFIN, JJ., concur. . It appears that Uribe signed the proposed order on May 30, 1990, probably at the probation office; the judge did not sign the order until June 12, 1990. The acknowledgement of service is blank.

. On remand, the trial court might wish to consider whether section 775.089(5), Florida Statutes (1991) is appropriate in this case.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Fykes v. State, 599 So. 2d 268 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
    …, concur. . The Fifth District recently posed a hypothetical question as to the validity of restitution, imposed by a plea agreement, which would not otherwise be proper except under charges abandoned pursuant to the plea agreement. Uribe v. State, 596 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 5th DCA 1992). This question appears to have been answered in G.H. v. State, 414 So. 2d 1135 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982) (restitution allowable based on plea agreement on leaving scene of accident charge where agreement includes state’s abandonment of…
  • Martinez v. Ass'n OF Poinciana & Liberty Mut., 642 So. 2d 118 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)
    …valuation ultimately failed to relate the claimant’s complaints to the industrial accident, the purpose for which such services are undertaken, rather than the results thereof, determines compensability. See Watkins v. Resources Property Management, 596 So. 2d 768 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992); Nealy v. City of West Palm Beach, 491 So. 2d 585 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Barris v. Toppers of Florida, 382 So. 2d 441 (Fla.1980). Because the medical evidence indicates that the diagnostic testing and evaluation at the Mayo Clinic…

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