THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
ARMANDO VALDES, APPELLEE
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The State of Florida appealed a trial court's order dismissing cocaine trafficking charges against Armando Valdes based on an entrapment defense. The appellate court reversed, holding that the state's traverse denying the defendant's factual allegations, supported by the informant's deposition, established a prima facie case sufficient to proceed to trial.
The trial court erred in granting the motion to dismiss. When the state files a traverse denying material facts alleged by the defendant and presents evidence contradicting those facts, the state is entitled to the most favorable construction of its traverse, and the court cannot resolve factual disputes or weigh credibility at the motion to dismiss stage. The state must be allowed to proceed to trial if it establishes even the barest prima facie case.
[1] A trial court errs in dismissing a criminal case when the state disputes material facts alleged by the defendant and presents evidence contradicting the defendant's claim…
[2] A motion to dismiss based on entrapment as a matter of law is improper when material facts are disputed.
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“[T]he state is entitled to the most favorable construction of its traverse, and it is improper for the court to determine factual issues and consider the weight of conflicting evidence or the credibility of witnesses.”
Establishes the standard of review for state's traverse to motion to dismiss—the court must accept the state's factual allegations in the traverse as true and cannot weigh evidence or credibility.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceArmando Valdes was charged with possession with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver cocaine, sale or delivery of a controlled substance, and traffi…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
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GODERICH, Judge.
The state appeals from the trial court’s order granting the defendant’s motion to dismiss. We reverse and remand.
The defendant, Armando Valdes, was charged by an information with possession with intent to sell, manufacture or deliver cocaine, with the sale or delivery of a controlled substance, and with trafficking in cocaine. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the charges on the ground that there were no material disputed facts and the undisputed facts allegedly established entrapment as a matter of law, and therefore, the facts did not establish a prima facie case of guilt against the defendant. The state filed a traverse and demurrer arguing that the defendant could not deny that he trafficked in cocaine and then claim entrapment. Additionally, the state presented the deposition of the police informant, Rafael Poo, who disputed all material allegations as set forth by the defendant in his motion to dismiss. The trial court granted the motion to dismiss. The state appeals.
In its traverse, the state specifically denied material facts which were alleged in the defendant’s motion to dismiss. “[T]he state is entitled to the most favorable construction of its traverse, and it is improper for the court to determine factual issues and consider the weight of conflicting evidence or the credibility of witnesses.” State v. Carda, 495 So. 2d 912, 914 (Fla. 3d DCA 1986) (citations omitted). “It is only when the state cannot establish even the barest bit of a prima facie case that it should be prevented from prosecution.” Carda, 495 So. 2d at 914 (quoting State v. Pentecost, 397 So. 2d 711, 712 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981)).
The trial court had before it the deposition of the police informant, who disputed all material allegations as set forth by the defendant in his motion to dismiss. Specifically, Poo stated in his deposition that the defendant was the one that initiated conversations involving the sale of cocaine to Poo and that the defendant provided the kilogram of cocaine that led to the defendant’s arrest. For these reasons, we find that the trial court erred in dismissing the instant case. The state should have been allowed to proceed to trial.
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings.
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