RAFAEL RODRIGUEZ, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the prosecution failed to establish all elements of conspiracy to deliver cocaine, as the defendant's involvement was minimal and not a consensual undertaking.
[1] A conspiracy conviction requires proof of a consensual undertaking between two or more individuals to commit a crime.
[2] Mere presence at the scene of a crime or knowledge of its commission is insufficient to establish participation in a conspiracy.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceRafael Rodriguez was arrested with Hebert Aloma, who sold cocaine to an informant. Rodriguez admitted to acting as a ride for Aloma, knowing Aloma int…
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FRANK, Chief Judge.
Rafael Rodriguez, and his co-defendant, Hebert Aloma were arrested at the Sea-breeze Restaurant where Aloma sold approximately 28 grams of cocaine to a confidential informant. Prior to the arrests, a Hillsbor-ough County Sheriffs detective observed Rodriguez and Aloma enter a parking lot adjacent to the restaurant. Aloma and Rodriguez exited the car and Aloma approached the confidential informant. Rodriguez, however, walked in a different direction toward a dock behind the restaurant. After the confidential informant gave a prearranged signal, Aloma and Rodriguez were arrested. Rodriguez was asked if he understood the purpose behind Aloma’s meeting with the informant and he acknowledged that he “knew [Aloma] came here to sell cocaine to someone else, and I’m just acting as a ride for him.” A search of Rodriguez revealed no drugs, money or weapons. He was charged with and convicted of conspiracy to deliver cocaine. He correctly contends that the prosecution failed to establish all the elements of the offense.
Although the record reveals that Aloma and the confidential informant planned this drug transaction, no evidence suggests that Rodriguez participated in its formulation or execution. Thus, at the most, Rodriguez’s involvement was limited to aiding and abetting Aloma’s drug trafficking, a crime, we hasten to add, with which Rodriguez was not charged. Where, as here, a defendant’s link to the criminal enterprise appears to have been minimal, and does not emerge as the product of a consensual undertaking, the elements of a conspiracy are not satisfied. See, e.g., Jimenez v. State, 535 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988); Pennington v. State, 526 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987), approved, 534 So. 2d 393 (Fla.1988); Ashenoff v. State, 391 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980).
Accordingly, the trial court erred in denying Rodriguez’s motion for judgment of acquittal. We reverse and remand for the entry of a judgment consistent with this opinion.
DANAHY and PATTERSON, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Myron Sheriff v. State, 780 So. 2d 920 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)…ne. This evidence, even when coupled with appellant’s post-arrest statement that Arroyo “knew what was going on,” was insufficient to establish a criminal conspiracy between Arroyo and appellant in this. trafficking offense. See Rodriguez v.. State, 643 So. 2d 111 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994)(evidence that defendant drove drug dealer to arranged place of sale knowing that dealer planned to make sale insufficient to show conspiracy); Castillo v. State, 590 So. 2d 458 (Fla. 3d DCA 1991)(evidence that defendant rode in ve…
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Racheal Gould v. State, 251 So. 3d 1034 (Fla. 5th DCA 2018)…vidence may be sufficient for a conviction of trafficking based on aiding and abetting her boyfriend, it is insufficient to prove a prior agreement or that Gould participated either expressly or impliedly in any preplanning. See Rodriquez v. State , 643 So. 2d 111, 111 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (holding that evidence of defendant's actions as driver and knowledge of drug deal were insufficient to prove conspiracy); Gray v. State , 526 So. 2d 1020, 1021 (Fla. 5th DCA 1988) (holding there was no conspiracy when there…
Authorities Cited
- Campos v. Dade Cnty. Sch. Bd. & Gallagher Bassett Ins. Serv., 391 So. 2d 289 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980)
- State v. Pennington, 534 So. 2d 393 (Fla. 1988)
- Emilio Jimenez v. State, 535 So. 2d 343 (Fla. 2d DCA 1988)
- Pennington v. State, 526 So. 2d 87 (Fla. 4th DCA 1987)