JOSHUA WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Joshua Williams appeals the denial of his motion to correct his sentence and scoresheet, challenging the trial court's reclassification of his second-degree murder conviction to a life felony based on firearm enhancement. The appellate court reverses the enhancement and remands for resentencing because the jury specifically found the firearm was not in Williams' physical possession, which is required for enhancement under Florida law.
The court reversed the reclassification of Williams' murder sentence to a life felony. A defendant's murder sentence cannot be enhanced under section 775.087(1) when the jury specifically finds that a firearm not in the defendant's physical possession was used, as personal possession of the weapon is required for enhancement.
[1] A defendant's sentence for a felony involving the use of a weapon cannot be enhanced under section 775.087(1), Florida Statutes, without evidence establishing the defenda…
[2] A jury's specific finding that a firearm was not in a defendant's physical possession during the commission of a crime precludes the reclassification of the conviction un…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Williams' murder sentence cannot be enhanced under section 775.087(1) where the jury specifically found 'a firearm not in his physical possession was used' in the course of committing the murder.”
States the core holding that sentence enhancement requires personal possession of the weapon.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceWilliams was charged with first-degree murder and two counts of armed robbery. A jury found him guilty of second-degree murder, attempted robbery with…
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PER CURIAM.
Joshua Williams (Williams) appeals the denial of his motion to correct his sentence and scoresheet pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a).
Williams was charged by indictment with committing one count of first-degree murder and two counts of armed robbery. A jury found him guilty of the lesser-ineluded offense of second-degree murder, the lesser-ineluded offense of attempted robbery with a firearm, and robbery with a firearm. On a special verdict form on each count, the jury expressly found “a firearm not in his physical possession was used.” Williams was sentenced to a total of 40 years imprisonment.1 Of the various issues raised in his rule 3.800(a) motion, we reverse on the issue of the trial court’s reclassification of his second-degree murder conviction, and affirm, without discussion, all remaining issues.
Williams’ second-degree murder conviction was reclassified from a first-degree felony punishable by life imprisonment to a life felony pursuant to the enhancement provisions of section 775.087(1), Florida Statutes (1989).2 §§ 782.04(2), 775.087, Fla.Stat. (1989).
Nevertheless, Williams’ murder sentence cannot be enhanced under section 775.087(1) where the jury specifically found “a firearm not in his physical possession was used” in the course of committing the murder. State v. Rodriguez, 602 So. 2d 1270, 1272 (Fla.1992) (“when a defendant is charged with a felony involving the ‘use’ of a weapon, his or her sentence cannot be enhanced under section 775.087(1) without evidence establishing that the defendant had personal possession of the weapon during the commission of the felony”). In view of the jury’s specific finding, the reclassification of Williams’ murder sentence to a life felony under the statute is improper.
Accordingly, we remand for resentencing on all counts, as correction of the enhancement error may affect the sentencing range under the scoresheet.
However, since the initial sentences were based upon an inaccurate scoresheet, we note that the trial court may consider the imposition of any sentence which would have otherwise been permissible at the initial sentencing hearing. See Roberts v. State, 547 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 1989).
WEBSTER, MICKLE and LAWRENCE, JJ., concur. . He was sentenced to 40 years imprisonment on the murder charge, 15 years imprisonment on the attempted robbery charge, and 40 years imprisonment on the robbery charge, all sentences to run concurrently.
. The enhancement presumably was done pursuant to subsection (1) of section 775.087 because subsection (2) expressly requires the defendant to have had a firearm in his possession and imposes a 3-year minimum mandatory term. The instant case meets neither requirement.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
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Connolly v. State, 172 So. 3d 893 (Fla. 3d DCA 2015)…ting Rodriguez for the proposition “that section 775.087(1) does not permit vicarious enhancement”); Clark v. State, 701 So. 2d 912 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997) (same; citing to Rodriguez, and Williams v. State, 622 So. 2d 456 (Fla.1993)); Williams v. State, 656 So. 2d 574, 575 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (holding murder sentence cannot be enhanced under section 775.087(1) where the jury specifically found “a firearm not in [defendant’s] physical possession was used” in the course of committing the murder); Robins v. State, 6…
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Raymundo Reyes v. State, 676 So. 2d 31 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996)…es a firearm or by answering a specific question of a special verdict form so indicating. State v. Overfelt, 457 So. 2d 1385, 1387 (Fla.1984) (quoting with approval Overfelt v. State, 434 So. 2d 945 (Fla. 4th DCA 1983)). See also Williams v. State, 656 So. 2d 574 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (remanding for correction of illegally enhanced sentence when jury made finding that defendant did not possess firearm). On remand, the trial court may again deny relief if it attaches the portions of the record that demonstrate…
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Ford v. State, 145 So. 3d 202 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014)…r (2) of section 775.087); Robins v. State, 602 So. 2d 1272 (Fla.1992) (stating “actual physical possession of a weapon during the commission of a crime is required for the offense to be reclassified under section 775.087(1)[.]”); Williams v. State, 656 So. 2d 574 (Fla. 1st DCA 1995) (reviewing an order denying a rule 3.800(a) motion and discussing that where a jury specifically finds that “ ‘a firearm not in [a defendant’s] physical possession was used’ in the course of committing” a murder, his sentence can…
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
- State v. Anibal Rodriguez, 602 So. 2d 1270 (Fla. 1992)
- Doyal Powell Roberts v. State, 547 So. 2d 129 (Fla. 1989)