THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
GAIL ROMEIS DAVIS, APPELLEE
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Florida appeals the dismissal of a kidnapping charge against Gail Davis for confining a five-year-old child to facilitate a robbery. The court reverses, holding that moving the child from a semi-public waiting room to a private examining room where jewelry was stolen constituted an imprisonment with independent significance sufficient to support a separate kidnapping charge.
The court held that the movement of the child from the semi-public area to the private examining room may be found to constitute an imprisonment with independent significance and not merely inconsequential to the taking, thereby supporting a separate charge of kidnapping.
[1] A confinement may constitute kidnapping when it is against the victim's will and not inconsequential, having significance independent of the underlying felony.
[2] Moving a victim from an open area to a secluded one can establish kidnapping if it makes the crime substantially easier to commit and reduces the risk of detection.
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Establishes the court's holding that the movement itself constitutes sufficient basis for kidnapping charge
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe defendant took a five-year-old child from a semi-public waiting room of a doctor's office to a private examining room, where she took jewelry from…
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, Florida Statutes (1993), by confining the five-year-old victim to facilitate the commission of a robbery.2 We reverse because, contrary to the decision below, the showing that the defendant took the child from an at least semi-public waiting room to a private examining room of a doctor’s office, where she took jewelry from the child, may be found to have constituted an imprisonment (by definition, against the will of the child, § 787.01(l)(b), Fla.Stat. (1993); Lafleur v. State, 661 So. 2d 346 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)) which was not “inconsequential” and had “significance independent” of the taking so as to support the separate charge of kidnapping. See Faison v. State, 426 So. 2d 963, 965-66, (Fla.1983), aff'g, 399 So. 2d 19, 21 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981) (kidnapping established because movements of victim from open area to secluded one made crime substantially easier to commit and reduced risk of detection); Black v. State, 630 So. 2d 609 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993), review denied, 639 So. 2d 976 (Fla.1994); Tutt v. State, 620 So. 2d 1110 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993); Gay v. State, 607 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992), review denied, 620 So. 2d 760 (Fla.1993); Rodriguez v. State, 558 So. 2d 211 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990).
. 787.01 Kidnapping; kidnapping of child under age 13, aggravating circumstances
(l)(a) The term "kidnapping” means forcibly, secretly, or by threat confining, abducting, or imprisoning another person against his will and without lawful authority, with intent to:
* * * * *
2. Commit or facilitate commission of any felony.
.
COUNT 2
And the aforesaid Assistant State Attorney, under oath, further information makes that GAIL ROMEIS DAVIS on or about DECEMBER 08, 1994, in the County and State aforesaid, without lawful authority did then and there forcibly, secretly, or by threat, confine, abduct or imprison another person, to wit: T.D. (A MINOR) against that person's will and/or said victim being under the age of thirteen (13) years and said confinement was without the consent of said victim’s parent or legal guardian, with the intent to commit or facilitate the commission of any felony, to wit: ROBBERY, in violation of s. 787.01, Fla. Stat., contrary to the form of the Statute in such cases made and provided, and against the peace and dignity of the State of Florida.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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LEE v. State, 770 So. 2d 231 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000)…e the confinement, abduction or imprisonment required to establish any form of kidnapping. § 787.01(l)(a), Fla. Stat. (1999). See Faison v. State, 399 So. 2d 19, 20-21 n. 2 & 3 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981), approved, 426 So. 2d 963 (Fla.1983); State v. Davis, 668 So. 2d 323 (Fla. 3d DCA 1996); cf. Simpkins v. State, 395 So. 2d 625 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). Accordingly, the convictions under review are affirmed. As the parties agree, however, the defendant’s sentence as a violent career criminal is vacated in accordance wit…
Authorities Cited
- Faison v. State, 426 So. 2d 963 (Fla. 1983)
- Black v. State, 630 So. 2d 609 (Fla. 1st DCA 1993)
- Hollice Lafleur v. State, 661 So. 2d 346 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)
- Stevens v. State, 399 So. 2d 19 (Fla. 3d DCA 1981)
- GAY v. State, 607 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 1st DCA 1992)
- Rodriguez v. State, 558 So. 2d 211 (Fla. 3d DCA 1990)
- Cordell Tutt v. State, 620 So. 2d 1110 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993)