KEITH WALLACE, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the trial court erred by refusing to instruct the jury on reckless driving as a lesser included offense of aggravated assault.
Wallace was fleeing police, entered his car, and drove it directly towards officers. He requested a jury instruction on reckless driving as a lesser i…
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PER CURIAM.
Keith Wallace appeals from convictions of two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and one count of resisting an officer without violence. Based upon the particular facts in this case, we reverse.
The evidence shows that Wallace was attempting to flee from police when he entered his car, maneuvered it from its parking space, and drove it directly towards the officers standing in his path. At trial, Wallace requested that the jury be instructed on the charge of reckless driving as a permissible lesser included offense of the aggravated assault charges; this request was denied. The trial court did give an instruction on simple assault as a lesser included offense.
The trial court’s failure to give the requested instruction on reckless driving as a permissible lesser included offense was error. LaValley v. State, 633 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 5th DCA 1994) (a charge on a lesser included offense is to be given when the pleadings and evidence show that offense is included within the charged offense). We find that this case falls in line with LaValley: reckless driving can be a lesser included offense of aggravated assault. The allegation within the information that Wallace intentionally drove his car in such a way as to threaten the officers was “sufficient to include the willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others” necessary to establish reckless driving. LaValley, 633 So. 2d at 1127-28.
Reversed and remanded for a new trial.
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Emerson J. Pinkney v. State, 74 So. 3d 572 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011)…n an attempt to elude apprehension are quintessential examples of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer. See, e.g., Williams v. State, 597 So. 2d 377 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992); Nelson v. State, 753 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 3d DCA 2000); Wallace v. State, 688 So. 2d 429 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997); McGee v. State, 687 So. 2d 22 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996); Mitchell v. State, 611 So. 2d 1269 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992).…
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Piggott v. State, 140 So. 3d 666 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014)…re such that the lesser included offense of reckless driving cannot help but be perpetrated once the greater offense of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon has been committed when the alleged deadly weapon is an automobile. Cf. Wallace v. State, 688 So. 2d 429, 429-30 (Fla. 3d DCA 1997) (allegation within an aggravated assault charge that the defendant intentionally drove his car in such a way as to threaten officers was sufficient to include the willful and wanton disregard for the safety of others neces…
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Anderson v. State, 291 So. 3d 531 (Fla. 2020)
Previewing 3 of 4 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Broughton v. State, 633 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)
- Gass v. Comreal Miami, Inc., 633 So. 2d 1126 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)