CHARLES ISHMAEL, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 1999-04-21
No. 98-04339
WHATLEY, A.C.J., and CASANUEVA and SALCINES, JJ„ Concur.
735 So. 2d 509 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (1999) Positive Treatment
Cited by 12 cases

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Synopsis

Charles Ishmael appealed an order denying his motion to correct an illegal sentence under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800. The court reversed in part regarding his habitual felony offender sentence for possession of cocaine, which is not subject to habitualization, but affirmed the denial regarding his sentence for sale of cocaine where a non-prohibited predicate offense was used.


Holding

The court reversed the trial court's denial of relief on the count one (possession of cocaine) habitual felony offender sentence because possession is not subject to habitualization and the claim was unrefuted. However, the court affirmed the denial of relief on count two (sale of cocaine) because one of the predicate offenses was for sale of cocaine, which is not proscribed by section 775.084(l)(a)(3).


Headnotes

[1] A motion to correct an illegal sentence under Rule 3.800(a) may be used to challenge a habitual felony offender sentence imposed on a defendant who does not qualify for s…

[2] A sentence for possession of cocaine is not subject to habitual felony offender sentencing if the offense is not preserved for review on direct appeal.

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Key Quotes

“Claims of this nature may be considered pursuant to rule 3.800(a). See Young v. State, 716 So.2d 280 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (holding habitual offender sentence for a defendant who does not qualify for habitual offender treatment is an illegal sentence subject to correction by rule 3.800(a)).”

Establishes that habitual offender sentences imposed on ineligible offenses can be reviewed and corrected through rule 3.800(a).

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Facts & Procedural History

Ishmael received two thirty-year habitual felony offender sentences: one for possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, and another for sal…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Charles Ishmael seeks review of an order that summarily denied his motion to correct an illegal sentence filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800. We affirm in part, reverse in part, and remand with directions. We reverse because the trial court failed to refute Ishmael’s claim that he was illegally sentenced as a habitual felony offender for possession of cocaine; in all other respects, we affirm the trial court’s order denying relief.

Ishmael received two thirty-year habitual felony offender sentences, one for possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver and the other for sale of cocaine. On direct appeal from his judgments and sentences, the State conceded Ishmael’s sentence on count one was illegal as an offense not subject to habitualization, but this court affirmed the trial court because the sentencing error was not preserved for review. See Ishmael v. State, 711 So. 2d 539 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (citing in its per curiam affirmance Middleton v. State, 689 So. 2d 304 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997)).

Ishmael argues in his motion that his habitual felony offender sentences on both counts are illegal, rearguing the issue raised on direct appeal as it applies to count one, and asserting that he did not qualify as a habitual felony offender on count two because both prior convictions used to habitualize him were violations of section 893.13, Florida Statutes (1995) for purchase or possession. He indicates that the offenses were committed after June 17, 1993, the effective date of an amendment to section 775.084, Florida Statutes (1993), which proscribes habitual felony offender sentencing for offenses relating to purchase or possession of a controlled substance. This amendment forbids the use of more than one purchase or possession conviction as the predicate offenses necessary for habitualization.

The trial court denied relief without any explanation of its • denial or attachment of any record to its order. Claims of this nature may be considered pursuant to rule 3.800(a). See Young v. State, 716 So. 2d 280 (Fla. 2d DCA 1998) (holding habitual offender sentence for a defendant who does not qualify for habitual offender treatment is an illegal sentence subject to correction by rule 3.800(a)). If Ishmael’s representations are true, he would be entitled to have the habitual felony offender sentences for these offenses set aside and to be resen-tenced pursuant to the guidelines. See Belton v. State, 673 So. 2d 880 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996).

We reverse on Ishmael’s claim that his sentence for count one, possession of cocaine, is illegal because he has made a facially sufficient claim for relief unrefuted by the trial court’s order of denial. As conceded by the State on direct appeal, this offense is not subject to habitualization.

However, we affirm the trial court’s denial of relief on Ishmael’s second claim that his habitual felony offender sentence for sale of cocaine is illegal; the face of his motion contains sufficient facts to refute his claim that he did not qualify as a habitual felony offender. In his motion Ishmael admits that case number 87-0652, one of the cases used as a predicate offense, contains a count for the sale of cocaine. Use of a sale-of-cocaine offense as a predicate conviction is not proscribed by section 775.084(l)(a)(3), which only prohibits habitualization if both prior offenses are for purchase or possession.

Therefore, we affirm the trial court’s denial of relief on this claim.

Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded with directions.

WHATLEY, A.C.J., and CASANUEVA and SALCINES, JJ„ Concur.


Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus


Citator

Cited By

  • Perry v. State, 808 So. 2d 268 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002)
    …ause one of the predicate felony convictions on which the sentencing court relied was “not a violation of section 893.13 relating to purchase or the possession of a controlled substance.” § 775.084(1)(a)(3.), Fla. Stat. (1997); see Ishmael v. State, 735 So. 2d 509, 510 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)(“section 775.084(1)(a)(3.) ... only prohibits habitualization if both prior offenses are for purchase or possession”); Rollins v. State, 707 So. 2d 823, 824-25 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998). We recognize that subparagraph 3 to paragra…
  • Rosalind Virgil v. State, 884 So. 2d 373 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)
    …e, e.g., Roberts v. State, 753 So. 2d 136 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000); Woods v. State, 807 So. 2d 727 (Fla. 1st DCA 2002). This includes the offense of possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver. See Roberts, 753 So. 2d at 137-38; Ishmael v. State, 735 So. 2d 509 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999). Because [*374] the habitual felony offender statute prohibited a habitual felony offender sentence for possession of cocaine, Virgil’s sentence is illegal and subject to correction under rule 8.800(a). See Carter v. State, 786 So…
  • Bradley v. State, 903 So. 2d 221 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)
    …1993); State v. McCloud, 577 So. 2d 939 (Fla.1991); Castle v. State, 330 So. 2d 10 (Fla.1976); Boyd v. State, 880 So. 2d 726 (Fla. 2d DCA), review denied, 888 So. 2d 621 (Fla.2004); Cook v. State, 816 So. 2d 773 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002); Ishmael v. State, 735 So. 2d 509 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999); Plowman v. State, 586 So. 2d 454 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991); Middleton v. State, 721 So. 2d 792 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998). After this court held in Boyd, 880 So. 2d at 728, that a claim of vindictive sentencing is not cognizable in a motion t…

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