A.R.M., APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court held that the state failed to present sufficient evidence that the juvenile intended to use the screwdriver to commit a burglary or trespass.
[1] Possession of a screwdriver found in a stolen vehicle, without evidence of intent to use it for burglary or trespass, is insufficient to establish possession of a burglar…
[2] To prove possession of a burglary tool, the state must present evidence that the defendant used or intended to use the tool to commit a burglary or trespass.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceA juvenile fled from a stolen vehicle and was found with a screwdriver, which could be used to start the car. However, there was no evidence of a burg…
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PER CURIAM.
A.R.M., a juvenile, appeals the trial court’s final order adjudicating that he was in possession of a burglary tool, thereby committing a delinquent act. A.R.M. was also adjudicated guilty and sentenced for resisting an officer without violence, which adjudication was not appealed. We reverse the order adjudicating that he was in possession of a burglary tool.
A.R.M. was apprehended when he and four other persons fled from a stolen purple Dodge Neon. A.R.M. exited from the back seat of the vehicle and was in possession of a screwdriver when he was apprehended. The steering column on the stolen Dodge Neon had been broken, so that the vehicle could be started with a screwdriver. However, there was no evidence presented as to a burglary or trespass of the vehicle. See Desin v. State, 414 So. 2d 516 (Fla.1982); § 810.06, Fla. Stat. (1999). The officers only saw A.R.M. run from the stolen vehicle while in possession of the screwdriver. See A.J.R. v. State, 726 So. 2d 326, 327 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999). In Calliar v. State, 760 So. 2d 885 (Fla.1999), the Florida Supreme Court approvingly cited Hierro v. State, 608 So. 2d 912 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992), which held:
In order for the State to establish that the screwdriver was a burglary tool, the State needed to adduce testimony showing that the defendant used, or actually intended to use, the screwdriver to commit a burglary or a trespass. [Thomas v. State, 531 So. 2d 708, (Fla.1988) ]; see §§ 810.02, 810.06, 810.08, Fla. Stat. (1991). There was no evidence at trial from which the jury could find that the defendant used the screwdriver to gain entry to the vehicle, nor evidence from which the jury could determine that the defendant possessed the screwdriver with the intent to use it to gain entry to the vehicle. That being so, the conviction under section 810.06 must be reversed.
608 So. 2d at 915.
We therefore reverse the order adjudicating that A.R.M. was in possession of a burglary tool.
Reversed.
NORTHCUTT, A.C.J., and GREEN, J., and CARLIN, JOHN SCOTT, Associate Judge, Concur.
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Citator
Cited By
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T. R. C. v. State (Fla. 2d DCA 2020)…accidentally left the vehicle unlocked and that a spare car key had been taken from the vehicle's glovebox. After the State rested, defense counsel moved for a judgment of dismissal on the possession of burglary tools count, citing A.R.M. v. State, 769 So. 2d 1092 (Fla. 2d DCA 2000). Defense counsel argued that there was "no evidence that th[e] gloves were used as tools to gain entry [into] the vehicle." In opposition, the State responded 1This conviction is not in dispute in this appeal. - 3 - that suffic…
Authorities Cited
- Thomas v. State, 531 So. 2d 708 (Fla. 1988)
- Hierro v. State, 608 So. 2d 912 (Fla. 3d DCA 1992)
- Daryell Calliar v. State, 760 So. 2d 885 (Fla. 1999)
- Desin v. State, 414 So. 2d 516 (Fla. 1982)
- A.J.R. v. State, 726 So. 2d 326 (Fla. 2d DCA 1999)