DAVID WILLIAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
The court held that the appellant's conviction under the violent career criminal statute must be reversed because an essential element of the offense was not established. However, the case is remanded for entry of judgment and sentence for a lesser included offense.
[1] A conviction under section 790.235, Florida Statutes (1997), requires proof that the defendant meets the violent career criminal criteria under section 775.084(1)(c), Flo…
[2] A prerequisite for qualifying as a violent career criminal is that the primary offense for which the defendant is to be sentenced must be among a list of enumerated felon…
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe appellant was convicted of being a violent career criminal carrying a concealed weapon. The primary offense for which he was to be sentenced was p…
The full statement of facts, procedural history, and disposition for this case are member content.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence© FLexlaw, Inc. — AI-generated enrichments are proprietary. All rights reserved.
Explore caselaw by topic → Browse Elements Of A Crime cases and more on FLexlaw
ALLEN, J.
The appellant in this direct criminal appeal challenges his conviction pursuant to section 790.235, Florida Statutes (1997)(violent career criminal carrying a concealed weapon). Because an essential element of the offense was not established, we reverse the appellant’s conviction and remand with directions that judgment and sentence be entered for a lesser included offense. The argument presented in this appeal was raised before the trial court in a Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.190(c) pretrial motion to dismiss the information and again in a motion for judgment of acquittal at trial. The appellant is entitled to relief pursuant to only the second motion because the first motion was not under oath as specified by rule 3.190(c).
Section 790.235, Florida Statutes (1997), makes it a first degree felony for “any person who meets the violent career criminal criteria under s. 775.084(1)(c)” to carry a concealed weapon. One of the criteria for qualifying as a violent career criminal is that the primary offense for which the defendant is to be sentenced be among a list of enumerated felonies. See § 775.084(1)(c)3. The appellant’s primary offense, which involved the possession of a concealed hunting knife, is not among that list of felonies. Because the appellant did not meet the violent career criminal criteria, an element of the offense was not established and the conviction must be reversed. But the proper remedy is not discharge of the appellant because the information alleged the elements of the lesser included offense specified in section 790.23, Florida Statutes (1998)(convicted felon carrying a concealed weapon), and the evidence produced at trial provided sufficient foundation for a conviction of that offense.
The appellant’s conviction is accordingly reversed and this case is remanded for the trial court to enter judgment and impose sentence for violation of section 790.23. See § 924.34, Florida Statutes.
BARFIELD, C.J., and BROWNING, J., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
-
Pryor v. State, 48 So. 3d 159 (Fla. 1st DCA 2010)…nd sentenced for each criminal offense committed in the course of one criminal episode or transaction except for “[ojffenses which are lesser offenses the statutory elements of which are subsumed by the greater offense”). See also Williams v. State, 776 So. 2d 358, 359 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001) (holding that the offense of carrying a concealed firearm by a convicted felon set out in section 790.23, Florida Statutes, is a lesser included offense of the offense of carrying a concealed firearm by a violent career crim…
-
Fowler v. State, 927 So. 2d 1078 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)…CANADY, Judge. Matthew Fowler appeals his conviction after jury trial of carrying a concealed weapon by a violent career criminal. Relying on Williams v. State, 776 So. 2d 358 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001), Fowler argues that his conviction is erroneous because he did not qualify as a violent career criminal. The State concedes that Fowler’s conviction should be reversed. Based on the State’s confession of error, we reverse Fowle…
-
Mathis v. State, 53 So. 3d 1089 (Fla. 1st DCA 2011)…e lesser offenses the statutory elements of which are subsumed by the greater offense.” Because possession of a firearm by a convicted felon is a lesser-included offense of possession of a firearm by a violent career criminal, see Williams v. State, 776 So. 2d 358, 359 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001), and Mathis’ convictions arose from a single incident in which he possessed a rifle, the conviction for the lesser offense cannot stand. “Dual convictions in contravention of legislative intent are a violation of the constit…