STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLANT,
v.
BRYANT BLANTON, APPELLEE
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Florida appeals the trial court's dismissal of an attempted felony murder charge against Blanton, arguing the charge can be prosecuted alongside robbery charges because attempted felony murder requires an intentional act not essential to robbery. The appellate court reverses, holding that the charges contain separate elements and can be prosecuted together.
Yes. The trial court erred in dismissing the attempted felony murder charge because robbery and attempted felony murder contain separate elements. Under section 782.051(1), attempted felony murder requires proof of an intentional act that is not an essential element of the underlying felony, which can be distinct from the elements of robbery.
[1] Attempted felony murder requires proof of an intentional act that is not an essential element of the underlying felony.
[2] A charge of attempted felony murder may be prosecuted alongside charges for the underlying felony if the elements are distinct.
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 intelligence“Any person who perpetrates or attempts to perpetrate any felony enumerated in s. 782.04(3) and who commits, aids, or abets an intentional act that is not an essential element of the felony and that could, but does not, cause the death of another commits a felony of the first degree”
The statutory definition of attempted felony murder under section 782.051(1), establishing that the crime requires an intentional act not essential to the underlying felony.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBlanton and a co-conspirator invaded Nora Metz's home while armed with a stick and handgun, respectively. They forced Metz and a friend inside at gunp…
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PALMER, J.
The State appeals the final order entered by the trial court dismissing the charge of attempted felony murder filed against Bryant Blanton. The court based its ruling on Blanton’s claim that the State improperly charged him with both robbery and attempted felony murder by using the same facts to support both. Since the information alleged that the charge of attempted felony murder involved an intentional act which was not an essential element of the underlying felony of robbery, we reverse.
Blanton and a co-conspirator invaded Nora Metz’s home. Blanton was armed with a stick and the co-conspirator was armed with a hand gun. Metz and a Mend were forced inside the house at gunpoint. Blanton guarded two people who were present in the home while the co-conspirator dragged Metz to various parts of the house looking for money. While watching the others, Blanton hit one of his victims with the stick. The co-conspirator threatened to kill Metz and eventually shot her three times.
Blanton was charged with numerous crimes including home invasion robbery, robbery with a firearm, and attempted felony murder. He moved to dismiss the charge of attempted felony murder or, in the alternative, the two robbery counts, contending that the attempted felony murder charge had no elements which were not essential elements of the underlying charges of robbery. The trial court granted the motion and dismissed the attempted felony murder count. The State timely appeals this ruling.
The State contends that the trial court erred in granting Blanton’s motion to dismiss because the robbery charges and the attempted felony murder-charge contain separate elements and therefore can be prosecuted together. We agree.
In Thompson v. State 814 So. 2d 1103 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002) the Fourth District discussed the history of the crime of attempted felony murder:
The statutory crime of attempted felony murder is relatively new. Originally, in setting forth the elements of the common law version of attempted felony murder, our supreme court held that: whenever an individual perpetrates or attempts to perpetrate an enumerated felony, and during the commission of the felony the individual commits, aids, or abets a specific overt act which could, but does not, cause the death of another, that individual will have committed the crime of attempted felony murder. Amlotte v. State, 456 So. 2d 448, 449-50 (Fla.1984), abrogated by, State v. Gray, 654 So. 2d 552 (Fla.1995). The Amlotte court reasoned that “because the attempt occurs during the commission of a felony, the law, as under the felony murder doctrine, presumes the existence of the specific intent required to prove attempt.” Id. at 450. However, in Gray, the supreme court reversed itself, reasoning that the “legal fictions required to support the intent for felony murder are simply too great” to extend to attempted felony murder. Gray, 654 So. 2d at 554. Thus, the. court declared the crime of attempted felony murder did not exist. Id. The legislature responded by enacting section 782.051(1), thereby making attempted felony murder a crime once again. Section 782.051(1) provides:
Any person who perpetrates or attempts to perpetrate any felony enumerated in s. 782.04(3) and who commits, aids, or abets an intentional act that is not an essential element of the felony and that could, but does not, cause the death of another commits a felony of the first degree....
The trial court erred in granting Blan-ton’s motion to dismiss because the State alleged that the attempted felony murder count involved an intentional act that was not an essential .element of the underlying robbery charges. As a result, the State is entitled to receive the opportunity to prosecute the crimes of attempted felony murder and robbery. If, at trial, the State fails to present evidence that an intentional act resulting in the attempted felony murder charge is not an essential element of the underlying felony of robbery, Blanton is free to move for entry of a judgment of acquittal.
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
COBB and ORFINGER, R.B., JJ„ concur.
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Blekley Coicou v. State, 867 So. 2d 409 (Fla. 3d DCA 2003)…that the robbery offense could not also be considered for the attempted felony murder charge. Without this additional proof of force, the State failed to prove the main charge against Coicou, the attempted felony murder charge. See State v. Blanton, 821 So. 2d 440, 442 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002); Thompson v. State, 814 So. 2d 1103, 1106 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). Thus, the trial court erred in denying Coicou’s motion for judgment of acquittal. Coicou next contends that because the State failed to prove one of the element…
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Dallas v. State, 898 So. 2d 163 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…essential to both the robbery charge and the attempted felony murder charge. Id. In Coicou, however, the force used in order to effect the robbery was the shooting. Therefore, the act was committed in the course of the taking. In State v. Blanton, 821 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002), the court reversed a trial court order dismissing a charge of attempted felony murder incident to a robbery. There, the defendant and an accomplice with a gun, engaged in a home invasion robbery in which the defendant hit one vi…
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Tharod Bell v. State, 152 So. 3d 714 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014)…the jury throughout the trial that he participated in the robbery, thus satisfying element one. Bell also assisted in containing the victims in the store while his co-assailant shot them, thus satisfying elements two and three. Cf. State v. Blanton, 821 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002). The jury was instructed that the elements of attempted premeditated murder are: (1) Bell did some act intended to cause the death of the victims that went beyond just thinking or talking about it; (2) Bell acted with a premedit…
Previewing 3 of 5 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- State v. Collin Gray, 654 So. 2d 552 (Fla. 1995)
- Amlotte v. State, 456 So. 2d 448 (Fla. 1984)
- Thompson v. State, 814 So. 2d 1103 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)