MARTINE SELLERS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Martine Sellers was convicted of grand theft, but the Florida First District Court of Appeal reversed because the State presented insufficient evidence to prove the stolen property exceeded $300 in value. The victim's vague, approximated testimony without itemization or condition assessment was inadequate to support the grand theft conviction.
The conviction for grand theft should be reversed because the State failed to present sufficient evidence of the property's value. The victim's approximated testimony without itemization or condition assessment was insufficient to prove the property exceeded $300 in value. The conviction should be reduced to petit theft, and the case remanded for resentencing.
[1] A trial court's ruling on a motion for judgment of acquittal is subject to de novo review.
[2] To determine whether a trial court erred in denying a motion for judgment of acquittal based on insufficient evidence of property value, a court must first determine the…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the evidence was adequate to establish prima facie satisfaction of the element of value”
The trial court's stated reason for denying the motion for judgment of acquittal, which the appellate court found to be error.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceSellers was charged with grand theft. At trial, the State presented only the victim/owner's testimony regarding value, where the victim estimated the …
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PER CURIAM.
Martine Yusef Sellers, appellant, challenges his conviction and sentence for grand theft, arguing that the trial court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal on the charge of grand theft because the State failed to present sufficient evidence that the value of the stolen property exceeded $300. We agree and reverse the conviction and sentence and remand to the trial court for further proceedings.
At trial, the State relied upon the testimony of the victim of the grand theft, the owner of the property, to establish the value of the stolen property. The State asked the victim to give “either the fair market value or the replacement value ... on the total of the items” of the property. The victim testified that it was “probably about $500” then stated that including the clothing (that was also stolen), it was “at least $800 and probably more ... probably add another $100 on top of that.” She admitted that she did not “itemize all the clothing” that she was valuing at $400. At the conclusion of the State’s case, appellant’s counsel moved for a judgment of acquittal, arguing that the victim’s testimony did not properly establish the value of the property.
The trial court took the matter under advisement, but allowed the case to go the jury, and denied the motion at the sentencing hearing after finding that “the evidence was adequate to establish prima facie satisfaction of the element of value.”
The trial court’s ruling on the motion for judgment of acquittal is subject to de novo review. Pagan v. State, 830 So. 2d 792, 803 (Fla.2002); Jones v. State, 790 So. 2d 1194 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)(en banc). As recognized by the Fourth District in I.T. v. State, 796 So. 2d 1220 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001), the issue of whether a trial court errs in denying a motion for judgment of acquittal because the State failed to prove the value of the property involves a two-prong process. I.T., 796 So. 2d at 1221 (citing Taylor v. State, 425 So. 2d 1191, 1193 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)).
First, the court must determine whether the person testifying is competent to testify as to the value of the property.
Second, if the person is competent, the court must ascertain whether the evidence adduced at trial is sufficient to prove that the property was worth over $300 at the time of the theft. Id.; see also Gilbert v. State, 817 So. 2d 980, 982 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002). The competency of the victim/owner was conceded by appellant below and that issue is, therefore, not before us.
The evidence was insufficient to prove the value of the property in this case be cause the value was estimated and no other proof was presented. Gilbert, 817 So. 2d at 982 (citing I.T., 796 So. 2d at 1222 (finding evidence insufficient where person testifies that two of the items are probably worth two or three hundred dollars and a third item was “worth at least that much”); Moore v. State, 183 So. 2d 563 (Fla. 4th DCA 1966) (finding testimony that cost of replacing stolen item was approximately $300 was insufficient where the approximation was not directed solely to stolen item); Toler v. State, 779 So. 2d 594 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (finding owner’s testimony that property was “roughly” in excess of $300 insufficient); In the Interest of F.R., 539 So. 2d 588, 590 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989) (finding evidence insufficient where owner estimated property’s value at “about 310 [dollars], something like that”)).
The victim’s testimony was an approximation at best, and the State also failed to elicit any testimony as to the condition of the property1 at the time of the theft, thereby fading to establish the total market value of the items taken.
Accordingly, this court concludes that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support a conviction for grand theft, and that the motion for a judgment of acquittal should have been granted. Appellant’s conviction should be reduced from grand theft to petit theft. This case is remanded for resentencing.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
DAVIS, BROWNING and POLSTON, JJ., concur. . The property in this case included a range of items, i.e., one tarp, box of hair rollers, two rental movies, forty (unidentified) pieces of clothing, laundry soap, wine bottle, laundry basket, camera, four rolls of film, Sony Walkman, twenty-eight cassette tapes, CD, disposable camera, beach bag with suntan lotion and water, and one Nokia cell phone.
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A.D. v. State, 30 So. 3d 676 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)…); Smith v. State, 955 So. 2d 1227 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007); Toler v. State, 779 So. 2d 594 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). An estimate of the value of the items, without more, is insufficient. See Jones v. State, 958 So. 2d 585 (Fla. 2d DCA 2007); Sellers v. State, 838 So. 2d 661 (Fla. 1st [*678] DCA 2003); Gilbert v. State, 817 So. 2d 980 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002); Toler, 779 So. 2d at 595. Because the State concedes that insufficient evidence was presented as to the value of the cell phone, fishing rods, and iPod, we address on…
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Sanchez v. State, 101 So. 3d 1283 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012)…the value of the property is estimated and no other proof is presented,” the owner’s evidence is insufficient to prove fair market value. Gilbert, 817 So. 2d at 982; see also Blount v. State, 30 So. 3d 662, 663 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010); Sellers v. State, 838 So. 2d 661, 662-63 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003); Toler v. State, 779 So. 2d 594, 595 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). For example, in Gilbert, the State asked the owner to “roughly ” approximate the value that the victim had paid for the property that was stolen. 817 So. 2d at 982…
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White v. State, 993 So. 2d 611 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)…vidence is insufficient, as a matter of law, to establish the value element because it has no probative value regarding the generator’s value at the time of the theft. E.g., D.H. v. State, 864 So. 2d 588, 588-89 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004); Sellers v. State, 838 So. 2d 661, 662-63 (Fla. 1st DCA 2003); Gilbert v. State, 817 So. 2d 980, 982 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002); Taylor v. State, 425 So. 2d 1191, 1193-94 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983). We find without merit the state’s argument that evidence regarding value on the date of the theft…
Previewing 3 of 7 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Pagan v. State, 830 So. 2d 792 (Fla. 2002)
- Jones v. State, 790 So. 2d 1194 (Fla. 1st DCA 2001)
- Taylor v. State, 425 So. 2d 1191 (Fla. 1st DCA 1983)
- Gilbert v. State, 817 So. 2d 980 (Fla. 4th DCA 2002)
- In the Interest of F.R., 539 So. 2d 588 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989)
- I.T. v. State, 796 So. 2d 1220 (Fla. 4th DCA 2001)
- Toler v. State, 779 So. 2d 594 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
- Moore v. State, 183 So. 2d 563 (Fla. 4th DCA 1966)