JASON G. ZOOK, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Jason Zook appealed the denial of his motion for postconviction relief challenging his sentencing as a Prison Releasee Reoffender (PRR). The court reversed and remanded for resentencing, finding that the offenses for which he received PRR enhancements—burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, dealing in stolen property, and burglary of a conveyance—did not qualify as PRR offenses under the applicable statute at the time he committed them.
Zook's PRR sentences were improper and must be reversed and remanded for resentencing without the PRR enhancement. Burglary of an unoccupied dwelling, dealing in stolen property, and burglary of a conveyance were not qualifying offenses under the PRR statute at the time Zook committed his offenses, and a later statutory amendment adding burglary of a dwelling could not be retroactively applied.
[1] The Prison Releasee Reoffender Act does not apply to a defendant convicted of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling if the offense occurred before the statutory amendment th…
[2] Dealing in stolen property is not a qualifying offense under the Prison Releasee Reoffender Act.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“the Prison Releasee Reoffender Act is not applicable to a defendant who is convicted of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling”
Establishes that burglary of an unoccupied dwelling does not qualify as a PRR offense under the statute as it existed when Zook committed his offenses.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceZook entered an open guilty plea to multiple charges across seven cases, including six counts of burglary of a conveyance, burglary of a dwelling, gra…
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SILBERMAN, Judge.
Jason G. Zook appeals the summary denial of his motion for postconviction relief, filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850, and his motion to correct illegal sentence, filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). Zook entered an open plea of guilty in seven cases1 to a total of six counts of burglary of a conveyance, one count of grand theft of a motor vehicle, one count of third-degree grand theft, one count of burglary of a dwelling, one count of dealing in stolen property, and four counts of petit theft. He was adjudicated guilty and received enhanced sentences as a prison re-leasee reoffender (PRR).
Zook raised six claims for relief in his rule 3.850 motion, one of which was also encompassed in the claim raised in his motion to correct illegal sentence. Because the trial court erred in denying Zook’s rule 3.850 claim that he was improperly sentenced as a PRR, we reverse and remand for resentencing. We affirm, without comment, the denial of Zook’s other claims.2
In denying the PRR claim in case number 01-10927, the trial court concluded that Zook was properly sentenced as a PRR because he pleaded guilty to burglary of a dwelling. However, at the time that Zook committed that offense, the PRR statute did not specify that burglary of an unoccupied dwelling was a qualifying offense. See § 775.082(9)(a)(l)(q), Fla. Stat. (2000). In State v. Huggins, 802 So. 2d 276, 276 (Fla.2001), the Florida Supreme Court approved the decision of the Fourth District Court of Appeal “which held that the Prison Releasee Reoffender Act is not applicable to a defendant who is convicted of burglary of an unoccupied dwelling.” See also Caddo v. State, 806 So. 2d 520, 521 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001). Although section 775.082(9)(a)(1)(q) was amended in 2001 to reflect that burglary of a dwelling, whether occupied or not, would be a qualifying offense, the amendment did not take effect until July 1, 2001, and it could not be retroactively applied. See Downs v. Crosby, 874 So. 2d 648, 651 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004); State v. Miranda, 793 So. 2d 1042, 1044 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001). Because Zook’s offense took place before the effective date of the statutory amendment, the amendment does not apply to him and his sentence must be reversed.
Even though the trial court analyzed Zook’s claim in light of his conviction for burglary of a dwelling, the sentencing documents actually reflect that in case number 01-10927 the PRR sentence was imposed for the conviction of dealing in stolen property. If that was the offense for which the trial court intended to impose the PRR sentence, the sentence must still be reversed because dealing in stolen property is not a qualifying offense under the PRR statute. See § 775.082(9)(a)(l). Accordingly, in case number 01-10927, we reverse Zook’s sentence and remand for resentencing without the PRR enhancement.
Finally, the sentencing documents reflect that in case numbers 01-9953, 01-9954, 01-9955, 01-10083, and 01-10084, Zook was sentenced as a PRR for burglary of a conveyance. In case number 01-9956, Zook was sentenced as a PRR for both burglary of a conveyance and grand theft. Because none of the offenses qualify Zook for sentencing as a PRR under section 775.082(9)(a)(l), we reverse the sentences in those cases and remand for resentencing without the PRR enhancement.
Accordingly, we reverse the denial of relief solely as to Zook’s sentences and remand for resentencing consistent with this opinion.
Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.
NORTHCUTT and COVINGTON, JJ., Concur. . The trial court case numbers are 01-9953, 01-9954, 01-9955, 01-9956, 01-10083, 01-10084, and 01-10927.
. Zook actually filed two rule 3.850 motions for postconviction relief and a rule 3.800(a) motion to correct illegal sentence. In a cover letter accompanying his second rule 3.850 motion, Zook requested that the earlier motion be stricken. In the order denying relief, the trial court treated Zook’s letter as a request for voluntary dismissal of the first rule 3.850 motion, and the court dismissed the first motion. The trial court then denied the remaining rule 3.850 motion and the rule 3.800(a) motion.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Bradshaw v. State, 891 So. 2d 1184 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005)…which time the PRR statute only applied to burglaries of occupied dwellings.1 Since there was no evidence presented below that the dwelling was occupied at the time of Bradshaw’s offense, the sentencing .enhancement did not apply. See Zook v. State, 883 So. 2d 332 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004). We therefore reverse Bradshaw’s sentence and remand for resentencing. Bradshaw also suggests that his sentence is improper based on the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Blakely v. Washington, — U.S. -, 124 S.Ct. 2531, 1…
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Phillips v. State, 893 So. 2d 610 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005)…PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See Zook v. State, 883 So. 2d 332 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004). WARNER, KLEIN and GROSS, JJ., concur.…
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Lopez v. State, 925 So. 2d 1105 (Fla. 2d DCA 2006)…re 3.800(a), Lopez successfully challenged the legality of his prison releasee reoffender sentence for the burglary conviction on the ground that the dwelling he burgled was unoccupied. See State v. Huggins, 802 So. 2d 276 (Fla.2001); Zook v. State, 883 So. 2d 332, 333 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004) (stating that 2001 amendment to section 775.082(9)(a)(l)(q), which made burglary of an unoccupied dwelling a qualifying offense for PRR sentencing, did not apply retroactively). Accordingly, the court re-sentenced Lopez on th…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Huggins, 802 So. 2d 276 (Fla. 2001)
- State v. Miranda, 793 So. 2d 1042 (Fla. 3d DCA 2001)
- Caddo v. State, 806 So. 2d 520 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
- Royce M. Reed v. State, 874 So. 2d 648 (Fla. 3d DCA 2004)