KEVIN JOHN SHEPPARD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2008-02-08
No. 5D06-2144
PALMER, C.J. and THOMPSON, E„ Senior Judge, concur., SAWAYA, J., concurs in result only, without opinion.
974 So. 2d 529 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2008) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

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Synopsis

Kevin Sheppard was convicted of violating a condition of pretrial release for domestic violence, but the Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal reversed because Sheppard was never arrested on the underlying domestic battery charge—he received only a summons with no conditions. The court held that Section 741.29(6) requires an actual arrest for domestic violence as a prerequisite to charging violation of pretrial release conditions.


Holding

A defendant cannot be convicted of violating a condition of pretrial release under Section 741.29(6) unless there was an arrest for the domestic violence offense. The statute expressly requires 'when the original arrest was for an act of domestic violence,' and because Sheppard was never arrested—only summoned—the element of arrest cannot be satisfied, making conviction impossible.


Headnotes

[1] A conviction for violating a condition of pretrial release requires proof that the defendant was arrested for an act of domestic violence.

[2] Receiving a summons to appear in court without conditions does not constitute pretrial release for the purposes of a violation of condition of pretrial release charge.

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Key Quotes

“Section 741.29(6) confines the offense to instances where the defendant was originally arrested for an act of domestic violence. § 741.29(6), Fla. Stat. (2006) ('A person who willfully violates a condition of pretrial release provided in s. 903.047, when the original arrest was for an act of domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree....')”

Establishes the plain language requirement that an arrest for domestic violence is an essential element of the offense charged

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Facts & Procedural History

Sheppard's fiancée had bruises observed by police and DCF workers during an unrelated visit. Police issued Sheppard a summons to appear with no condit…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Kevin Sheppard appeals the judgment and sentence imposed following the return of the jury verdict finding him guilty of two misdemeanor counts of violation of condition of pretrial release — domestic.1 He argues that because he was not arrested on the underlying misdemeanor domestic battery offense and released on conditions (he was given a summons with no conditions), the facts do not support the offenses charged and his motion for judgment of acquittal on the charges should have been granted.

The record reveals that the victim, Sheppard’s fiancée, did not initiate the underlying misdemeanor battery charge and, in fact, never sought a domestic violence injunction in the underlying case. Instead, the battery charge arose after DCF workers and a Melbourne police officer visited the victim on unrelated matters and observed bruises on her. The officer was unable to locate Sheppard, so the officer submitted the report as a non-arrest to the state attorney’s office. Law enforcement sent Sheppard a card asking him to come to the office to pick up his own summons, which Sheppard did. No conditions of release were placed on Sheppard; he never went through a pretrial release procedure.

The first time that Sheppard’s continued contact with the victim came into issue was when the State filed a motion for a no-contact order when the parties were in court October 17, 2005, on the underlying battery charge — some four months after the underlying battery allegedly occurred. After Sheppard announced he was ready for trial, the State asked for a continuance so it could have a Show Cause Order directed towards the victim to force her to come to court. The prosecutor advised the court that there had not been a no-contact order put in place because of the non-arrest. A no-contact motion had been prepared earlier, but not set for hearing because the victim was waffling about whether to pursue the case. The prosecutor was asking for the no-contact order at the pretrial conference simply because there was not one in place. The court orally granted the no-contact motion and advised Sheppard:

Okay. Here’s where we stand on this. Grant the motion for no contact. Direct you, sir, not to have any contact with the alleged victim in this case. Not to return to that residence, except for a onetime opportunity to go back there in the presence of a law enforcement officer to obtain your personal belongings. Do you understand?

Sheppard answered affirmatively.

The same date Sheppard had indicated he understood he was to have no further contact with the victim, Count III charges that he contacted the victim in violation of the pretrial release condition. Count IV charges Sheppard with the same offense committed the following day.2

In a motion in limine filed prior to trial, Sheppard asserted that being given a summons to appear is not the equivalent of pretrial release; that he was never on pretrial release; and that the Information incorrectly charged that he “did willfully violate a condition of pretrial release.” Sheppard also unsuccessfully made these arguments in his Motion for Judgment of Acquittal at the close of the State’s case.

Section 741.29(6), Florida Statutes, defines the crime of violation of a condition of pretrial release. It provides: (Emphasis added).

The conditions of pretrial release set out in section 903.047, referred to above, include the prohibition of contact by the defendant with the victim. § 903.047(l)(b), Fla. Stat. (2006) (“As a condition of pretrial release, whether such release is by surety bail bond or recognizance bond or in some other form, the defendant shall ... [rjefrain from any contact of any type with the victim, except through pretrial discovery pursuant to the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.”).

The State has the burden of proving, by substantial, competent evidence, that the condition was imposed on a defendant charged with domestic violence. Pilorge v. State, 876 So. 2d 591, 591 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) (“As written, this statute requires the court to impose the no contact provision on a person charged with domestic violence. It does not create a presumption that the defendant knows that he or she is to have no contact”).

Sheppard argues that because he was never arrested on the domestic battery charge and never released on pretrial release, he could not be charged with violating a condition of pretrial release under section 741.29(6). (6) A person who willfully violates a condition of pretrial release provided in s. 903.047, when the original arrest was for an act of domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.083, and shall be held in custody until his or her first appearance. Section 741.29(6) confínes the offense to instances where the defendant was originally arrested for an act of domestic violence. § 741.29(6), Fla. Stat. (2006) (“A person who willfully violates a condition of pretrial release provided in s. 903.047, when the original arrest was for an act of domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28, commits a misdemeanor of the first degree ....”) (emphasis added).

As even the State admits, Sheppard was never arrested on the underlying battery charge; he received only a summons to appear with no conditions attached to his continued freedom pending the outcome of that battery charge.

Thus, Sheppard’s Motion for Judgment of Acquittal should have been granted because there was no evidence of an arrest for domestic violence. See L.R.W. v. State, 848 So. 2d 1263, 1265 (Fla. 5th DCA 2003) (observing that in ruling on a motion for judgment of acquittal, “[i]t is the trial court’s obligation to determine whether the evidence reflects the presence or absence of competent evidence on each element of the offense from which a fact-finder could infer guilt to the exclusion of all other inferences.”).

Accordingly, we reverse Sheppard’s convictions.

REVERSED.

PALMER, C.J. and THOMPSON, E„ Senior Judge, concur. SAWAYA, J., concurs in result only, without opinion.

. Defendant was also charged with aggravated stalking of the victim; grand theft of the victim’s vehicle; a third count of violation of condition of release-domestic; and criminal mischief. The jury found him not guilty of these offenses.

. The victim testified that she had driven Sheppard to court the morning of October 17 and had gone on to work. He called her later in the day to tell her that a no-contact order had been issued and he was upset about it. He came by the restaurant where she worked and she asked him to leave. He came by later in the day with balloons and a flower and wanted her to leave with him. The next day, Sheppard rode by the restaurant on his bicycle three times and winked at her, which intimidated her.


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Citator

Cited By

  • Caldwell v. State (Fla. 4th DCA 2022)
    …Section 903.047, in turn, sets out the conditions of pretrial release and includes as an available condition that the defendant “refrain from any contact of any type with the victim.” § 903.047(1)(b), Fla. Stat. (2019); see also Sheppard v. State, 974 So. 2d 529, 531 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008) (recognizing that “[t]he conditions of pretrial release set out in section 903.047 . . . include the prohibition of contact by the defendant with the victim”). There is no language in either section dictating that a defenda…

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