LUIS SANTIN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 5th DCA | 2008-03-28
No. 5D07-471
ORFINGER, MONACO and TORPY, JJ., concur.
977 So. 2d 781 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2008) Positive Treatment
Cited by 2 cases

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Synopsis

Luis Santin was convicted by jury of burglary of a structure with assault or battery, attempted sexual battery, and false imprisonment. The appellate court affirmed the attempted sexual battery conviction but reversed the burglary conviction, finding that the trial court committed fundamental error by instructing the jury on a theory of burglary not charged in the information.


Holding

The trial court committed fundamental error when it instructed the jury on an alternative burglary theory not charged in the information. The burglary conviction is therefore reversed and remanded for a new trial. The attempted sexual battery conviction is affirmed.


Headnotes

[1] A conviction for burglary of a structure with an assault or battery may be affirmed when the evidence supports the charged theory of the offense.

[2] A jury instruction on a theory of burglary not alleged in the charging information constitutes fundamental error.

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Key Quotes

“By giving an instruction on an alternative theory not charged, the court committed fundamental error.”

The court's holding that instructing on uncharged burglary theory constitutes fundamental error warranting reversal.

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Facts & Procedural History

Santin entered a locked stall in a ladies' restroom without permission and committed an assault or battery against the victim. The information charged…

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Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Following a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of burglary of a structure with an assault or battery, attempted sexual battery and false imprisonment.1 We find no merit in his challenge to the attempted sexual battery conviction. Accordingly, that conviction is affirmed. We do find merit, however, in one of Appellant’s arguments pertaining to the burglary conviction. We conclude that the court committed fundamental error when it.instructed the jury on a theory not charged in the information. Accordingly, we reverse the conviction on the burglary count and remand for a new trial.

The State charged Appellant with burglary under the theory that Appellant had remained in a structure with the intent to commit a forcible felony therein pursuant to section 810.02(l)(b)2.c., Florida Statutes (2006). The material portions of the information provided’:

Luis A. Sántin ... did, in violation of Florida Statutes 810.02(l)(b)2.c. and 810.02(2)(a), enter or remain, without license or invitation, in a portion of a structure, located in the vicinity of 39 W. Pine Street, to wit: the ladies’ restroom, in the County and State aforesaid ... with the intent to commit or attempt to commit a forcible felony as defined in Florida Statutes 776.08, and in the course of committing said offense, Luis A. Santin did make an assault or battery upon [the victim].

(Emphasis added).

The court’s instruction permitted the State to argue that the jury could find Appellant guilty if he “had a fully-formed conscious intent to commit an offense in that structure.” This theory of criminal responsibility is based on section 810.02(l)(b)l., Florida Statutes (2006), a theory not charged in the information. Based on the instruction, the prosecutor did indeed argue a theory not charged. The prosecutor argued:

So applying the law to these facts, we have a burglary of a structure with an assault or battery therein. Structure. You have different compartments like we talked about. The ladies’ room is not open to the male public. The locked stall door is not open to anybody but the person using that stall. He entered into that stall with the intent to at least commit a battery against her, and that’s how it’s charged, the burglary. Entering or remaining in that portion of the structure with the intent to commit a battery. Now, of course, much more was intended, but the bottom line was, he intended to unlawfully touch her in some manner. Now, the burglary verdict and the burglary instructions are a little confusing, but, again, when you break it down to the elements of the burglary charge, did he enter that bathroom or that locked stall with the intent to commit a battery against her? Yes. When you break down burglary, it’s that simple.

By giving an instruction on an alternative theory not charged, the court committed fundamental error. Garzon v. State, 939 So. 2d 278, 287 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006); Hodges v. State, 878 So. 2d 401 (Fla. 4th DCA 2004); Taylor v. State, 760 So. 2d 298 (Fla. 4th DCA 2000); Fuentes v. State, 730 So. 2d 366 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999).

AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED.

ORFINGER, MONACO and TORPY, JJ., concur. . The trial court dismissed the false imprisonment conviction on.double jeopardy grounds.


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Cited By

  • Everett v. State, 114 So. 3d 956 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011)
    …e was merely a “scrivener’s error.” It is fundamental error to convict a defendant of a felony that is not charged. See Keels v. State, 792 So. 2d 1249 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001); see also Brown v. State, 41 So. 3d 259 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010); Santin v. State, 977 So. 2d 781 (Fla. 5th DCA 2008); Zwick v. State, 730 So. 2d 759 (Fla. 5th DCA 1999). In this case, Petitioner was charged with a second-degree felony and then convicted and sentenced for a first-degree felony punishable by life, based on an erroneous verdict fo…

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