J.B., A JUVENILE, APPELLANT,
v.
THE STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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J.B., a juvenile, was adjudicated delinquent for petit theft of police handcuffs that were placed on him during an arrest at a library. The Florida District Court of Appeal reversed, holding that the State failed to prove the specific intent to steal required for petit theft, as J.B.'s possession of the handcuffs was merely incidental to his flight from an unlawful arrest.
The court reversed the adjudication of delinquency because the State failed to prove that J.B. intended to steal the handcuffs or deprive the officer of her property. The court held that J.B.'s possession of the handcuffs was incidental to his flight from an unlawful arrest, not evidence of theft.
[1] A conviction for petit theft requires proof that the defendant intended to deprive the owner of the property or appropriate it for their own use.
[2] Evidence of flight from an officer does not, by itself, establish the specific intent to steal property.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“because petit theft is a specific intent crime, see C.G. v. State, 981 So.2d 1224, 1225 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008), the State is required to prove that J.B. intended to deprive the officer of her right to use the handcuffs or benefit from them, or that he intended to appropriate the handcuffs for his own use.”
Establishes the legal requirement that theft requires specific intent to deprive or appropriate property
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceJ.B. was doing homework at a public library when an off-duty police officer, who had previously issued him a trespass warning, approached and arrested…
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J.B., a juvenile, appeals his adjudication of delinquency for petit theft. We reverse.
J.B. was at a public library doing homework when a Miami-Dade police officer, working off-duty library security, approached him. The officer recognized J.B. *660because she had previously issued him a trespass warning. The officer proceeded to arrest him. As the officer placed handcuffs on J.B.’s left wrist, J.B. ran away. The police later found J.B., still with the handcuffs on, and arrested him.
The State charged J.B. with: (1) battery on a police officer, (2) resisting arrest with violence, (3) trespassing on property after warning, and (4) petit theft of the handcuffs. At the adjudicatory hearing, the charge of battery on a police officer was reduced to misdemeanor battery, and the resisting arrest with violence and trespassing on property after warning charges were dismissed. After the hearing, the trial court found J.B. not guilty on misdemeanor battery, but guilty on petit theft of the handcuffs. J.B. appealed.
A person commits theft if he or she knowingly obtains or uses another person’s property with the intent to temporarily or permanently: (a) deprive the other person of the right to use the property or benefit from the property or (b) appropriate the property for his or her own use. See § 812.014(1)(a)-(b), Fla. Stat. (2007). Further, because petit theft is a specific intent crime, see C.G. v. State, 981 So.2d 1224, 1225 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008), the State is required to prove that J.B. intended to deprive the officer of her right to use the handcuffs or benefit from them, or that he intended to appropriate the handcuffs for his own use.
Here, the State presented evidence of J.B.’s intent to flee from the police officer. However, the State did not present any evidence that J.B. intended to steal the handcuffs or deprive the police officer of her property. Instead, J.B.’s act of taking the handcuffs was incidental to his flight from an officer’s unlawful arrest. Actually, we are sure that J.B. would have gladly relinquished any dominion, control, or possessory rights to the handcuffs if he only had the key to release them.
Because the evidence was not sufficient to support the adjudication of delinquency, we reverse with instructions to dismiss the petit theft charge.
Reversed.
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Vasata v. State (Fla. 4th DCA 2021)…1)(a)-(b), Fla. Stat. (2017). “Theft is a specific intent crime.” Spivey v. State, 680 So. 2d 565, 566 (Fla. 1st DCA 1996). The defendant argues the evidence does not support the grand theft auto conviction. He compares his case to J.B. v. State, 6 So. 3d 659 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009), where the Third District reversed with instructions to dismiss a theft charge because the State did not prove the element of intent. Id. at 660. J.B. is distinguishable. There, a juvenile was charged with stealing a pair of po…
Authorities Cited
- C.G. v. State, 981 So. 2d 1224 (Fla. 1st DCA 2008)