GENE ALLEN BROWN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Gene Allen Brown appeals the denial of his motion to correct an allegedly illegal sentence for armed burglary of a conveyance while armed, for which he received a life sentence as a prison releasee reoffender (PRR). The court affirmed, holding that armed burglary of a conveyance is an enumerated offense qualifying for PRR sentencing and that Brown's challenges to his conviction cannot be raised in a Rule 3.800(a) motion.
The court held that armed burglary of a conveyance is an enumerated offense qualifying for PRR sentencing under Florida law, making the life sentence legal. Additionally, Rule 3.800(a) motions are limited to specific grounds challenging the legality of the sentence itself, and challenges to the underlying conviction are not cognizable in such motions.
[1] Armed burglary of a conveyance is an enumerated offense that qualifies a defendant for prison releasee reoffender (PRR) sentencing.
[2] A Rule 3.800(a) motion to correct an illegal sentence is generally limited to specific grounds and cannot be used to challenge the conviction itself.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“armed burglary is included in the enumerated offenses that qualify a defendant as a PRR”
Establishes that armed burglary of a conveyance, unlike mere burglary of a conveyance, qualifies for PRR sentencing
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceBrown was charged with and convicted of burglary of a conveyance while armed with a knife and grand theft of a motor vehicle. He was sentenced to life…
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Gene Allen Brown (the defendant) appeals an order summarily denying his Rule 3.800(a) motion. We affirm the trial court’s well-reasoned order.
The defendant was charged with (I) Burglary of a Conveyance While Armed and (II) Grand Theft (motor vehicle). Count I, a first degree felony punishable by life, section 810.02(2)(b), Florida Statutes (2001), alleged that the defendant “was or became armed within the conveyance, with a knife, an explosive or dangerous weapon.” Following a jury trial, the defendant was found guilty as charged and sentenced on Count I to life in prison as a prison releasee reoffender (PRR).
This court affirmed the defendant’s conviction and sentence. In the instant Rule 3.800(a) motion, the defendant raised three grounds which he claimed subjected him to an illegal sentence. First, the defendant asserted that a PRR sentence could not be imposed on a conviction for burglary of a conveyance. However, the defendant was not convicted of burglary of a conveyance; rather, he was convicted of burglary of a conveyance while armed. Although mere burglary of a conveyance is not an enumerated offense for purposes of sentencing as a PRR, section 775.082(9)(a)l, Florida Statutes (2001), armed burglary is included in the enumerated offenses that qualify a defendant as a PRR. § 775.082(9)(a)l.p„ Fla. Stat. (2001). Because armed burglary of a conveyance is a first degree felony punishable by life, the life sentence is legal. § 775.082(9)(a)3.a, Fla. Stat. (2001); McDonald v. State, 957 So.2d 605, 612 (Fla.2007); see Young v. State, 54 So.3d 1022 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011) (holding that defendant’s PRR sentence for armed burglary of a conveyance is legal).
Second, the defendant argues that the PRR statute does not apply to his offense because he did not use the knife during the course of the burglary of a conveyance to threaten bodily harm. Third, he argues that the knife that he possessed during the burglary does not qualify as a “dangerous weapon” for purposes of armed burglary.
The state pointed out in its response to the defendant’s Motion to Correct Illegal Sentence that the grounds raised by the defendant are not cognizable in a Rule 3.800(a) motion. Wright v. *962 State, 911 So.2d 81 (Fla.2005). Wright held that the legality of a sentence can be attacked on a Rule 3.800(a) motion only on certain specific grounds, none of which were raised in the defendant’s motion. Essentially, in this motion the defendant challenges his conviction, rather than his sentence. He does not argue that his conviction for armed burglary does not qualify him for PRR sentencing. He argues that he should not have been convicted of armed burglary of a conveyance, but instead should have been convicted only of burglary of a conveyance. The defendant has shown no legal or factual basis to support his claim that his sentence is illegal.
Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s order denying the defendant’s Motion to Correct Illegal sentence in all respects.
Affirmed.
WARNER, TAYLOR and LEVINE, JJ., concur.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- McDONALD v. State, 957 So. 2d 605 (Fla. 2007)
- Wright v. State, 911 So. 2d 81 (Fla. 2005)
- Rico S. Young v. State, 54 So. 3d 1022 (Fla. 2d DCA 2011)