CARLOS MARTINEZ, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Carlos Martinez appeals the summary denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence for attempted second-degree murder with a firearm. The trial court imposed a life sentence with a 25-year minimum mandatory, but the court holds this exceeds the 30-year statutory maximum for a first-degree felony under Florida law. The court reverses and remands for resentencing.
The court held that Martinez's life sentence impermissibly exceeds the 30-year statutory maximum for a first-degree felony under section 775.082(3)(b). Although the trial court had discretion under section 775.087(2)(a)(3) to impose a minimum mandatory sentence between 25 years and life, once the 25-year minimum was imposed, the sentence could not exceed 30 years. The life sentence is therefore illegal.
[1] A sentence of life in prison with a twenty-five-year minimum mandatory for attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, reclassified as a first-degree felony, impermiss…
[2] When an offense is reclassified as a first-degree felony due to the discharge of a firearm causing great bodily harm, the trial court may impose a minimum mandatory sente…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Because the court imposed a twenty-five-year minimum mandatory term, Martinez's life sentence impermissibly exceeds the thirty-year statutory maximum under section 775.082(3)(b) and is therefore illegal.”
Establishes the core holding that the life sentence violates the statutory maximum penalty for a first-degree felony
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceMartinez was convicted of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm in count one. The jury found that Martinez actually possessed and discharged a…
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Carlos Martinez appeals the summary denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). Martinez was found guilty of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm in count one1 and was sentenced to life in prison with a twenty-five-year minimum mandatory. Martinez asserts that his conviction for attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, which was reclassified as a first-degree felony under section 775.087(l)(b), Florida Statutes (2007), is subject to a sentence not to exceed thirty years under section 775.082(3). We agree and reverse and remand for resentencing.
The postconviction court incorrectly found that Martinez’s sentence was legal because he was convicted of second-degree murder, a first-degree felony, and that the offense was reclassified as a life felony pursuant to section 775.087(l)(a). The information, judgment, sentence, and jury verdict attached to the postconviction court’s order demonstrate that Martinez was charged with and found guilty of attempted second-degree murder with a firearm, a second-degree felony. §§ 782.04(2), 777.04(4)(c), Fla. Stat. (2007). The offense was reclassified as a first-degree felony under section 775.087(l)(b), because the jury found that Martinez actually possessed and discharged a firearm during the commission of the offense, inflicting great bodily harm upon the victim.
Because the jury found that Martinez’s discharge of a firearm inflicted great bodily harm, it was within the trial court’s discretion under section 775.087(2)(a)(3) to impose a minimum mandatory from twenty-five years to life. See Mendenhall v. State, 48 So.3d 740, 742 (Fla.2010). However, “ ‘once the trial court imposed the minimum mandatory sentence of twenty-five years, it could not exceed the thirty-year maximum penalty for a first[-]degree felony under section 775.082(3)(b).’” McLeod v. State, 52 So.3d 784, 786 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010) (quoting Wooden v. State, 42 So.3d 837, 837 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)) (reversing the defendant’s life sentence with a twenty-five-year minimum mandatory for attempted second-degree murder with a firearm because the sentence improperly exceeded the statutory maximum under section 775.082(3)(b)). Because the court imposed a twenty-five-year minimum mandatory term, Martinez’s life sentence impermissibly exceeds the thirty-year statutory maximum under section 775.082(3)(b) and is therefore illegal. See Sheppard v. State, 113 So.3d 148 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013).
Accordingly, we reverse the order of the postconviction court and remand for resen-tencing.
Reversed and remanded.
CASANUEYA, LaROSE, and CRENSHAW, JJ., Concur.
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Cortez Hatten v. State, 203 So. 3d 142 (Fla. 2016)…ed to be in conflict from the Second, Fourth, and Fifth Districts. It is so ordered. LABARGA, C.J., and PARIENTE, LEWIS, QUINCE, CANADY, and PERRY, JJ., concur. . We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(4), Fla. Const. [N.2] Martinez v. State, 114 So. 3d 1119, 1120 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013); Sheppard v. State, 113 So. 3d 148, 149 (Fla. [*144] 2d DCA 2013); Prater v. State, 113 So. 3d 147, 147-48 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). [N.3] Levine v. State, [162 So. 3d 106 (Fla. 4th DCA 2014) ] (reversing 50-year sentence for at…
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Cortez Hatten v. State, 152 So. 3d 849 (Fla. 1st DCA 2014)…egree murder, is a second-degree felony, but it was enhanced to a first-degree felony in this case because Appellant used a firearm during the commission of the offense. See §§ 775.087(l)(b), 777.04(4)(c), 782.04(2), Fla. Stat. . Martinez v. State, 114 So. 3d 1119, 1120 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013); Sheppard v. State, 113 So. 3d 148, 149 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013); Prater v. State, 113 So. 3d 147, 147-48 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013). . Levine v. State, - So. 3d -, 2014 WL 5149098 (Fla. 4th DCA Oct. 15, 2014) (reversing 50-year sentence…
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Wilson v. State, 263 So. 3d 761 (Fla. 2d DCA 2019)…App. P. 9.141(b)(2) from the Circuit Court for Pinellas County; Michael F. Andrews, Judge. David L. Wilson, pro se. PER CURIAM. Affirmed. See § 775.087(2)(b), Fla. Stat. (2006); State v. Whitehead, 472 So. 2d 730 (Fla. 1985); Martinez v. State, 114 So. 3d 1119 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013); Sheppard v. State, 113 So. 3d 148 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013); Robinson v. State, 37 So. 3d 921 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010); Burttram v. State, 846 So. 2d 1201 (Fla. 2d DCA 2003). NORTHCUTT, SLEET, and SALARIO, JJ., Concur.…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Corey v. Corey, 48 So. 3d 740 (Fla. 2010)
- Mendenhall v. State, 48 So. 3d 740 (Fla. 2010)
- Wooden v. State, 42 So. 3d 837 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)
- Newton W. McLEOD v. State, 52 So. 3d 784 (Fla. 5th DCA 2010)
- Sheppard v. State, 113 So. 3d 148 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013)