WILLIAM EDWARD RENO, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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The court reversed Appellant's conviction for attempted second-degree murder due to insufficient evidence of the depraved mind element and remanded for entry of judgment on the lesser-included offense of improper exhibition of a firearm.
Evidence was legally insufficient to establish the depraved mind element required for attempted second-degree murder, requiring reversal and remand for conviction on the lesser-included offense of improper exhibition of a firearm.
[1] Under section 924.34, Florida Statutes, when evidence of a greater offense is insufficient at trial and the jury was instructed on a lesser-included offense, the trial co…
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, and the jury was instructed on two lesser-included offenses.…
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We reverse Appellant’s conviction for attempted second-degree murder because the evidence presented at trial was legally insufficient to establish the “depraved mind” element of that offense. See § 782.04(2), Fla. Stat. (2011) (defining second-degree murder). Of the two lesser-included offenses on which the jury was instructed, the evidence and the jury’s verdict were sufficient to establish only improper exhibition of a firearm. Under the *1175mandatory language of section 924.34, Florida Statutes (2011), we therefore remand this case for the trial court to enter a judgment of conviction for improper exhibition of a firearm and resentence him accordingly. See State v. Sigler, 967 So.2d 835, 844 (Fla.2007) (recognizing that section 924.34 applies to a permissive lesser-included offense where the jury’s verdict necessarily includes a finding of guilt as to that offense); Festa v. State, 927 So.2d 1049, 1051-52 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006) (holding that the State does not have a second opportunity to prove a lesser-included offense where the evidence of the greater offense was insufficient at a jury trial and the jury was not instructed on the lesser offense).
REVERSED and REMANDED with instructions.
WOLF, ROBERTS, and RAY, JJ„ concur.
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State v. Franco (Fla. 1st DCA 2026)…l court sua sponte issued a notice to reconsider the son's motion for judgment of acquittal. At a hearing on this matter, the trial judge's main contention seemed to be that this Court had previously reversed a decision he had made in Reno v. State, 121 So. 3d 1174 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013). The trial court explained to the parties that in Reno, a husband was convicted of attempted second-degree murder, but this Court reversed the conviction and said the highest offense established was improper exhibition of a firea…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Sigler, 967 So. 2d 835 (Fla. 2007)
- Festa v. State, 927 So. 2d 1049 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006)