JOSE ALEJANDRO PEREZ-FLORES, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
AI-generated. These summaries, headnotes, and key points are machine-generated and may contain errors or omissions. Always verify against the full opinion text below. Not legal advice.
Perez-Flores appealed his convictions for attempted manslaughter and aggravated battery. The court affirmed the convictions but reversed the sentencing on the aggravated battery conviction because the trial court improperly reclassified the offense from a second-degree to first-degree felony when it was unclear whether the jury based its verdict on great bodily harm or use of a deadly weapon.
The court affirmed the convictions for attempted manslaughter and aggravated battery, but reversed the sentence on the aggravated battery conviction, holding that reclassification was improper because it was unclear whether the jury found guilt based on great bodily harm or use of a deadly weapon. The case was remanded for resentencing with aggravated battery properly classified as a second-degree felony.
[1] A conviction for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon cannot be reclassified to a first-degree felony when the jury instructions permit a finding of guilt based on eit…
[2] Aggravated battery inflicting great bodily harm may be enhanced if a weapon is used, but aggravated battery using a deadly weapon cannot be reclassified because the use o…
Previewing 2 of 2 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“Reclassification of aggravated battery is not permitted when, as here, it is not clear whether the defendant was found guilty based on a finding that he caused great bodily harm or that he used a deadly weapon.”
Establishes the core legal principle that ambiguity regarding which form of aggravated battery the jury convicted on precludes reclassification.
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligencePerez-Flores was convicted by jury trial of attempted manslaughter by act with a weapon and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon or causing great b…
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Jose Alejandro Perez-Flores appeals his convictions and sentences following a jury trial for attempted manslaughter by act with a weapon and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon or causing great bodily harm. We affirm his convictions, but reverse his sentence on the aggravated battery and remand for further proceedings.
Perez-Flores argues, and the State properly concedes, the trial court improperly reclassified Perez-Flores’s conviction for aggravated battery with a deadly weapon or causing great bodily harm from a second-degree felony to a first-degree felony, and thereafter, imposed a twenty-year sentence. Reclassification of aggravated battery is not permitted when, as here, it is not clear whether the defendant was found guilty based on a finding that he caused great bodily harm or that he used a deadly weapon. While aggravated battery inflicting great bodily harm is subject to enhancement if a weapon is used, aggravated battery using a deadly weapon is not because use of a deadly weapon is an essential element of the crime. See, e.g., Lareau v. State, 573 So.2d 813, 815 (Fla. 1991); Brady v. State, 65 So.3d 599, 601 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011); Hernandez v. State, 30 So.3d 610, 612 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010); Benjamin v. State, 8 So.3d 460, 460 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009); Webb v. State, 997 So.2d 469 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008). Here, the jury was instructed on both forms of aggravated battery and it is unclear whether the jury found Perez-Flores guilty of one or the other form of aggravated battery. Thus, reclassification was improper. Accordingly, we reverse and remand for re-sentencing with the aggravated battery classified as a second-degree felony.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; and REMANDED for resentencing.
PALMER and ORFINGER, JJ., and BOATWRIGHT, J., Associate Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Hervey Lareau v. State, 573 So. 2d 813 (Fla. 1991)
- Webb v. State, 997 So. 2d 469 (Fla. 2d DCA 2008)
- Cruz v. State, 30 So. 3d 610 (Fla. 4th DCA 2010)
- Gonzalez v. State, 65 So. 3d 599 (Fla. 4th DCA 2011)
- Hernandez v. State, 30 So. 3d 610 (Fla. 3d DCA 2010)
- Brady v. State, 65 So. 3d 599 (Fla. 5th DCA 2011)
- Herb Benjamin v. State, 8 So. 3d 460 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009)