METRO BUTNER, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 2d DCA | 2017-04-28
No. Case No. 2D14-3868
NORTHCUTT and BLACK, JJ., Concur.
217 So. 3d 1162 Florida District Court of Appeal, Second District (2017) Positive Treatment
Cited by 1 case

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.

Synopsis

Metro Butner was convicted by jury of attempted second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, and shooting within a building. The appellate court affirmed the convictions but reversed the consecutive sentencing on two counts, finding the trial court erroneously believed it was required to impose consecutive mandatory minimum sentences when it actually had discretion to impose them concurrently.


Holding

The trial court erred in designating the sentences on counts one and two to run consecutively because section 775.087(2)(d) does not mandate consecutive sentences for qualifying felonies committed in the same criminal episode. The trial court had discretion to impose concurrent sentences, and the record clearly indicates the court would not have imposed consecutive sentences if it understood it had such discretion.


Headnotes

[1] A trial court's belief that a statute mandates consecutive sentences, when the statute does not, constitutes a sentencing error requiring resentencing.

[2] A statute mandating consecutive sentences for a qualifying felony does not require that sentence to run consecutively to another qualifying felony sentence.

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Key Quotes

“As written, paragraph (2)(d) contemplates two distinct imprisonment terms: a term imposed for a qualifying felony pursuant to subsection (2), and a term imposed for a non-qualifying felony. The last sentence of paragraph (2)(d) ... expressly mandates only that a qualifying felony sentence run "consecutively to" any sentence imposed for a non-qualifying felony. Nothing within paragraph (2)(d)'s plain language also requires, as the State posits, a qualifying felony sentence to run consecutively to another qualifying felony sentence.”

This quote from Williams v. State establishes the correct statutory interpretation of section 775.087(2)(d), clarifying that consecutive sentences are not mandated between two qualifying felonies.

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Facts & Procedural History

Butner was charged with three counts arising from an incident where he struggled with a victim who was shot in the head. A jury convicted him of attem…

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Opinion of the Court
WALLACE, Judge.

WALLACE, Judge.

Metro Butner appeals his judgment and sentences following a jury trial. We affirm the judgment, but we reverse two of the sentences and remand for resentencing.

I. BACKGROUND

Mr. Butner was charged in a three-count information. A jury convicted Mr. Butner on count one, attempted second-degree murder, section 782.04, Florida Statutes (2012); on count two, aggravated assault with a firearm, section 784.021, Florida Statutes (2012); and on count three, shooting within a building, section 790.19, Florida Statutes (2012). The trial court adjudged him to be guilty in accordance with the jury’s verdict and sentenced him to twenty-five years’ prison for count one; to twenty years’ prison for count two; and to fifteen years’ prison for count three. The sentences on counts one and two were imposed as mandatory minimums. The trial court designated the sentences for all three counts to run consecutively. All three offenses arose out of an incident where Mr. Butner struggled with the victim and the victim was shot in the head.

II. DISCUSSION

On appeal, Mr. Butner raises three points. First, Mr. Butner argues that the trial court erred by denying Mr. Butner’s motion for a judgment of acquittal on count three. Second, he argues that the trial court erred in failing to read a self-defense jury instruction. Third, he argues that the trial court erred in designating the sentences on count one and count two to run consecutively. Mr. Butner’s first and second arguments are without merit and do not warrant further discussion. Mr. Butner’s third point has merit. Thus, we reverse the sentences on counts one and two and remand to the trial court for resentencing.

Mr. Butner argues that the trial court erred in designating the sentences on counts one and two to run consecutively because the trial court erroneously believed that section 775.087(2)(d), 'Florida Statutes (2012), required that result.1 We review this issue de novo. Williams v. State, 186 So.3d 989, 991 (Fla. 2016) (quoting Johnson v. State, 78 So.3d 1305, 1310 (Fla. 2012)), ‘When the language of the statute is clear and unambiguous and conveys a clear and definite meaning, there is no occasion for resorting to the rules of statutory interpretation and construction; the statute must be given its plain and obvious meaning.” Bennett v. St. Vincent’s Med. Ctr., Inc., 71 So.3d 828, 838 (Fla. 2011) (quoting Fla. Birth-Related Neurological Injury Comp. Ass’n v. Dep’t of Admin. Hearings, 29 So.3d 992, 997 (Fla. 2010)).

In this case, the language of section 775.087(2)(d) is clear. Both offenses were qualified felonies under section 775.087(2)(a).2 The Florida Supreme Court explained in Williams:

*1164As written, paragraph (2)(d) contemplates two distinct imprisonment terms: a term imposed for a qualifying felony pursuant to subsection (2), and a term imposed for a non-qualifying felony. The last sentence of paragraph (2)(d) ... expressly mandates only that a qualifying felony sentence run “consecutively to” any sentence imposed for a non-qualifying felony. Nothing within paragraph (2)(d)’s plain language also requires, as the State posits, a qualifying felony sentence to run consecutively to another qualifying felony sentence.
Furthermore, at no point since its inception in the past sixteen years have we interpreted paragraph (2)(d) to mandate the imposition of consecutive sentences for the qualifying felonies. See [State v. Sousa, 903 So.2d 928, 927 (Fla. 2005) ]. ...
Thus, we concluded that paragraph (2)(d) did not attenuate trial judges’ authority to impose consecutive mandatory minimum sentences for firearm offenses.

186 So.3d at 992-93 (emphasis added).

A trial court must impose the mandatory minimum sentences concurrently when the offenses arose from the same criminal episode and a firearm was not discharged. See Walton v. State, 208 So.3d 60, 64 (Fla. 2016) (citing Williams with approval). However, a trial court has the discretion to impose the sentences consecutively when the offenses are committed contemporaneously, a firearm was discharged, and the defendant “injures multiple victims or causes multiple injuries to one victim.” Valentin v. State, 963 So.2d 317, 319-20 (Fla. 5th DCA 2007) (citations omitted); see also State v. Sousa, 903 So.2d 923, 925-26 (Fla. 2005); State v. Christian, 692 So.2d 889, 890-91 (Fla. 1997); State v. Thomas, 487 So.2d 1043, 1044-45 (Fla. 1986); Scott v. State, 42 So.3d 923, 925 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010). When it is unclear from the record whether the trial court would have imposed the same sentence if the trial court had known it had discretion, we must vacate the defendant’s sentence and remand the case for resentencing. Cf. Kezal v. State, 42 So.3d 252, 256 (Fla. 2d DCA 2010) (vacating the defendant’s sentences and remanding for resentencing because this court was “unable to determine from our review of the record whether the circuit court would have imposed the same sentences if it had understood that it had the discretion to depart under [section 921.0026(2)(j), Florida Statutes (2005)] upon proof of each element of that subsection”).

At the sentencing hearing in this case, the trial court expressly noted that Mr. Butner had the right to file a motion to correct his sentences within thirty days. Then, the trial court stated, “I will certainly grant [the motion] if I have to. This is not the sentence that if I had discretion I would not [sic] impose for his age[3] or any other reason—a 60-year sentence in this case.” See Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.800(b)(1) (“During the time allowed for the filing of a notice of appeal of a sentence, a defendant or the state may file a motion to correct a sentencing error.”). Based on the record here, it is clear that the trial court would not have imposed consecutive sentences if it had understood that it had discretion under section 775.087(2)(d) to impose the sentences concurrently. For this reason, we vacate Mr. Butner’s sentences on counts one and two and remand for resentencing on those counts. See Kezal, 42 So.3d at 256. Mr. Butner shall be entitled to be present at the resentencing hearing. In all other respects, we affirm the judgment and sentences.

*1165Affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded.

NORTHCUTT and BLACK, JJ., Concur.


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  • Dawson v. State (Fla. 2d DCA 2026)
    …the record in this case is not one that otherwise provides the necessary clarity to conclude that the trial court ---PAGE 4--- would have imposed the same sentence even if it had understood that it the authority to depart. See Butner v. State, 217 So. 3d 1162, 1164 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017) ("When it is unclear from the record whether the trial court would have imposed the same sentence if the trial court had known it had discretion, we must vacate the defendant's sentence and remand the case for resentenci…

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