RUFUS MARCEL ABRAMS, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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On remand from the Florida Supreme Court, the First District Court of Appeal reversed a defendant's sentence imposed under the 10-20-Life statute after the Supreme Court clarified that consecutive sentencing of mandatory minimums for multiple firearm offenses is discretionary, not mandatory, when offenses arise from the same criminal episode and involve multiple victims who are shot at.
The trial court has discretion to impose either concurrent or consecutive mandatory minimum sentences for multiple firearm offenses committed contemporaneously during the same criminal episode involving multiple victims who are shot at; consecutive sentencing is permissible but not mandatory under these circumstances.
[1] A trial court has discretion to qualify a witness as an expert based on their education, training, and experience, and this discretion will not be disturbed on appeal abs…
[2] Statutory provisions governing the qualifications of court-appointed sanity evaluators do not preclude parties from presenting other qualified experts at trial.
Previewing 2 of 6 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“consecutive sentencing of mandatory minimum imprisonment terms for multiple firearm offenses is impermissible if the offenses arose from the same criminal episode and a firearm was merely possessed but not discharged.”
Establishes the rule distinguishing between cases where consecutive sentencing is prohibited versus permissible
Previewing 1 of 3 key quotes on this case — the court’s exact language, pinpointed for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant Rufus Marcel Abrams was convicted by jury of discharging a firearm in each of multiple charged offenses that occurred in the same criminal e…
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*582ON REMAND FROM THE FLORIDA SUPREME COURT
We previously affirmed Appellant’s sentence based on our en banc decision in Walton v. State, 106 So.3d 522 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013) (Walton I), which held that mandatory mínimums under the 10-20-Life statute must be imposed consecutively regardless of whether the defendant possessed or discharged a firearm. However, the Florida Supreme Court quashed our decision in this case and remanded for reconsideration in light of its decisions in Walton v. State, 208 So.3d 60 (Fla. 2016) (Walton II), and Williams v. State, 186 So.3d 989 (Fla. 2016). See Abrams v. State, 42 Fla. L. Weekly S680, 2017 WL 2302328 (Fla. May 26, 2017).
In Williams, the Court held that “consecutive sentencing of mandatory minimum imprisonment terms for multiple firearm offenses is impermissible if the offenses arose from the same criminal episode and a firearm was merely possessed but not discharged." 186 So.3d at 993; accord Walton II, 208 So.3d at 64. But, the Court also held that “[i]f ... multiple firearm offenses are committed contemporaneously, during which time multiple victims are shot at, then consecutive sentencing is permissible but not mandatory.” Williams, 186. So.3d at 993.
Here, the jury found Appellant guilty of discharging a firearm in each of the charged offenses. The offenses occurred in the same episode and involved multiple victims. Thus, the trial court had discretion to impose concurrent or consecutive mandatory minimum sentences in this case.
At sentencing, the trial court stated that it was bound by this court’s decision in Walton I to impose consecutive mandatory minimum sentences. However, the court also stated that it would not have imposed consecutive mandatory mínimums if it was not compelled to do so. Accordingly, because it is clear the trial court would not have imposed the same sentence if it was not bound by Walton I, we reverse Appellant’s sentence and remand for resentenc-ing in accordance with Williams and Walton II.
We affirm the remaining issues on appeal.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part; REMANDED for resentencing.
B.L. THOMAS, C.J., WETHERELL, and RAY, JJ., CONCUR.
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Rashawn Renard Jackson v. State, 273 So. 3d 1103 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019)
Authorities Cited
- Williams v. State, 186 So. 3d 989 (Fla. 2016)
- Leronnie Lee Walton v. State, 208 So. 3d 60 (Fla. 2016)
- Leronnie Lee Walton v. State, 106 So. 3d 522 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)
- Javarus Lamont Morgan v. State, 42 Fla. L. Weekly S680 (Fla. 3d DCA 2019)