MICHAEL ADAM DAVIS
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 5th DCA | 2026-06-26
No. 2025-1810
Crawford, J., Lambert, J., Soud, J., Kilbane, J.
2026 FL 7967 Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2026)

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Holding

Evidence is sufficient to support a jury's finding that a defendant is a prison releasee reoffender under section 775.082(9), Florida Statutes, when the defendant was released from a state correctional facility within three years of committing the qualifying offense.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant's testimony that he was released from a state correctional facility within three years prior to committing a qualifying felony constitutes sufficient evidence…

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Facts & Procedural History

Michael Adam Davis, a 25-time convicted felon, was found guilty of aggravated battery. The jury determined he was a prison releasee reoffender after h…

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Opinion of the Court

FIFTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL

STATE OF FLORIDA

Case Nos. 5D2025-1781 5D2025-1810 LT Case No. 05-2023-CF-12391-A

STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellant/Cross-Appellee,

V.

MICHAEL ADAM DAVIS, Appellee/Cross-Appellant.

On appeal from the Circuit Court for Brevard County. Charles G. Crawford, Judge.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Deborah A. Chance, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellant/Cross-Appellee.

Matthew J. Metz, Public Defender, and Joseph R. Chloupek, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellee/Cross- Appellant.

June 26, 2026

PER CURIAM.

Michael Adam Davis—a twenty-five-time convicted felon— was found guilty by a jury of his peers of aggravated battery, a second degree felony. Immediately upon returning this verdict, the jury received evidence and argument addressing the bifurcated question of whether Davis was a prison releasee reoffender under section 775.082(9), Florida Statutes (2022). The jury determined he was. Later, concluding the evidence presented to the jury was insufficient to support their verdict finding Davis a prison releasee reoffender, the trial judge announced he was “setting aside the jury's decision of PRR.”1

The State appeals the trial court's decision.2

The PRR statute mandates that a defendant who commits a qualifying offense (here, aggravated battery) “within 3 years after being released from a state correctional facility operated by the Department of Corrections [or other identified facility or institution] . . . must be sentenced . . . for a felony of the second degree, by a [maximum] term of imprisonment of 15 years." § 775.082(9)(a)1.-3., Fla. Stat. A prison releasee reoffender is not eligible for parole or any other form of early release and “must serve 100 percent of the court-imposed sentence.” § 775.082(9)(b), Fla. Stat.

Here, amongst other evidence proving the question, Davis himself testified that prior to the January 2023 offense charged, he was last released from a state correctional facility in June 2022, just seven months prior. This, of course, is well within the statutory three-year timeframe. As a result, the evidence presented to the jury was sufficient to sustain its finding that Davis was a prison releasee reoffender.

Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's order setting aside the jury's verdict finding Davis a prison releasee reoffender, and remand this case to the trial court with instructions to reinstate

the jury verdict and designate Davis a prison releasee reoffender. Further, the trial court shall conduct a resentencing hearing, at which Davis is entitled to counsel. As mandated by section 775.082(9)(a)3.c., Florida Statutes, Davis shall be sentenced to the fifteen-year maximum sentence.

REVERSED and REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS. CROSS APPEAL

AFFIRMED.

LAMBERT and SOUD, JJ., concur. KILBANE, J., concurs in result only.

Footnotes
1 Ultimately, following a sentencing hearing, Davis was sentenced on the aggravated battery count to nine years in prison followed by five years of probation. 2 Davis filed a cross-appeal, which is without merit. We affirm on all issues raised without further comment.
2 We conclude the trial court erred in its determination that the evidence was insufficient to find Davis a prison releasee reoffender.

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