YOUSEL L. RIVERA
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA
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Evidence of marijuana possession was admissible as inextricably intertwined with the offense; evidence of abnormal brain pathology was properly excluded; ballistic evidence was properly admitted; no Brady violation occurred; sufficient evidence supported premeditation; voluntary intoxication instruction was properly included; prosecutorial conduct was proper; and life sentence was constitutional.
[1] Evidence of a defendant's possession of marijuana during the commission of a charged offense is admissible when inextricably intertwined with the elements of the crime.
[2] Evidence of abnormal brain pathology and prior head injuries is inadmissible when offered to negate the defendant's capacity to form the requisite intent for a crime.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceYousel L. Rivera was convicted of attempted first-degree premeditated murder of a law enforcement officer with a firearm. This is his second appeal fr…
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SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________
Case No. 6D2024-0735 Lower Tribunal No. 11-CF-15936 _____________________________
YOUSEL L. RIVERA, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. _____________________________
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Lee County. Nicholas Thompson, Judge.
July 11, 2025
PER CURIAM.
Yousel L. Rivera appeals his conviction and sentence for attempted firstdegree premeditated murder of a law enforcement officer with a firearm.1 He raises numerous issues on appeal, all of which we find unavailing. Specifically, we find:1) evidence of his possession of marijuana during the shooting was admissible because it was inextricably intertwined with the charged offense;2) evidence of his “abnormal brain pathology” and prior head injuries was inadmissible to show he did not act with the requisite intent, see, e.g., Evans v. State, 946 So. 2d 1, 10–11 (Fla. 2006), Reaves v. State, 639 So. 2d 1, 4 (Fla. 1994), and Bunney v. State, 603 So. 2d
2
1270, 1272–73 (Fla. 1992); 3) the bullet fragment and test-fired casings were properly admitted because there was no evidence of tampering and, even if that were not the case, the admission of such evidence was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt; 4) no Brady2 violation occurred because the parties had equal access to the information in question and there was no evidence the State willfully or inadvertently suppressed the evidence, see, e.g., Pagan v. State, 29 So. 3d 938, 946 (Fla. 2009) and Provenzano v. State, 616 So. 2d 428, 430 (Fla. 1993); 5) there was sufficient evidence to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the shooting was premeditated; 6) the record supported the inclusion of a voluntary intoxication instruction, see Patrick v. State, 104 So. 3d 1046, 1058 (Fla. 2012) and Gibbs v. State, 904 So. 2d 432, 437 (Fla. 4th DCA 2005); 7) the State’s actions during closing arguments were not improper; and 8) the imposition of a life sentence was not unconstitutional, see, e.g., Barwick v. State, 361 So. 3d 785, 794 (Fla. 2023) and Boesch v. State, 368 So. 3d 454, 455–56 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023).
AFFIRMED.
STARGEL, NARDELLA and SMITH, JJ., concur.
Ana M. Davide, of Ana M. Davide, P.A., Coral Gables, for Appellant.
James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Johnathan P. Hurley, Senior Assistant Attorney General, and David Campbell, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING
AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF TIMELY FILED
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Authorities Cited
- Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (U.S. 1963)
- Reaves v. State, 639 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1994)
- Patrick v. State, 104 So. 3d 1046 (Fla. 2012)
- Provenzano v. State, 616 So. 2d 428 (Fla. 1993)
- Wydell Jody Evans v. State, 946 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 2006)
- Pagan v. State, 29 So. 3d 938 (Fla. 2009)
- Barwick v. State, 361 So. 3d 785 (Fla. 2023)
- Barley v. Paletti, 904 So. 2d 432 (Fla. 1st DCA 2005)
- Yousel L. Rivera v. State, 235 So. 3d 983 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)
- Hunter Thomas Boesch v. State, 368 So. 3d 454 (Fla. 4th DCA 2023)