K. R. M., A CHILD, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE

Fla. 1st DCA | 1978-07-18
No. JJ-79
BOYER and MELVIN, JJ., concur., McCORD, C. J., dissents.
360 So. 2d 806 Florida District Court of Appeal, First District (1978) Caution
Cited by 4 cases
Opinion of the Court
PER CURIAM.

PER CURIAM.

Appellant seeks review and reversal of an adjudication of delinquency on a charge of first degree arson. Damage to a “structure” is an essential element to the crime proscribed by F.S. 806.01. “Structure” is specifically defined by F.S. 806.-01(3) as meaning “any building of any kind, any enclosed area with a roof over it, and any vehicle, vessel, or aircraft.” A reading of the record sub judice reveals substantial evidence of appellant’s misuse of fire and is certainly sufficient to sustain a finding that he willfully and maliciously, by fire, damaged personal property within a structure. However, the essential element of damage to a structure, as defined in the statute, is absent. Had appellant’s adjudication of delinquency been on a charge of criminal mischief, proscribed by F.S. 806.13, we would affirm because we find the other points raised by appellant to be without merit.

Reversed and remanded for further proceedings consistent herewith.

BOYER and MELVIN, JJ., concur. McCORD, C. J., dissents.

Dissent
McCORD, Chief Judge,

McCORD, Chief Judge,

dissenting.

Although the damage was not great, it is clear from the evidence that there was some damage to fixtures which were a part of the building. I would affirm and, therefore, dissent.

Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus

Citator

Cited By

  • Granville v. State, 373 So. 2d 716 (Fla. 1st DCA 1979)
    …t the window area of the jail where Granville was confined and the exhaust fan therein was damaged by fire. This is sufficient to show damage to the “structure” since the window is clearly an integral part of the structure itself. K. R. M. v. State, 360 So. 2d 806 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978) is distinguishable since therein only personal property within the structure was damaged. The conviction and sentence are AFFIRMED. MILLS, C. J., and ROBERT P. SMITH, Jr., J., concur.…
  • S. W. v. State, 391 So. 2d 224 (Fla. 3d DCA 1980)
    …rse the finding of guilt upon a holding that (a) in order to sustain a conviction for first-degree arson, the State must prove that the fire was set wilfully and maliciously, Love v. State, 107 Fla. 376, 144 So. 843 (1932); see also K.R.M. v. State, 360 So. 2d 806 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978); Dodson v. State, 334 So. 2d 305 (Fla. 1st DCA 1976); (b) the evidence was totally consistent with the hypothesis that the fire was inadvertently caused by the juvenile throwing a cigarette, and thus insufficient to establish the…

Full citator, related cases, and AI research tools

Open in FLexlaw