Applewhite v. State

Decision Date18 June 2004
Docket NumberNo. 5D03-1919.,5D03-1919.
Citation874 So.2d 1276
PartiesAndre APPLEWHITE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

James B. Gibson, Public Defender, and Noel A. Pelella, Assistant Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for Appellant.

Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Mary G. Jolley, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

GRIFFIN, J.

Andre Applewhite ["Applewhite"] appeals his judgment and sentence. He contends that the trial court erred in denying his request for a jury instruction on a lesser included offense and in granting the State's request for a special jury instruction. We affirm.

On July 18, 2002, Applewhite was charged by amended information with escape1 and battery upon a law enforcement officer. Applewhite was found guilty of escape but was acquitted of battery. Applewhite was sentenced as a habitual felony offender to thirty years' imprisonment.

Prior to trial, the State filed a request for a special jury instruction on escape. Over Applewhite's objection, the court granted the motion.

At trial, the events resulting in the charges were developed. Deputy Christopher Stronko ["Stronko"] with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office testified that he had known Applewhite for five or six years, and that he came into contact with Applewhite on that day at 1063 Williams Street in east Altamonte Springs. Stronko was assisting Deputy Kirby Hilton ["Hilton"], who was already on the scene when Stronko arrived. They knew that Applewhite was on community control, and Hilton was having a discussion with Applewhite about whether or not he was allowed to be in that location. As Stronko approached the scene, he observed Hilton tell Applewhite to place his hands on the car because he was under arrest, and he overheard a conversation about why he was under arrest. Applewhite then placed his hands on the fender of the car, and Hilton unsnapped his handcuff case to retrieve the restraints. When Hilton went to place the handcuffs on Applewhite, Applewhite attempted to get away. Once Applewhite broke free, he was intercepted by Stronko. Applewhite shoved Stronko, but Stronko was able to restrain Applewhite so that Hilton could handcuff and secure him.

On cross-examination, Stronko testified that he also observed Hilton hand a cell phone to Applewhite, who talked to someone for a minute or so before handing the phone back to Hilton, and then Hilton told Applewhite to put his hands on the car. He also testified that the distance Applewhite ran from Hilton to Stronko was only six or seven feet.

Lorraine Johnson ["Johnson"], Applewhite's community control officer, testified that on December 4, 2001, Applewhite's approved residence was 137 Leon Street in Altamonte Springs. Johnson had informed Applewhite two days prior to the offense that if he was away from that residence without permission, he would be arrested for violation of his community control. She stated that she works with the deputy sheriffs in the area—including Hilton and Stronko—and advises them who is on community control in that district—including Applewhite. On the date of the offense, Applewhite was given permission to look for a job from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., which he was to document in a "job hunt log." Johnson had explained to him that as a condition of his community control, he was not allowed to stop anywhere else while looking for a job. On the date in question, Johnson received a phone call from Hilton and also spoke with Applewhite at that time. After speaking to both, she instructed Hilton to arrest Applewhite for violating community control because he did not have permission to be at 1063 Williams Street.

Applewhite testified that when he was arrested, he was at 1063 Williams Street to pick up his black tennis shoes that he let somebody borrow. Applewhite stated that when Hilton concluded his conversation with Johnson, he told Applewhite to put his hands on the car. As Hilton unsnapped the handcuffs, he ran but collided with Stronko. On cross-examination, when Applewhite was asked if he had any doubt that when he heard the handcuffs being unsnapped that he was being arrested, he responded, "No, not really." Applewhite admitted that he had nine prior felony convictions.

On appeal, Applewhite first contends that he was entitled to a jury instruction on resisting arrest without violence as a necessarily lesser included offense of escape because escape cannot be proven without also establishing proof of all of the elements of resisting arrest without violence.

The State responds that resisting arrest without violence is a permissive lesser included offence, and Applewhite was not entitled to an instruction on the permissive lesser offense of resisting without violence because the statutory elements of that crime were not included in the charging document. It notes that resisting an officer without violence is not listed in the schedule of lesser included offenses as either a category one or a category two lesser offense. The State points out that Applewhite has cited no case where an instruction on resisting without violence has been given as a lesser included offense of escape.

Resisting an officer without violence is defined in Section 843.02, Florida Statutes (2001), as:

Whoever shall resist, obstruct, or oppose any officer ... in the execution of legal process or in the lawful execution of any legal duty, without offering or doing violence to the person of the officer, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor of the first degree....

The elements of this offense are: (1) defendant resisted, obstructed or opposed the victim; (2) at the time the victim was engaged in the execution of legal process or lawful execution of a legal duty; and (3) at the time the victim was an officer. Fla. Std. Jury Instr. (Crim.) 21.2.

Escape is defined in section 944.40,...

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11 cases
  • Hughlon v. Sec'y, Fla. Dep't of Corrs.
    • United States
    • U.S. District Court — Middle District of Florida
    • September 22, 2021
    ...allege all the statutory elements of the lesser offense and the evidence at trial must support a guilty verdict on the lesser offense. Id. at 1279. Here, as in Applewhite, the charging document not allege every element of resisting an officer without violence. Resp. Ex. 3 at 26. Accordingly......
  • CLARK v. State of Fla.
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • August 25, 2010
    ...683, 686 (Fla. 2d DCA 2005) (reversible error not to give requested instruction on next lesser-included offense); Applewhite v. State, 874 So.2d 1276, 1279 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) (same); Overway v. State, 718 So.2d 308, 310 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998) Where a trial judge instructs the jury on the next......
  • Applewhite v. Secretary, No. 09-13363. Non-Argument Calendar (11th Cir. 4/19/2010)
    • United States
    • U.S. Court of Appeals — Eleventh Circuit
    • April 19, 2010
    ...offender, the court sentenced him to imprisonment for 30 years. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on appeal, Applewhite v. State, 874 So.2d 1276 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004). After his motion for post-conviction relief, see Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850, was denied, he commenced these habeas corpus......
  • Standard Jury Inst. in Cr. Cases No. 2006-2, SC06-2303.
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • July 12, 2007
    ...to avoid lawful confinement. Give if requested and applicable. See Kearse v. State, 662 So.2d 677 (Fla.1995) and Applewhite v. State, 874 So.2d 1276 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004). "Transportation to a place of confinement" begins at the time an individual is placed under arrest. An "arrest" takes pla......
  • Request a trial to view additional results
1 books & journal articles
  • Crimes
    • United States
    • James Publishing Practical Law Books The Florida Criminal Cases Notebook. Volume 1-2 Volume 2
    • April 30, 2021
    ...not find that the officer had completed the act of acquiring total control over the defendant prior to the escape. Applewhite v. State, 874 So. 2d 1276 (Fla. 5th DCA 2004) 10.13 CRIMES: FIREARMS AND WEAPONS OFFENSES Topics covered: The law related to concealed f‌irearms and concealed weapon......

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