C.P. v. State, 3D10–2488.

• Decision Date: 01 July 2011
• Docket Number: No. 3D10–2488.,3D10–2488.
• Citation: 99 So.3d 522
• Parties: C.P., a juvenile, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
• Court: Florida District Court of Appeals

99 So.3d 522

C.P., a juvenile, Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 3D10–2488.

District Court of Appeal of Florida,
Third District.

July 1, 2011.

[99 So.3d 523]

Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Marti Rothenberg, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Keri T. Joseph, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before GERSTEN, ROTHENBERG, and SALTER, JJ.

PER CURIAM.

C.P., a juvenile, appeals from an order finding guilt and withholding adjudication of delinquency. We reverse in part and affirm in part.

C.P. and a friend were playing around in a mobile home park outside a vacant mobile home. C.P. found a metal bar and applied it to the mobile home door. When a neighbor yelled out to them, C.P. and his friend dropped the bar and ran. The State charged C.P. with count (1) criminal mischief over $200 but less than $1,000 by breaking and/or damaging the door of a structure, count (2) attempted burglary of an unoccupied structure, and count (3) possession of burglary tools with intent to commit a burglary or trespass.

At the adjudicatory hearing, the State called two witnesses, the neighbor and a representative of the mobile home park. The neighbor testified that he saw C.P. putting the bar to the door of a vacant mobile home. The representative testified that there was $352.74 in damage to the door. After the State rested, defense counsel moved for a judgment of dismissal, claiming the State failed to prove the requisite intent for each count. The trial judge denied the motion.

The defense presented C.P., who testified that he was horsing around with his friend when they found a bar on the stairs to a vacant mobile home. They noticed a hole on the door, and C.P. put the bar inside the hole. He also testified that he did not intend to enter the home. C.P. stated they were scared off when the neighbor yelled. The defense rested and renewed all previous motions.

The trial court found C.P. delinquent on counts one and three, and guilty on the lesser offense of trespass in count 2. The trial court withheld adjudication, ordered restitution, and placed C.P. on probation with conditions. C.P. appealed.

On appeal, C.P. contends that the trial court erred in denying the motion for judgment of dismissal and convicting him of the three charges because the State failed to prove these offenses beyond a reasonable doubt. The State asserts that the trial court properly denied C.P.'s motion for judgment of...