Campbell v. State, 92-2918
| Decision Date | 18 February 1993 |
| Docket Number | No. 92-2918,92-2918 |
| Citation | 614 So.2d 600 |
| Parties | 18 Fla. L. Week. D545 Robert CAMPBELL, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender, and David P. Gauldin, Asst. Public Defender, Tallahassee, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Sonya Roebuck Horbelt, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, for appellee.
Appellant, Robert Campbell, appeals an order imposing restitution as a condition of probation, on grounds that the trial court lost jurisdiction to require restitution after expiration of the sixty-day period for modification of a legal sentence. See Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.800(b). We agree, and reverse and remand with directions to strike the restitution condition.
On August 19, 1991, appellant signed a written form plea, entering a plea of no contest to the offenses of shooting within a building and carrying a concealed firearm. The record reflects that while intoxicated, appellant fired two shots into the ceiling of Womble's bar. Prior to sentencing on September 26, 1991, appellant's counsel attempted to determine the amount due to repair the damage, but had been unable to do so by the hearing date. Appellant's counsel advised the court that the roof needed to be fixed, and that appellant was willing to fix it. The trial court adjudicated appellant guilty, and placed him on two concurrent two-year periods of probation. In addition, the court stated:
I will reserve jurisdiction on the issue of restitution. If the gentleman doesn't want to come forward, then if he doesn't come forward he doesn't get it. I would impose court costs in the amount of $225, payable over the period of probation.
On August 13, 1992, a restitution hearing was held. At that time, Mr. Womble, the owner of the bar, testified that he had had the roof fixed just a few days prior to the hearing, at a cost of "between three and four hundred dollars." Mr. Womble explained that if the roof had been repaired immediately after the damage occurred, neither the repair nor the cost would have been so extensive.
Appellant testified that he had made several attempts to contact Mr. Womble about the repair. He further stated that "after time had passed and time had passed, he told me that the State had sent him a letter for me not to worry about it, that it was all taken care of." Appellant said that when he finally talked with the bar owner, Mr. Womble told appellant that he did not want appellant to repair the roof himself. A roofer testified that a bullet hole in a tin roof, such as the one at issue here could be repaired in fifteen to twenty minutes, at a cost of $45.00.
The presentence investigation report contained the following notation with respect to restitution:
Mr. Womble was informed that once he obtains an estimate that he should forward them [sic] to the State Attorney's Office if he is requesting restitution. Mr. Womble indicated that he had contact with the defendant's attorney, Randy Murrell, and told him that he would get an estimate to him. He has not done so as of this date.
At the 1992 hearing, appellant's counsel objected to imposition of restitution. Counsel advised the trial court that his notes indicated the court reserved jurisdiction on the issue of restitution, not the amount. Therefore, counsel took the position that the court's jurisdiction expired, and the court no longer had authority to impose a restitution amount. Counsel also objected to the amount claimed by Mr. Womble, asserting that the bar owner had some obligation to limit the damage to his roof by seeing to it that it was repaired timely. Counsel for the state argued contra, asserting the trial court imposed restitution at sentencing, and reserved jurisdiction to determine the amount.
The trial court concluded that jurisdiction had been reserved on the amount of restitution, rather than the issue of...
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