Formor v. State, 94-2883

Decision Date21 June 1996
Docket NumberNo. 94-2883,94-2883
Citation676 So.2d 1013
Parties21 Fla. L. Weekly D1452 Curtis FORMOR, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

Robert J. Nesmith, Orlando, for Appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Anthony J. Golden, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

THOMPSON, Judge.

Curtis Formor was convicted of six counts of kidnapping with intent to commit a felony and six counts of home invasion robbery while wearing a mask. He appeals his convictions and argues two errors on appeal. His first argument is that the state's circumstantial evidence case failed to present sufficient evidence of guilt. The state presented evidence of a single fingerprint on an outside door which was accessible to the public, his wife's statement to detectives that he committed the crime, and Formor's statement that he was at one location four days after the crime was committed. His second argument is that he should not have been sentenced for the kidnapping counts because the movement of the victims was insignificant. The six victims were moved three to six feet from bedrooms to bathrooms. We affirm as to the home invasion robbery charges and reverse as to the kidnapping charges.

Formor was convicted of robbing six tourists at two motels .8 of a mile apart on International Drive in Orlando. The robberies occurred on 8 February 1994. All of the robberies occurred within one hour, and two of the robberies occurred at the same motel. Although the witnesses' stories conflicted, all of the witnesses agreed to these facts: Two black men wearing ski masks, and carrying either one or two sawed-off shotguns, entered a total of three unlocked guest rooms at the Ramada Inn and the Quality Inn. They ordered the victims at gunpoint to get on the floor or be killed. After robbing the victims, the men ordered them into the bathroom of each motel room, and told them not to come out or they might be killed. The victims stayed in the bathrooms while the robbers went through their luggage and valuables. Both robbers were about six feet tall and in their late 20's to mid-30's.

None of the victims could identify the robbers after the crimes. Several victims thought the robbers were black solely because of speech characteristics, but one victim testified that she could see their skin complexion because they were gloveless and wearing short pants. One victim thought that each robber had a shotgun whereas other victims said there was only one shotgun present. One victim said one of the robbers had on short pants and the other victims said both robbers had on long pants. At the scene of the two Quality Inn robberies, the police lifted one fingerprint, identified as Formor's, from the door entering one of the motel rooms. None of the victims' valuables or the shotgun was recovered.

Several weeks after the robbery, Raquel Formor, Formor's wife, called the sheriff's department and stated she wanted to give information anonymously about the robberies. She twice met with the detective and implicated her husband and his cousin. Based upon her testimony and the fingerprint, Formor was arrested. Later, at a bond hearing, she changed her story and said Formor was home in bed with her at the time the robberies occurred. She was charged, prosecuted and entered a plea of nolo contendere to perjury as a result of her testimony at the bond hearing. At Formor's trial, she testified that she only contacted the police because she had a boyfriend and she wanted to get rid of her husband.

The jury also heard a taped statement from Formor. After detectives arrested Formor, they read him his Miranda warnings and questioned him. He denied involvement in the robberies, but he did say he had been at the Ramada Inn, he thought, on only one occasion, to look at motel rooms. The occasion was his birthday, he told the detectives, and he was there with his wife looking at rooms. The detectives, however, learned that Formor's birthday occurred four days after the robberies.

After the state presented its case, Formor moved for a judgment of acquittal which the trial court denied. Formor presented three alibi witnesses who testified he was helping his cousin move on the date of the robberies. The court denied Formor's motion for judgment of acquittal at the conclusion of the case.

Formor's first argument is that his fingerprint alone is not sufficient to convict him, since he admitted being at the location other than during the crime. He emphasizes that he was never identified by any...

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15 cases
  • Kent v. State, 96-2590
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Florida (US)
    • December 5, 1997
    ...604 So.2d 475 (Fla.1992); Ferguson v. State, 533 So.2d 763 (Fla.1988); Faison v. State, 426 So.2d 963 (Fla.1983); Formor v. State, 676 So.2d 1013 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996). Applying the test to the present case, the evidence appears sufficient to establish that a kidnapping occurred. First, the m......
  • KS v. State, 5D01-1520.
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Florida (US)
    • April 19, 2002
    ...was committed. Jaramillo v. State, 417 So.2d 257 (Fla. 1982); Williams v. State, 740 So.2d 27 (Fla. 1st DCA 1999); Formor v. State, 676 So.2d 1013 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996); C.E. v. State, 665 So.2d 1097 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Miles v. State, 466 So.2d 239 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), pet. for review denie......
  • State v. Smith
    • United States
    • United States State Supreme Court of Florida
    • February 6, 2003
    ...See id. at 625-26. Regarding the reversal of the false imprisonment conviction, the district court compared Formor v. State, 676 So.2d 1013, 1015 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996), which reversed a kidnapping conviction based on the test announced in Faison v. State, 426 So.2d 963 (Fla.1983).1 See Smith,......
  • Frederick v. State
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Florida (US)
    • May 24, 2006
    ...v. State, 612 So.2d 632, 634 (Fla. 3d DCA 1993); McCutcheon v. State, 711 So.2d 1286, 1289 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998); Formor v. State, 676 So.2d 1013, 1014 (Fla. 5th DCA 1996); Wilcher v. State, 647 So.2d 1013 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994); Friend v. State, 385 So.2d 696, 697 (Fla. 1st DCA 1980). In Berry ......
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1 books & journal articles
  • A loitering and prowling primer.
    • United States
    • Florida Bar Journal Vol. 71 No. 10, November - November 1997
    • November 1, 1997
    ...was already committed. There was insufficient evidence that the defendant was about to attempt to commit a criminal act); T.W. v. State, 676 So. 2d 1013 (Fla. 2d D.C.A. 1996) (the defendant was seen carrying a chain saw, suspected to be stolen, next to a pawn shop at 4:00 a.m.; the court he......

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