Franklin v. State, AZ-193

Decision Date09 October 1985
Docket NumberNo. AZ-193,AZ-193
Citation10 Fla. L. Weekly 2313,476 So.2d 1346
Parties10 Fla. L. Weekly 2313 Arthur O. FRANKLIN and Frankie Lee Owens, Appellants, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

Michael Allen, Public Defender; Carl S. McGinnes, Asst. Public Defender, for appellants.

Jim Smith, Atty. Gen.; Gregory G. Costas, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

MILLS, Judge.

Owens appeals the denial of his motions for discharge pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.191 (speedy trial) and for judgment of acquittal. Franklin appeals the denial of his motions for judgment of acquittal and to suppress. He also contends that the trial court erred in imposing adult sentences without considering Section 39.111(6), Florida Statutes (1983). We affirm in part and reverse in part.

On 30 June 1983, Owens and Franklin entered a convenience store where one held a knife on the manager and the other displayed to the female cashier what appeared to her to be a .22 caliber pistol. After one of the men removed money from the cash register, the cashier surrendered her car keys on threat of being shot, then accompanied the men in the car, again after they threatened to shoot her if she resisted. She was driven to an isolated spot where each man raped her while the other held the gun 2-3 inches from her head. After the rapes, they discussed shooting her in the head, but rejected the plan as "too messy"; they robbed her of some jewelry and left.

The men were apprehended a few days later. Both provided the police with written statements describing their involvement in the crimes after receiving their Miranda rights and acknowledging their comprehension thereof. Franklin, who was 17 years old at the time of the crimes, filed a pretrial motion to suppress his statement based on the failure of the police to obtain a written, witnessed waiver as required under Florida Rule of Juvenile Procedure 8.290. The trial court denied the motion, finding that the signed and witnessed constitutional rights form complied with the rule.

On 13 October, Owens filed a motion to determine his competence to stand trial and his sanity at the time of the crimes. He was examined by three physicians and, based on their reports, was adjudged competent to stand trial on 6 February 1984. On 19 March, Owens moved for discharge under Rule 3.191 alleging that he had not been brought to trial within the 180-day limit. The motion was denied, the trial court finding that the determination of competency requested by Owens had tolled the speedy trial period. No "written or recorded order" extending the time was entered by the court.

The case proceeded to trial on charges of robbery with a deadly weapon, assault with a knife, kidnapping with intent to commit or facilitate sexual battery and sexual battery using or threatening to use a deadly weapon. Appellants' motions for judgment of acquittal based on the State's failure to prove use of either a deadly weapon or firearm were denied. (Appellants' statements to police each provided that the weapon used was a ".22 blank gun"; the weapon was never located and thus never physically examined to verify this contention.) The jury found them guilty of all counts. Franklin was sentenced to 1000-year terms on all counts with retention of jurisdiction for the first third; Owens received 500 years per count with a similar retention of jurisdiction.

The trial court did not err in denying Owens' motion for discharge under the speedy trial rule. He argues that the court failed to enter a written or recorded order extending the period for purposes of his competency examination, and that the examination itself, under the amended rule, did not toll the time. However, the rule, though amended to eliminate the language that a defendant must be "continuously available" for trial to qualify for discharge, still requires a defendant to be "ready for trial." There is no difference in meaning between the two phrases, and Owens...

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8 cases
  • Hall v. State
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 18 March 1987
    ...doubt that a weapon was used to perpetrate the crime. See Mitchell v. State, 493 So.2d 1058 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986); Franklin v. State, 476 So.2d 1346 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985); Fletcher v. State, 472 So.2d 537 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985); T.T. v. State, 459 So.2d 471 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984). We have considered ......
  • Busquet v. State, 85-1169
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 16 December 1986
    ...Franklin v. State, 472 So.2d 1303 (Fla. 1st DCA) (non-capital case; no fundamental error shown), modified on other grounds, 476 So.2d 1346 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), pet. for review denied, 482 So.2d 348 (Fla.1986).2 Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.370 provides as follows:"Rule 3.370. Regulation and Separation o......
  • Butler v. State
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 9 June 1992
    ...his sweater, together with accomplice's testimony that either defendant or a third person had a gun, sufficient); Franklin v. State, 476 So.2d 1346 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985) (testimony of victim that defendant displayed a .22-caliber pistol, and threatened on three occasions to shoot her, suffici......
  • Baxter v. Downey, 90-02958
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • 8 February 1991
    ...the 175-day speedy trial period provided by rule 3.191 even in the absence of a written order extending the period. Franklin v. State, 476 So.2d 1346 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985). Because of the tolling, Baxter's motion was premature and therefore a nullity. Schuty v. State, 281 So.2d 507 (Fla. 1st ......
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