Grimes v. State, BA-269
| Decision Date | 29 October 1985 |
| Docket Number | No. BA-269,BA-269 |
| Citation | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2421,477 So.2d 649 |
| Parties | 10 Fla. L. Weekly 2421 Kevin GRIMES, Robert L. Jones and James Jenkins, Appellants, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Michael E. Allen, Public Defender, and Kenneth L. Hosford, Asst. Public Defender, for appellants.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., and Barbara Ann Butler, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Appellants appeal their convictions, entered pursuant to pleas of nolo contendere, of dealing in stolen property, in violation of section 812.019, Florida Statutes. We reverse.
As a result of the same criminal act, appellants also were charged with food stamp fraud in violation of section 409.325(2), Florida Statutes. In entering their nolo pleas on both charges, appellants specifically reserved the right to appeal the denial of their motions to dismiss the charges of dealing in stolen property. They had filed motions to dismiss pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.190(c)(4) stating: (1) The bases for the charges of dealing in stolen property were the allegations that appellants had purchased food stamps which they knew were stolen; (2) no other actions by appellants were the bases of those charges; and (3) the mere buying or possessing of stolen items does not constitute dealing in stolen property. The State filed a demurrer to the motions, admitting statements (1) and (2) but pointing out that food stamps have value only as negotiable instruments to be used for the purchase of food, and stating that (3) above is a mere conclusion of law made by appellants.
Section 812.019, Florida Statutes, describes dealing in stolen property as trafficking in or endeavoring to traffic in stolen property. Section 812.012(7) defines the term "traffic" as follows, in pertinent part:
(b) To buy, receive, possess, obtain control of, or use property with the intent to sell, transfer, distribute, dispense, or otherwise dispose of such property.
We accept the State's argument that since food stamps have no intrinsic value but are valuable only as negotiable instruments for the purchase of food, the mere buying or possession of food stamps creates an inference of an intent to "dispose" of them at least by trading them at a store for food. However, we decline to adopt the State's further position, and defense counsel's apparent concession at the motion hearings, that the inferred intent merely to tender food stamps at a store in exchange for food can support a charge of dealing in stolen property within the meaning of sections 812.019 and 812.012(7).
We concede that to trade stolen food stamps at a store for food is a form of transfer, distribution, dispensation, or...
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Blackmon v. State
...normal use is achieved by some form of transfer, distribution, dispensation, or disposition of the item.Id. (quoting Grimes v. State, 477 So.2d 649, 650 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)); see also State v. Nesta, 617 So.2d 720, 721 (Fla. 2d DCA 1993) (“One who attempts to sell or sells stolen goods to a......
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State v. Camp
...even if the normal use is achieved by some form of transfer, distribution, dispensation, or disposition of the item. Grimes v. State, 477 So.2d 649 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985) (tendering stolen food stamps in exchange for food does not constitute dealing in stolen property); accord Williams v. Stat......
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Hall v. State
...use is achieved by some form of transfer, distribution, dispensation, or disposition of the item. Id. (quoting Grimes v. State, 477 So.2d 649, 650 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985)). Under the dealing in stolen property [t]he penalties are higher for a person who organizes or directs the fencing operatio......
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State v. Camp, 90-759
...one who steals for his own account, so to speak, does not. This is consistent with the "personal use" analysis in Grimes v. State, 477 So.2d 649 (Fla. 1st DCA 1985), and the dissent in Dixon v. State, 541 So.2d 637 (Fla. 1st DCA 1989). Certainly, while Camp might well have been convicted of......