Soto v. State
| Decision Date | 19 May 2004 |
| Docket Number | No. 3D01-2129.,3D01-2129. |
| Citation | 874 So.2d 1215 |
| Parties | David Manuel SOTO, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender, and Andrew Stanton, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, and John D. Barker, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
Before GODERICH, GREEN, and FLETCHER, JJ.
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING GRANTED
The opinion filed February 18, 2004 is withdrawn, and the following is substituted in its place.
David Manuel Soto appeals his conviction and sentence for attempted first degree murder, killing of a police dog, armed carjacking, and attempted second degree murder of a law enforcement officer. For the reasons which follow, we affirm the convictions, with a correction, but reverse for resentencing.
According to the testimony at trial, Soto pointed a gun at the head of the victim, who was putting gas into his car, and took the car. The victim gave police a description of clothes Soto was wearing and informed them that his car had a device that would shut it down in approximately four blocks.
Officer Wayne Cooper, with his police dog Atlas, responded to a BOLO which described the stolen vehicle. He first noticed the car rolling to a halt, saw Soto exiting the vehicle, and ordered him to stop. Soto continued walking around the vehicle, then started running across the athletic field of a nearby high school. Officer Cooper let Atlas out and pursued Soto, who turned and shot at Atlas and Officer Cooper. Atlas was hit and later died from gunshot wounds.
Soto threw his gun over a fence, then was taken into custody by other officers. Soto's palm print was found on the interior of the stolen vehicle and bullet fragments retrieved from the dog were found to be consistent with the gun found on the scene.
The jury returned a verdict finding Soto guilty of attempted first degree murder of Officer Cooper, killing of the police dog, armed carjacking, and attempted second degree murder of a law enforcement officer. After determining that the attempted second degree murder charge in count IV was a variant of the count I attempted first degree murder, the trial court orally set aside the attempted second degree murder conviction.
At the sentencing hearing, the state asked the court to sentence Soto to life in prison with a thirty-year mandatory minimum term. Soto then addressed the trial court, complaining of a cover up and that his trial had been unfair. In response the state called Officer Cooper who asked the court to sentence Soto to the maximum sentence allowable, pointing out Soto's lack of remorse and failure to accept responsibility for his actions. Before pronouncing sentence, the trial court stated:
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