State v. Williams, 92-04414

Decision Date13 May 1994
Docket NumberNo. 92-04414,92-04414
Citation637 So.2d 45
Parties19 Fla. L. Weekly D1093 STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Reginald Demond WILLIAMS, Appellee.
CourtFlorida District Court of Appeals

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Dale E. Tarpley, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellant/cross-appellee.

James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and Timothy J. Ferreri, Asst. Public Defender, Bartow, for appellee/cross-appellant.

FRANK, Chief Judge.

The state has appealed the downward departure sentence imposed upon Reginald Demond Williams following his convictions for two counts of sexual battery with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, and grand theft. Williams has cross-appealed, contending that the court erred in scoring points for victim injury and in adjudicating him guilty of sexual battery with a deadly weapon. We affirm the convictions but reverse the sentence.

Williams was sentenced to 7 years in Florida State Prison, to be followed by 10 years of probation. The trial court relied in its order upon Williams' age (17) and a minimal prior record as the reasons for departing from the recommended range of 12 to 17 years and the permitted range of 9 to 22 years. His age and prior record, however, without more, cannot support a downward departure. State v. Matlock, 544 So.2d 244 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989). Although age and the lack of prior record can be factors when there are other extraordinary reasons to support downward departure, such as the help of relatives and friends, rehabilitation, and participation in a treatment program, found appropriate in State v. Frinks, 555 So.2d 916 (Fla. 1st DCA 1990), the trial court in this instance made no equivalent findings. Upon remand, Williams must be sentenced within the guidelines. At resentencing, however, the trial court should delete victim injury points from the scoresheet calculations. Nothing in the record indicated that the victim sustained physical injury. See Karchesky v. State, 591 So.2d 930 (Fla.1992).

Williams also asserts that he should not have been found guilty of sexual battery with a deadly weapon because he neither possessed nor used the weapon during the crime. The record discloses that Williams and his co-defendant, Findley, approached the victim in the parking lot of her apartment complex. The evidence was conflicting as to which of them held the gun when she was forced into her car but it was not disputed that Williams drove the car from the apartment while Findley, holding...

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5 cases
  • State v. Mesa
    • United States
    • Court of Appeal of Louisiana — District of US
    • November 27, 2019
    ...with the child, the court found the act occurred with the defendant's voluntary participation; see also State v. Williams , 637 So.2d 45, 46 (Fla. Dist. Ct. App. 1994), where a Florida appellate court affirmed the defendant's conviction as a principal for sexual battery with a deadly weapon......
  • Wainwright v. State, SC07-2005.
    • United States
    • Florida Supreme Court
    • November 26, 2008
    ...facilitating Hamilton's sexual assault establish that Wainwright is guilty as a principal of sexual battery. See State v. Williams, 637 So.2d 45, 46 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (affirming defendant's conviction as principal for sexual battery with deadly weapon where he drove while codefendant holdi......
  • State v. Licea
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • February 20, 1998
    ...Even with a clean record, this court has required a greater showing, such as the support of friends and family. See State v. Williams, 637 So.2d 45, 46 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). In this case, Licea's age was not accompanied by any other factor except his girlfriend's pregnancy and the fact that h......
  • Jackson v. State, 3D13–2576.
    • United States
    • Florida District Court of Appeals
    • September 16, 2015
    ...felony punishable by life in prison “if, in the course of committing the offense, the offender ... [i]s armed”); State v. Williams, 637 So.2d 45, 46 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994) (affirming conviction for sexual battery with a deadly weapon based on a principal theory); § 794.011(3), Fla. Stat. (1983)......
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