ALTAS ALLEN, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Altas Allen appealed the revocation of his community control following two alleged violations of his residential confinement conditions. The court affirmed the revocation as based on willful and substantial violations, but remanded due to an illegal sentence exceeding statutory maximums.
The court held that Allen's violations were willful and substantial, not merely technical, and the trial court did not abuse its discretion in revoking community control. However, the resulting 22-year prison sentence plus 10 years probation exceeded the 30-year statutory maximum, so the case was remanded for correction.
[1] A trial court does not abuse its discretion in revoking community control when the violations are proven by the greater weight of the evidence to be willful and substanti…
[2] A defendant's unauthorized deviation from a permitted location, even for a brief period, can constitute a willful and substantial violation of community control.
Previewing 2 of 4 headnotes on this case. FLexlaw’s editorially structured points of law — every proposition, pinpointed — are reserved for members.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“We find that the state met its burden of proving that Allen's violations were willful and substantial.”
Establishes that the court found sufficient evidence of willful and substantial violations rather than merely technical ones.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAfter a no contest plea to sexual battery with threat of retaliation, Allen was sentenced to two years of community control with a condition to remain…
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SHAHOOD, Judge.
Appellant, Altas Allen (“Allen”), appeals the trial court’s order revoking his community control as a result of two violations of the terms of his community control. We affirm.
Following Allen’s no contest plea to two counts of sexual battery/threat of retaliation pursuant to section 794.011(4)(c), Florida Statutes (1993), the court imposed a two-year community control term and a ten-year term of probation. One of the conditions of Allen’s community control was that he remain confined to his residence except for one-half hour before and after his employment, public service work or any other special activities approved by his officer. This appeal arises out of two violations which Allen contends are technical, but which the state maintains are willful and substantial. The first violation occurred on June 25, 1994, when Allen’s probation officer visited Allen’s home and he was not there. Allen arrived shortly thereafter carrying grocery bags and explained to his probation officer that he needed to go grocery shopping but did not have time to call and ask for permission. Allen did have permission to go to work and then to church on that day, but his stop at the grocery store on the way home from church was unauthorized. The probation officer informed Allen that if he violated the terms of his community control again, a violation report would be filed against him.
Three days later, on June 28, the probation officer returned to Allen’s house. Allen’s ear was in the driveway, but he did not answer the door. Because Allen had permission to be at the church, his probation officer went to the church, but found it closed. Upon returning to Allen’s house, the probation officer noticed two cars in the driveway, but Allen still did not answer the door. At the violation hearing, the probation officer acknowledged that Allen was allowed to be in his yard and testified that on prior occasions when Allen did not answer the door, he found Allen outside on the back porch. On June 28, however, the probation officer did not check in the back yard.
We find that the state met its burden of proving that Allen’s violations were willful and substantial. See Steiner v. State, 604 So. 2d 1265 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992) (willful and substantial nature of violation must be supported by greater weight of the evidence). We do not agree that the violations described above are merely technical violations. Indeed, there was testimony that the probation officer explained the terms of the probation to Allen, that Allen said he understood those terms, and that he was once admonished for not being where he was supposed to be. The greater weight of the evidence showed that on the second occasion Allen was not at church, where he had permission to be, nor at home, where he was otherwise required to be. This is a sufficient basis and we therefore hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in revoking Allen’s community control. Id.; see also Porras v. State, 651 So. 2d 183 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995) (whether to excuse the defendant’s violation is within the trial court’s discretion).
We affirm the trial court’s revocation of Allen’s community control, but hold that the resultant sentence of twenty-two years in prison, followed by ten years’ probation, exceeds the thirty-year statutory maximum (fifteen years on each count). See Soria v. State, 584 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991); see also §§ 794.011(4)(c) and 775.082, Fla. Stat. (1993). Therefore, since it is unclear whether the trial court intended to revoke Allen’s probation as well, we remand with directions that the trial court either enter an order revoking Allen’s probation or correct the illegal sentence. See Padrón v. State, 637 So. 2d 378 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994).
AFFIRMED WITH DIRECTIONS.
STONE and POLEN, JJ., concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
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State v. Meeks, 789 So. 2d 982 (Fla. 2001)…he State and the dissent below that remaining in one’s residence during the specified times is indeed a vital component of a community control program.4 However, our inquiry must not end there. [*987] The State urges that we consider Allen v. State, 666 So. 2d 259, 260 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996), where the district court determined that failure to remain confined within the approved residence did not constitute a technical violation of community-control, but that it amounted to willful and substantial violation of c…
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Smith v. State, 705 So. 2d 1033 (Fla. 3d DCA 1998)…efore, that portion of the revocation order is reversed. However, as Smith concedes, the record supports the trial court’s finding that Smith violated his community control by failing to remain confined to his residence. See, e.g., Allen v. State, 666 So. 2d 259 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996). A violation of this condition is sufficient to support revocation of community control. See Porras v. State, 651 So. 2d 183 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). Despite our ruling that only one of the violations is valid, we affirm the order on…
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Lopez v. State, 722 So. 2d 936 (Fla. 4th DCA 1998)…Absence from the home without permission supports a finding of a willful and substantial violation of community control. Whether Appellant should be excused for leaving is a matter within the trial court’s sound discretion. See id,.; Allen v. State, 666 So. 2d 259, 260 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996); Turner v. State, 711 So. 2d 1321, 1321 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998); Porras v. State, 651 So. 2d 183, 183 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995). The trial court did err, however, in additionally revoking community control based on Appellant’s failure…
Previewing 3 of 9 citing cases — full citator treatment, depth of discussion, and citing context are member features.
Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAuthorities Cited
- Steiner v. State, 604 So. 2d 1265 (Fla. 4th DCA 1992)
- Porras v. State, 651 So. 2d 183 (Fla. 3d DCA 1995)
- Soria v. State, 584 So. 2d 1130 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991)
- Gailfoil v. Winn Dixie, 637 So. 2d 378 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)
- Ezacuras Dawson v. State, 637 So. 2d 378 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994)