VERNORD LAVON BRIGHT, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Appellant Vernord Lavon Bright challenges his convictions for two counts of sexual battery with a deadly weapon. The appellate court reverses the conviction on Count I, finding legally insufficient evidence that a deadly weapon was used or threatened during the first sexual battery, but affirms the conviction on Count II and remands for resentencing on the lesser-included offense of sexual battery without a deadly weapon.
The court reverses the conviction on Count I for sexual battery with a deadly weapon, finding the evidence legally insufficient to establish that a deadly weapon was used or threatened in the process of the vaginal sexual battery. The court remands with instructions to enter judgment of conviction for sexual battery without a deadly weapon as a lesser-included offense, and affirms the conviction on Count II.
[1] A denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal is reviewed de novo, considering the evidence in a light most favorable to the State.
[2] The legal sufficiency of evidence to support a charge is determined by whether, viewed in a light most favorable to the State, the evidence supports the charge.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligence“The record does not include competent and substantial evidence from which a jury could find that Appellant, in the process of the vaginal sexual battery, used or threatened to use a deadly weapon.”
Establishes the court's finding that evidence was legally insufficient to support the deadly weapon element on Count I.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceThe victim awoke in a shed to find Appellant engaging in vaginal sexual battery with her (Count I). Appellant then retrieved a firearm and returned to…
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Appellant, Vernord Lavon Bright, challenges his convictions and sentences for two counts of sexual battery with a deadly weapon. Appellant raises several issues but we write only to address the trial court’s denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal (JOA) on one of the two counts. Because we find that the evidence that Appellant used or threatened to use a deadly weapon in the process of committing the first sexual battery was legally insufficient, we reverse that conviction and remand for entry of judgment of conviction for sexual battery without, a deadly weapon. We reject Appellant’s other arguments without comment.
Viewing the evidence in a light most favorable to the State,. the victim, after driving around with Appellant earlier that night, awoke in a shed to Appellant having vaginal sex with her. This act led to the first count of sexual battery with a deadly weapon. Appellant then' went outside, retrieved a firearm, and returned to commit anal sexual battery upon the victim. This act led to the second count of sexual battery with a deadly weapon. The defense moved for JOA on Count I, arguing that there was no evidence connecting.-the use or threatened use of a deadly weapon in the. process of the vaginal sexual battery. The trial court denied the, motion for JOA, and the jury found Appellant guilty as charged on both counts.
A trial court’s denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal is reviewed de novo. Jones v. State, 4 So.3d 687, 688 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009). The question presented by such a motion is whether, in a light most favorable to the State, the evidence is legally sufficient to support the charge. Ridgeway v. State, 128 So.3d 935, 936 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).' In reviewing a trial court’s denial, an appellate court must consider the evidence and all reasonable inferences from the evidence in a light most favorable to the State. Lukaszewski v. State, 111 So.3d 212, 213 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013).
Section 794.011(3), Florida Statutes (2014), provides that “[a] person who commits sexual battery upon a person 12 years or older, without that person’s consent, and in the process thereof, uses or threatens to use a deadly weapon” commits a life felony. The record does not include competent and substantial ‘ ‘ evidence from which a jury could find that Appellant, in the process of the vaginal sexual battery, used or threatened to use a deadly weapon. The evidence was sufficient, however, for the jury to have found' each of the elements for sexual battery upon a person 12 years of age or older, which is a lesser-included offense of the charged offense. § 794.011(5)(a), Fla. Stat. (2014). Accordingly, we direct the trial court .to adjudicate Appellant guilty of sexual ■ battery. *499 See § 924.84, Fla. Stat. (2014); see also State v. Sigler, 967 So.2d 835, 844 (Fla.2007) (“[W]hen all of the elements of a lesser offense have been determined by the jury, section 924.34 is a .valid exercise of the legislative prerogative allowing appellate courts to direct a judgment for such an offense.”).
Therefore, we REVERSE Appellant’s judgment on Count I and REMAND with instructions for the' trial court to enter judgment for sexual battery and resen-tence accordingly. The judgment and sentence for Count II is AFFIRMED.
WOLF, LEWIS, and WINOKUR, JJ„' Concur.
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Tinker v. State (Fla. 4th DCA 2022)…cquittal de novo.” Demus v. State, 281 So. 3d 505, 507-08 (Fla. 4th DCA 2019). “The question presented by such a motion is whether, in a light most favorable to the State, the evidence is legally sufficient to support the charge.” Bright v. State, 191 So. 3d 497, 498 (Fla. 1st DCA 2016). In other words, “an appellate court must ‘view[] the evidence in the light most favorable to the State’ and, maintaining this perspective, ask whether ‘a rational trier of fact could have found the existence of the element…
Authorities Cited
- State v. Sigler, 967 So. 2d 835 (Fla. 2007)
- Lukaszewski v. State, 111 So. 3d 212 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)
- Pickett v. State, 4 So. 3d 687 (Fla. 5th DCA 2009)
- Saddie Jones v. State, 4 So. 3d 687 (Fla. 1st DCA 2009)
- Ridgeway v. State, 128 So. 3d 935 (Fla. 1st DCA 2013)