JAQUEZ TUIJAY SMITH
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA

Fla. 5th DCA | 2022-02-01
No. 21-0988
Nichols, J., Lambert, C.J., Evander, J., Nardella, J.
Florida District Court of Appeal, Fifth District (2022)

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Holding

A defendant who has prior knowledge of a criminal plan, is present during the crime, and assists in the getaway by driving the perpetrator and stolen property away is a principal to the crime and may be convicted based on such evidence.


Headnotes

[1] A defendant who has prior knowledge of a criminal plan, is present at the scene of the crime, and assists in the perpetrator's escape by driving the perpetrator and stole…

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Key Quotes

“[C]learly, the getaway driver who has prior knowledge of the criminal plan and is 'waiting to help the robbers escape' . . . [is] a principal”

Staten v. State, cited for the proposition that a getaway driver with knowledge of the plan is a principal to the crime

Facts & Procedural History

Jaquez Tuijay Smith was convicted in the Circuit Court for Volusia County. The evidence showed Smith's involvement in a crime through his presence, kn…

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Opinion of the Court
Lambert

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA

FIFTH DISTRICT

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO

FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND

DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED

JAQUEZ TUIJAY SMITH, Appellant, v. Case No. 5D21-988 LT Case No. 2018-102266-CFDL STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. ________________________________/ Opinion filed February 1, 2022 Appeal from the Circuit Court for Volusia County, Dawn D. Nichols, Judge. Tonya D. Cromartie, of The Law Office of Tonya D. Cromartie, P.A., Daytona Beach, for Appellant. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Robin A. Compton, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

PER CURIAM.

2 AFFIRMED. See Bush v. State, 295 So. 3d 179, 184 (Fla. 2020) (abandoning special standard of appellate review previously applied in wholly circumstantial evidence cases); Staten v. State, 519 So. 2d 622, 624 (Fla. 1988) (holding that “[c]learly, the getaway driver who has prior knowledge of the criminal plan and is ‘waiting to help the robbers escape’ . . . [is] a principal” (citing Enmund v. State, 399 So. 2d 1362, 1370 (Fla. 1981))); Hill v. State, 958 So. 2d 549, 552 (Fla. 4th DCA 2007) (affirming the denial of a motion for judgment of acquittal based upon an insufficiency of the evidence argument where the defendant watched his companion commit a crime, waited for him to return to the vehicle, and then drove the companion and the stolen property away); Jennings v. State, 124 So. 3d 257, 266 (Fla. 3d DCA 2013) (“Generally speaking, the use of a curative instruction to dispel the prejudicial effect of an objectionable comment is sufficient.” (quoting Rivera v. State, 745 So. 2d 343, 345 (Fla. 4th DCA 1999))). LAMBERT, C.J., EVANDER and NARDELLA, JJ., concur.


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