Jeremiah T. Pinkard v. State
185 So. 3d 1289
| Fla. Dist. Ct. App. | 2016Background
- Road-rage shooting: appellant (driver of a Dodge) and other occupants confronted a Suzuki driven by McFerrel Jones with passenger Rashaud Burns; appellant threatened to "end" their lives and then fired into the Suzuki. One bullet killed Jones.
- Appellant was tried by jury and convicted of manslaughter (lesser included), aggravated assault with a firearm, and shooting into an occupied vehicle; jury found he carried/possessed/discharged a firearm.
- Manslaughter (Count 1) was reclassified to a first-degree felony and appellant received 30 years under the firearm minimum-mandatory statute.
- Aggravated assault (Count 2) carried a firearm-based enhanced minimum (20 years) and was ordered concurrent with Count 1.
- Shooting into an occupied vehicle (Count 5) resulted in a 15-year sentence ordered to run consecutively to Counts 1 and 2.
- On appeal, appellant challenged the consecutive imposition of the Count 5 sentence, relying on Hale; the Fifth DCA affirmed.
Issues
| Issue | Appellant's Argument | State's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the Count 5 (shooting into an occupied vehicle) sentence may run consecutively to Counts 1 and 2 under Hale | Hale bars imposition of enhanced consecutive sentences for offenses arising from a single criminal episode; Count 5 should not run consecutively | Hale does not apply to unenhanced sentences; Cotto allows consecutive unenhanced sentences for the same episode | The court affirmed: because Count 5 was not enhanced, Hale does not prohibit consecutive sentencing; Cotto controls |
| Validity of convictions and firearm finding | Appellant raised issues on appeal but did not press reversible error as to convictions | State sought affirmance | Convictions and the jury firearm finding were affirmed without further discussion |
Key Cases Cited
- Flowers v. State, 899 So. 2d 1257 (Fla. 4th DCA) (sentence legality reviewed de novo)
- Wardlaw v. State, 832 So. 2d 258 (Fla. 2d DCA) (standard for de novo review of sentence legality)
- Hale v. State, 630 So. 2d 521 (Fla. 1993) (prohibits enhanced consecutive sentences in single criminal episode)
- Cotto v. State, 139 So. 3d 283 (Fla. 2014) (refuses to extend Hale to unenhanced sentences)
- Jackson v. State, 659 So. 2d 1060 (Fla. 1995) (describes firearm-based mandatory minimum as an "enhancement")
- Fuller v. State, 867 So. 2d 469 (Fla. 5th DCA) (earlier case implicitly overruled by Cotto re: Hale extension)