Knight v. State, 253 So. 3d 22

Knight was charged in Count II with robbery using the statutory language for simple robbery but the count omitted the subsection and the element of possession of a firearm.
Simple robbery (§812.13(2)(c), Fla. Stat. 1977) is a second-degree felony with a 15-year maximum; armed robbery (§812.13(2)(a)) is a first-degree felony punishable up to life.
Despite the defective Count II, the trial court sentenced Knight to life imprisonment on Count II (an armed-robbery sentence).
Knight filed a Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a) motion arguing the sentence was illegal because Count II did not charge armed robbery’s essential element.
The trial court denied the motion; Knight appealed. The appellate court found the information fundamentally defective for omitting an essential element and reversed for resentencing on simple robbery.

Issue	Knight's Argument	State's Argument	Held
Whether Count II’s omission of the armed-robbery element and subsection renders the life sentence illegal	Count II failed to allege the essential element (possession of a firearm) and thus could only support a simple-robbery sentence (max 15 years)	The trial court implicitly treated the charge as armed robbery and imposed a life term despite the omission	The information was fundamentally defective; reversal and remand for resentencing on simple robbery, with Knight present

Weatherspoon v. State, 214 So. 3d 578 (Fla. 2017) (information must allege every essential element; failure is fundamental error)
Figueroa v. State, 84 So. 3d 1158 (Fla. 4th DCA 2012) (failure to charge essential elements is incurable by jury verdict or statute number)
State v. Gray, 435 So. 2d 816 (Fla. 1983) (information defective if it omits an essential element)
Connolly v. State, 172 So. 3d 893 (Fla. 3d DCA 2014) (distinguishing technical defects from omissions of essential elements)
Mesa v. State, 632 So. 2d 1094 (Fla. 3d DCA 1994) (information referencing the correct statute can suffice to charge all elements)