Sheridan Landell Veney v. State of Florida, 16-1294

Sheridan and Lisa Veney separated after 20+ years of marriage but remained on friendly terms for a time.
At a restaurant (Applebee’s), following an insult by Lisa, Sheridan retrieved a loaded gun from his pocket and shot her five times outside the restaurant.
Sheridan admitted killing Lisa but claimed the shooting was unplanned and occurred in a momentary loss of control; defense sought a manslaughter verdict.
The jury convicted Sheridan of first-degree (premeditated) murder; he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
On appeal Sheridan challenged only the sufficiency of the evidence of premeditation and requested reduction to second-degree murder.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Whether evidence was sufficient to prove premeditation for first-degree murder	Veney (appellant) argued the killing was impulsive, no time to form premeditation	State argued circumstantial evidence (gun in pocket, threat to reach in pocket, following victim, pauses between shots, suicide plan statements) supported premeditation	Court affirmed: circumstantial evidence was sufficient; premeditation can form in a moment and was proven beyond a reasonable doubt

DeAngelo v. State, 616 So. 2d 440 (Fla. 1993) (premeditation may form in a moment; requires consciousness of act and probable result)
Asay v. State, 580 So. 2d 610 (Fla. 1991) (same principle on momentary premeditation)
Pagan v. State, 830 So. 2d 792 (Fla. 2002) (standard of review for sufficiency; view evidence in light most favorable to the State)
Hutchinson v. State, 882 So. 2d 943 (Fla. 2004) (circumstantial evidence can establish premeditation; facts like weapon use and reloads relevant)
Floyd v. State, 850 So. 2d 383 (Fla. 2002) (threats, bringing a gun, and prolonged argument before shooting support premeditation)