Comeau v. StateComeau v. State
Appellant, Perry Emile Comeau, appeals a cоndition of probation requiring him to pay restitution to the Suwannеe County Sheriff‘s Department for the cost of medical care provided to him while he was incarcerated in thе county jail. We reverse.
Pursuant to a negotiated plеa in which the state agreed to recommend a guidelinе sentence with a cap of fifteen years, to include a three-year minimum mandatory sentence for use of a firearm, appellant pled guilty to second degree murder with a firearm. The trial court imposed a twelve-yeаr sentence, followed by a three-year probationary period. In addition to the imposition of costs and restitution for the victim‘s funeral expenses, appellant was ordered to pay restitution of $1,765.04 to the Sheriff‘s Department, as reimbursement for his medical care during his incarceration.
The record reflects that the challenged restitution represented the costs of appellant‘s medical care for injuries he suffered in a fall in the shower at the county jail. Appellant‘s counsel argued vigorously in oрposition to requiring appellant to pay restitution for medical care as a condition of probatiоn. The assistant state attorney advised the trial court that thе county was entitled to seek such payment as a cоst, pursuant to section 901.35, Florida Statutes (1991). Although the trial court‘s trаnscribed
The county, as custodiаn of a prisoner charged with violating a state law or сounty ordinance, has a duty to provide medical cаre for its prisoner. See Metropolitan Dade County v. P.L. Dodge Foundations, Inc., 509 So.2d 1170, 1173 (Fla. 3d DCA 1987). Section 901.35 evinces legislative intent to impose liability for such care on a governmental entity, upon proof of the prisoner‘s inability to pay. Id., at 1175. However, the statute does not authorize restitution for the typе of medical expense incurred in this case as a сondition of probation. Rather, the statute sets forth the order in which the medical care provider should seek reimbursement for the expense it incurred in providing required medical care.
Accordingly, the probation order is reversed and remanded with directions to strike condition eleven, requiring appellant to pay $1,765.04 as a condition of probation. The probation order is affirmed in all other respects.
ALLEN and WEBSTER, JJ., concur.