Joseph MONTI, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
James B. Gibson, Public Defender, and Kenneth Witts, Asst. Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Belle B. Turner, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.
COBB, Chief Judge.
Joseph Monti appeals his sentence of five years' incarceration resulting from his conviction for carrying a concealed weapon. Monti's recommended guideline sentence was any nonstate prison sanction. The lower court elected to deviate from the recommended sentence to the statutory maximum of five years.
The trial court gave two reasons for departure. The first was that Monti failed to appear at his PSI interviews and at sentencing. Although this court has not addressed the issue, both the First and the Second Districts have held that a failure to appear, standing alone, is not a sufficient basis for departure. See Parker v. State,
Additionally, the trial court was incorrect in using Monti's violation of probation as a *224 basis for departure. Although a violation of probation may justify a one-cell increase under the sentencing guidelines (see Rule 3.701(d)(14)), it will not substantiate a greater increase unless supported by additional valid reasons for departure. See Boldes v. State,
REVERSED and REMANDED.
UPCHURCH and SHARP, JJ., concur.
