T.L.T. appeals an order withholding adjudication but ordering probation on two counts of throwing a deadly missile into two different vehicles. We conclude that the evidence was legally insufficient to support one of the charges. Because the trial court treated the two together in determining T.L.T.’s guilt, and in the process clearly made a material factual error, we reverse.
The charges against T.L.T. arose from two separate incidents in which two women reported that their vehicles were struck by some objects thrown from a school bus. In the first incident, Felicia Patterson was in her mother’s vehicle and stopped at a red light next to a school bus on her right. She heard two big sounds, and two hands snatched back through the bus windows. She did not see any faces, nor did she see what was thrown, but the vehicle had a small dent in it which was not there before the incident.
The bus driver herself had observed T.L.T. throw something from the window but did not see what was thrown. She was about to call her dispatch when Ms. Patterson pulled up and stopped the bus. The bus driver then called the police who arrived and tried to determine who had thrown the object. The driver identified T.L.T. and the child sitting with him. Patterson testified that when the officer removed T.L.T. from the bus, T.L.T. and another student cursed at her, with T.L.T. saying that if he went to jail, he would “beat her a — .” The officer testified that T.L.T. was unruly when taken from the bus.
In the second incident, which occurred immediately after the Patterson incident, Rosalind Lindsay was sitting at a red light, going in the opposite direction of the bus. Traffic was slow, and as the bus passed by to her left, a small object hit her window. She looked down to see a Gatorade bottle bouncing on the ground. She did not see the object hit another vehicle. She then made a U-turn to try to catch the bus, which had already stopped.
At trial, another child testified that he had handed T.L.T. a small plastic Gatorade bottle which was empty. He did not see what T.L.T. did with the bottle. In
After the state presented its case, the defense moved for a judgment of dismissal, contending that the state’s evidence did not meet a prima facie case. The trial court denied the motion. The defense did not present any evidence, and the trial court then found that the state had proved its case. In making its findings, the court stated that the Gatorade bottle was full, when in fact the evidence showed that the bottle was empty. From the court’s discussion, it appears that the court concluded that the Gatorade bottle was involved in both incidents. It, however, withheld adjudication and placed T.L.T. on probation. He appeals.
The standard of review of a motion for judgment of dismissal in a juvenile case is the same as that for a judgment of acquittal in a criminal case. See J.P. v. State,
Where the evidence is circumstantial, a special standard applies. See State v. Law,
The facts of this case show that two separate incidents occurred, even though the state and the trial court seemed to have treated this as one event involving a plastic bottle of Gatorade. Felicia Patterson’s car was struck while she sat at a stoplight next to the bus. Rosalind Lindsay’s car was struck as she passed the bus going in the opposite direction. Given that both vehicles were beside the bus, according to their drivers, when they were hit by the objects, the evidence was legally insufficient to prove that the same object hit both vehicles.
The state’s evidence, taken in the light most favorable to it, shows that another child on the bus handed T.L.T. an empty Gatorade bottle. The bus driver saw T.L.T. throw something out of the window, although the bus video does not show T.L.T. throwing anything. Ms. Lindsay identified the object that hit her vehicle as an empty Gatorade bottle. Therefore, we conclude that there was suf
On the other hand, no evidence supports the state’s case that the defendant threw anything out of the window to dent the Patterson vehicle. No one saw anything thrown from the bus other than the empty Gatorade bottle which hit the Lindsay vehicle. No evidence placed anything but the bottle in T.L.T.’s hand. The evidence was legally insufficient to support this charge.
E.J. v. State,
We thus reverse and remand to the trial court to vacate the sentence on the count of throwing a deadly missile into the Patterson vehicle, as the court had already withheld adjudication. As to the Lindsay vehicle charge, we affirm as sufficient evidence supports the adjudication. On remand, the court should reconsider the sentence on the remaining charge, as the elimination of the Patterson charge may affect the court’s judgment as to the propriety of the sentence, particularly because the trial court erroneously concluded that the evidence showed that T.L.T. had thrown a full bottle out of the bus window.
Reversed and remanded for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.
Notes
. T.L.T. does not raise, as an issue on appeal, the question of whether an empty Gatorade bottle could constitute a deadly missile. We therefore do not address that issue.