V.L., a child, appeals the trial court’s order adjudicating him - delinquent after having been found guilty of resisting, obstructing or opposing an officer without violence in violation of section 843.02, Florida Statutes (1999). We reverse the adjudication of delinquency.
Chris Rapp, an officer with the Oakland, Florida Police Department and the State’s only witness, went to V.L.’s home with the intention of arresting V.L. for a burglary that had occurred earlier that day. Officer Rapp did not have a warrant to arrest V.L. although he believed that he had probable cause to do so.
Officer Rapp knocked on the front door of V.L.’s home and V.L.’s mother answered. V.L. was standing behind his mother in the doorway! Officer Rapp indicated that he wished to speak to V.L. as V.L. was a suspect in a burglary. V.L. tried to close the door and then ran out a back door into a field behind the house. Officer Rapp gave chase but was unable to apprehend V.L. until several hours later when V.L. was arrested and charged with resisting or obstructing Officer Rapp without violence.
The mother here may have a great civil case against the police department there for coming into her home on a warrant-less basis like they did. Okay. But here’s the way I analyze this based on the evidence that came in.
The police came to the front door and knocked. Regardless if there’s the porch outside — and the mother opened the door voluntarily; the door wasn’t kicked in. All right. This young man is on community control (juvenile probation). While on community control, he has the obligation to cooperate with the police and the police officers; that’s a requirement. Okay. Had he stayed in the home, you know, that would have been one thing. But he saw the police officer. And by the mother’s own testimony, the child did not come to the front door to find out what it was all about. He just saw the police officer and then went out the back of the home. Okay.
The charge is that he obstructed or opposed the police officer, and I believe that he is guilty of that. He is guilty of that. He is on community control, and that’s what makes this case different. He’s on community control; probation. You cooperate with police officers when you’re on probation. That’s what probation means. It means you have given up some of your civil rights because you’re on probation. So we’re connecting here. He’s guilty.
A motion for judgment of acquittal is designed to challenge the legal sufficiency of the evidence. If the State presents competent evidence to establish each element of the crime, a motion for judgment of acquittal should be denied. State v. Williams,
To convict of resisting or obstructing an officer without violence, the State is required to prove that (1) the officer was engaged in the lawful execution of a legal duty; and, (2) the actions of the defendant obstructed, resisted or opposed the officer in the performance of that legal duty. Jay v. State,
The investigation of a crime by a police officer is an execution of a lawful duty. See Francis v. State,
An essential element of the offense of resisting a law enforcement officer without violence is that the arrest must be lawful. M.J.R. v. State,
REVERSED AND REMANDED.
Notes
. Although Officer Rapp testified that he believed that he had probable cause to arrest V.L. for burglary, the record before this court fails to demonstrate whether that belief was justified. The record further fails to indicate whether V.L. was ever charged with burglary.
. The trial court apparently concluded that because V.L. was on juvenile probation for an unrelated offense, he had some legal obligation to talk to Officer Rapp about this bur
