Rosalind VIRGIL, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
Rosalind Virgil, pro se.
Charles J. Crist, Jr., Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Susan M. Shanahan, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa.
VILLANTI, Judge.
Rosalind Virgil appeals the summary denial of her motion to correct illegal sentence filed pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). We affirm the trial court's denial of the claim raised by Virgil as being without merit. However, we remand for correction three of Virgil's sentences because it is apparent from the face of the record before this court that the sentences are illegal. See Higgins v. State,
In circuit court case number 95-15938, Virgil pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver in violation of section 893.13(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1995). The trial court sentenced her as a habitual felony offender to fifteen years in prison. Pursuant to section 775.084(1)(a)(3), Florida Statutes (1995), a defendant cannot be sentenced as a habitual felony offender for violating section 893.13 relating to the purchase or the possession of a controlled substance. See, e.g., Roberts v. State,
It is not apparent from the limited record before this court whether Virgil was sentenced as a habitual felony offender on another count of possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver in circuit court case number 95-3049. Therefore, we affirm without prejudice to any right Virgil may have to raise this claim relating to her habitual felony offender sentence in case number 95-3049.
In addition, in circuit court case numbers 95-4623 and 96-06981, Virgil was sentenced as a habitual felony offender to trafficking in cocaine, 28 grams or more but less than 200 grams. These sentences are illegal because section 893.135(1)(b)(1)(a) of the Florida Statutes provides that if the quantity of the cocaine involved is 28 grams or more but less than 200 grams, the defendant shall be sentenced pursuant to the sentencing guidelines.[1]See Wright v. State,
If, in the above three cases, Virgil entered negotiated pleas to habitual sentences, the trial court must permit the State either to agree to resentencing or to withdraw from the plea agreement and proceed to trial. See Hughes v. State,
Affirmed but remanded to the trial court for correction of sentences.
ALTENBERND, C.J., and WALLACE, J., Concur.
NOTES
Notes
[1] Both the 1993 version of the statute, applicable to circuit court case number 95-4623, and the 1995 version of the statute, applicable to circuit court case number 96-06981, require a defendant to be sentenced pursuant to the guidelines.
