White v. State, 589 So. 2d 1014

PER CURIAM.

Defendant pleaded guilty to second-degree murder with a firearm, a life felony. He was sentenced to forty years’ incarceration, with a three-year minimum mandatory sentence for the use of a firearm. He was also treated as a habitual violent felony offender, effectively resulting in a fifteen-year minimum mandatory sentence. See § 775.084(4)(b)1, Fla. Stat. (1989).

After untangling a procedural morass stemming from a motion for postconviction relief, a belated appeal, and an affirmance of a prior appeal, none of which affects the result in this case, it is apparent that the defendant‘s guilty plea was followed by an illegal sentence. Because his second-degree murder conviction was reclassified to a life felony pursuant to section 775.087(1)(a), Florida Statutes (1989), for the use of a firearm, the trial court could not sentence defendant as a habitual violent felony offender pursuant to section 775.084(4)(b). McKinney v. State, 585 So.2d 318 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991).

Accordingly, we reverse defendant‘s sentence and remand for resentencing.

SCHEB, A.C.J., and DANAHY and FRANK, JJ., concur.

Case Details

Case Name: White v. State

Court Name: District Court of Appeal of Florida

Date Published: Nov 20, 1991

Citations: 589 So. 2d 1014; 1991 WL 244667; 91-00295

Docket Number: 91-00295

Court Abbreviation: Fla. Dist. Ct. App.