Dearek Randy Williams v. State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: May 1, 2026
• Docket: 6D2024-0350
• Status: Published

Opinion

SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA _____________________________

Case No. 6D2024-0350 Lower Tribunal No. 2022-CF-000432 _____________________________

DEAREK RANDY WILLIAMS,

Appellant,

v.

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellee. _____________________________

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Orange County. Vincent S. Chiu, Judge.

May 1, 2026

WOZNIAK, J.

Dearek Randy Williams entered a plea of nolo contendere to the offense of

trafficking in 14 grams or more of fentanyl, in violation of sections

893.135(1)(c)4.a., and 893.135(1)(c)4.b.(II), Florida Statutes (2022), and was

sentenced to fifteen years in the Department of Corrections as a mandatory minimum

sentence. Based on his claim that he had entered his plea to the fifteen-year sentence

upon misadvice of counsel, Williams unsuccessfully sought to withdraw his plea.

On appeal, Williams argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to withdraw plea because trial counsel’s misadvice created a manifest injustice that

rendered his plea involuntary and necessitated withdrawal. We agree.

At the hearing on his motion to withdraw plea, Williams testified that he

would not have entered the plea but for the misadvice of counsel. He provided

uncontroverted testimony that his trial counsel had advised him to take the plea and

that he could later appeal the sentence and “be out.” 1 This misadvice of counsel,

although recognized by the post-conviction court, was rejected as a basis for granting

withdrawal of the plea because the court was unaware of any authority “that indicates

that the defendant is entitled to sort of be told what is a meritorious and not

meritorious appeal.” It thus concluded that Williams’s plea was voluntary and denied

the motion. This was error.

Williams established that the affirmative misadvice of counsel misled him

into accepting a fifteen-year plea offer, rendering his plea involuntary. See State v.

Partlow, 840 So. 2d 1040, 1044 (Fla. 2003) (holding that “to obtain relief through a

motion to withdraw a plea after sentencing under rule 3.170(l), a defendant must

demonstrate a manifest injustice, such as involuntariness of the plea”); see also

Davis v. State, 373 So. 3d 372 (Fla. 5th DCA 2023) (holding attorney’s misadvice

about gain time eligibility could render plea involuntary); Walkup v. State, 822 So.

1 In fact, however, Williams had no right to appeal. Fla. R. App. P. 9.140(b)(2). 2 2d 524, 525 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002) (observing that, generally, affirmative misadvice

of counsel provides basis to allow withdrawal of plea). Accordingly, we reverse the

order denying Williams’s motion to withdraw his plea and remand for further

proceedings.

REVERSED and REMANDED for further proceedings.

MIZE and GANNAM, JJ., concur.

Paula C. Coffman, Orlando, for Appellant.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Kurt T. Koehler, Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF TIMELY FILED