Michael Hightower v. State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: October 10, 2025
• Docket: 5D2024-2269
• Status: Published

Opinion

FIFTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA _____________________________

Case No. 5D2024-2269 LT Case No. 2021-CF-001304 _____________________________

MICHAEL HIGHTOWER, JR.

Appellant,

v.

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellee. _____________________________

On appeal from the Circuit Court for Putnam County. Alicia R. Washington, Judge.

Michael C. Nappi, Chief Assistant Regional Counsel, of Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, 5th District, Casselberry, for Appellant.

Michael Hightower, Jr., Lake City, pro se.

James Uthmeier, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Stephen R. Putnam, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Daytona Beach, for Appellee.

October 10, 2025

PER CURIAM. In this Anders 1 appeal, we affirm, without further discussion, the convictions and sentences imposed by the trial court upon Appellant after a jury trial. However, we remand with directions to the trial court to correct two clerical errors in its second amended judgment and sentence.

First, we direct the court to strike from the judgment the $100 assessment for investigative costs as these were not requested by the State. See Richards v. State, 288 So. 3d 574, 576–77 (Fla. 2020).

Second, the judgment inadvertently shows that Appellant pleaded guilty to the crimes for which he stands convicted instead of showing that he was tried and found, by the jury, to be guilty of the crimes.

AFFIRMED; REMANDED with directions.

JAY, C.J., and LAMBERT and SOUD, JJ., concur.

_____________________________

Not final until disposition of any timely and authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or 9.331. _____________________________

1 Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738 (1967).