Otero v. State

754 So. 2d 765, 2000 WL 256362
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 8, 2000
Docket3D99-106
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 754 So. 2d 765 (Otero v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering District Court of Appeal of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Otero v. State, 754 So. 2d 765, 2000 WL 256362 (Fla. Ct. App. 2000).

Opinion

754 So.2d 765 (2000)

Rubin OTERO, Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 3D99-106.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

March 8, 2000.
Rehearing Denied April 19, 2000.

*766 Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender and Sydney P. Smith, Special Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General and Consuelo Maingot, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.

Before GODERICH, GREEN, and RAMIREZ, JJ.

Rehearing En Banc Denied April 19, 2000.

PER CURIAM.

The appellant, Rubin Otero, was charged with and convicted of burglary with an assault, robbery, grand theft of a vehicle, false imprisonment and abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an aged or disabled person, following a jury trial.

According to the state's evidence at trial, the victim in this case, Kenny Lindheimer, is a deaf mute who also suffers from cerebral palsy. On or about July 5, 1996, Mr. Lindheimer awakened at his apartment in North Miami at approximately 2:30 a.m. and decided to drive to Biscayne Boulevard to employ the services of a prostitute. *767 He spotted a woman whom he had seen on prior occasions and whose nickname was Angel. He invited her into his Mustang. Lindheimer informed Angel in writing that he was deaf and requested the amount for her services. Angel replied $40. Lindheimer did not have that $40, however, they drove to a nearby ATM machine where he withdrew $50. Angel then requested that he stop by a store to buy her some beer. Lindheimer drove to a store, got out and left the key in the car's ignition.

Upon his return with the beer, he noticed that Angel and his car were gone. He returned to the store and asked the cashier to call the police. After waiting on the police's arrival for some time, Lindheimer decided to walk home. As he was walking, he spotted a police car and flagged it down. He communicated with the police through sign language and informed them that his car had been stolen. He did not, however, tell the police that he knew that a prostitute had stolen his car or that he could describe the thief. The police returned him to the scene of the crime and later took him home.

The next day, while Lindheimer was watching television at his home, at approximately 11:00 a.m., Angel and a man that Lindheimer identified as Otero entered his living room without permission. Once there, they communicated with Lindheimer by writing notes on a yellow note pad which was introduced into evidence. They demanded $189 from Lindheimer claiming that his Mustang had been towed. They also requested his ATM card and PIN number. Lindheimer offered only to give them $60 in exchange for his keys.

At that point, a physical struggle ensued when, according to Lindheimer, Otero grabbed him by the throat and began to choke him and Angel grabbed him by the legs causing him to fall. Otero began to pound Lindheimer's head on the floor and grabbed Lindheimer's wallet containing $62, a social security card, driver's license, an ATM card and a condom. Lindheimer lost consciousness for a period of time. When he awoke, Otero and Angel were gone and he telephoned the police by using a deaf relay service. When the police arrived, he told them what had happened through the use of a TTY deaf translation machine. It was at that time that Lindheimer first informed the police that his Mustang had been stolen earlier by a prostitute named Angel and gave them a description of her and Otero. The yellow notepad used by Lindheimer to communicate with his attackers was tested for fingerprints. A patrol officer from the City of North Miami Beach testified that on July 5, 1996, he came into contact with a Mustang with an occupant obstructing traffic in the middle of a roadway. The officer initially decided to simply pass by this vehicle for the purpose of giving the occupant an opportunity to see him and simply move the vehicle. When the officer made a U-turn and came back, he noticed that the Mustang was still there and the occupant was in the driver's seat. The officer positioned his vehicle right behind the Mustang and ran a check on its tag number.

The driver of the Mustang, who the officer identified as Otero, exited the Mustang. The officer ordered Otero back into the vehicle and requested his driver's license. Once the officer returned to his vehicle to run a check on Otero's license, he learned from the dispatcher that the Mustang was stolen and had been used in a home invasion robbery. He also learned that Otero's license had been suspended. The officer requested back-up assistance and when it arrived, Otero was taken into custody and placed into the back seat of another police vehicle. While there, Otero asked the officer why he was being arrested. Otero was informed that the Mustang had been reported stolen. In response, Otero stated that the car was not stolen and that it belonged to his girlfriend. He further stated that he had been sitting in the Mustang waiting for a male friend to return from a nearby apartment.

*768 Once Otero was taken to the police station, he was photographed. Thereafter, a photographic lineup containing Otero's picture was taken to Lindheimer's home. According to the police, Lindheimer excitedly and emphatically pointed out Otero as the male home invasion robber. Lindheimer was then brought to the police station to identify his Mustang. While there, Lindheimer retrieved his wallet, which still contained his ATM card, from the car.

The state also introduced the testimony of the fingerprint technician who dusted Lindheimer's apartment for prints. The technician testified that he was unsuccessful at getting fingerprints at the apartment. Further, although Lindhheimer had stated that Otero had touched the yellow note pad found in Lindheimer's apartment, the technician was unable to retrieve Otero's prints from the pad.

The defense called Officer Reed, of the Miami Shore Police Department, who testified that he spoke to Lindheimer through his TTY machine at his apartment. Lindheimer described his male attacker as being 5'9", weighing 180 pounds and having no special identifiers such as a tattoo or scar.

Otero testified on his own behalf and denied any involvement in the crimes charged. He stated that he had been hospitalized and was released just three days before his arrest. At that time, he weighed 130 pounds and was in poor physical condition. At the time of trial, he had gained 30 pounds in jail because of medicines that were not available at the time of his arrest. He showed the jury a tattoo above his left bicep, which he has had for 10 years and which is lower than where the sleeve of the T-shirt would cover.

Otero further testified that he first came into contact with the victim's vehicle at a gas station earlier on the day of his arrest. At the time, the driver of the car was a lady named Angel and she had another female passenger. Otero and Angel struck up a conversation and she invited him to join them in the car. Otero agreed to accompany her to the beach after she dropped off her female passenger. After they left the beach, they drove to another location where Angel had to meet someone. She gave Otero the keys to the car and told him to return to meet her in an hour.

Otero drove to Biscayne Boulevard and ran into a male friend, C.J., who needed a ride. Otero drove him to the location where the arrest subsequently took place. Otero testified that he thought that he was being arrested for driving with a suspended license and that he had no idea that the car was stolen and/or had been involved in a robbery.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
754 So. 2d 765, 2000 WL 256362, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/otero-v-state-fladistctapp-2000.