Provenzano v. State

497 So. 2d 1177, 11 Fla. L. Weekly 541
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedOctober 16, 1986
Docket65663
StatusPublished
Cited by64 cases

This text of 497 So. 2d 1177 (Provenzano v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Florida primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Provenzano v. State, 497 So. 2d 1177, 11 Fla. L. Weekly 541 (Fla. 1986).

Opinion

497 So.2d 1177 (1986)

Thomas Harrison PROVENZANO, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 65663.

Supreme Court of Florida.

October 16, 1986.
Rehearing Denied December 22, 1986.

*1179 James B. Gibson, Public Defender, Seventh Judicial Circuit, and Larry B. Henderson, Asst. Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for appellant.

Jim Smith, Atty. Gen. and Belle B. Turner, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.

ADKINS, Justice.

Thomas Harrison Provenzano was convicted of two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of first-degree murder. The trial court followed the jury's recommendation and imposed the sentence of death for the first-degree murder. The trial judge also sentenced Provenzano to consecutive thirty-year sentences for each count of attempted first-degree murder. Provenzano now appeals his conviction for first-degree murder and the sentence of death. We have jurisdiction. Art. V, § 3(b)(1), Fla. Const. We affirm the conviction and death sentence.

On August 1, 1983, officers Shirley and Epperson of the Orlando Police Department arrested Provenzano for disorderly conduct. The disorderly conduct charge became an obsession with Provenzano. From the day he was arrested until January *1180 10, 1984, Provenzano continually followed and threatened to kill the arresting officers. Provenzano also purchased a .38 caliber revolver, 12 gauge shotgun, a .45 caliber semi-automatic weapon, and had pockets sewn into the inside lining of his jacket in order to conceal the weapons.

On January 9, 1984, Provenzano appeared at the courthouse wearing black combat boots, army fatigue pants, a long olive drab army coat, a red bandana and a shoulder bag. Provenzano left without incident when told that he had arrived a day early for his disorderly conduct trial.

On January 10, 1984, Provenzano arrived at the courthouse early and was heard to have said "I can't wait until those two policemen walk in. I'll show them," and "I'm going to do it. This is where [these] guys get their ass kicked." As Provenzano entered Judge Conser's courtroom at about 9:30, he was carrying a red knapsack, and wearing the same jacket in which he had the inside pockets sewn. Bailiff Parker stopped Provenzano at the door and told him that he would have to leave the knapsack outside or have it searched. Provenzano then took his knapsack to his car. The knapsack contained a gun stock for his .45 caliber weapon and ammunition for the .38 caliber revolver.

Provenzano returned to the courtroom without his knapsack at 10:15. Provenzano approached the bench when his case was called. Judge Conser then instructed Provenzano to return to the spectator portion of the courtroom until his attorney arrived. Bailiff Dalton was instructed to search Provenzano. Dalton then approached him saying that he was going to have to be searched and that he was his friend. Correction Officer Parker exited the courtroom and reentered directly behind Provenzano. As the defendant reached in his pocket, Dalton went to grab him and was shot in the face by Provenzano, who screamed, "You're not my friend, M____ F____!" Provenzano then chased and fired at least two shots at Parker.

Everyone in the courtroom took cover. The people in Judge Coleman's adjacent courtroom heard the shots. Bailiff Wilkerson, the bailiff in charge of Judge Coleman's courtroom, exited the courtroom into the hallway where the shooting was taking place. Shortly thereafter, gunshots were heard. A chase ensued. Provenzano took a military stance in the corner of the hallway where he yelled, "I'm going to kill you, M____ F____, I'm going to kill all of you."

Provenzano then ducked into room 436, a lunchroom for bailiffs, and took a barricade position with the shotgun pointing into the hall. Corporal A.C. Jacobs of the Orange County Sheriff's Office shot Provenzano in the back through a window. The defendant was armed with a 12 gauge shotgun, a .45 caliber assault rifle, and a.38 caliber revolver, all loaded with live ammunition.

Dalton and Parker were both shot and injured by Provenzano. Wilkerson was shot and killed by Provenzano. Appellant alleges that numerous errors occurred at both the guilt and sentencing phases of the trial. We find no errors.

Appellant contends that the trial court committed reversible error by instructing the jury on the doctrine of transferred intent because it was not supported by the evidence adduced at trial. We disagree. Specifically, the jury was instructed that "if a person had a premeditated design to kill one person and in attempting to kill that person actually kills another person, the killing is premeditated." Clearly, this instruction is supported by the evidence.

The usual case involving the doctrine of transferred intent is when a defendant aims and shoots at A intending to kill him but instead misses and kills B. As a matter of law, this original malice is transferred from the one against whom it was entertained to the person who actually suffered the consequences of the unlawful act. Pressley v. State, 395 So.2d 1175, 1177 (Fla. 3d DCA), review denied, 407 So.2d 1105 (Fla. 1981). Obviously, the facts of this case do not fall under the common factual scenario outlined above. However, the doctrine of transferred intent is not *1181 limited to the usual example. In the case sub judice, Provenzano's premeditated design to kill Officers Shirley and Epperson directly resulted in the death of another human being. Thus, the original malice can be transferred to the person who suffered the consequence of his act, Arnold Wilkerson.

Coston v. State, 139 Fla. 250, 190 So. 520 (1939), and the instant case both involve the less common but equally valid factual scenario which warrants the application of the doctrine of transferred intent. In both instances, an intricate design to effectuate death went awry, the intended victim and the defendant were not in the same place and the victim was completely unknown to the defendant.

In Coston, the defendant poisoned a small bottle of whiskey with five times the fatal dose of potassium cyanide. Coston gave the bottle to Donald Long, intending to kill Long. Instead of drinking the whiskey, Long gave the whiskey to Robert Etty, who in turn gave the bottle to Dolores Myerly, who drank it and promptly died. In affirming the conviction for first-degree murder, the court explained:

The law, as well as reason, prevents (defendant) from taking advantage of his own wrong doing, or excusing himself when this unlawful act, if committed by (defendant), strikes down an unintended victim. The original malice as a matter of law is transferred from the one against whom it was entertained to the person who actually suffered the consequences of the unlawful act.

Id. at 253-54, 190 So. at 522.

Thus, the question here is whether at the time the murder was committed, Provenzano was attempting to effectuate his premeditated design to kill Officers Shirley and Epperson. The facts indicate that he was.

However, even if we were to conclude that the trial court erred in instructing the jury on the doctrine of transferred intent, any such error is harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Competent, substantial evidence exists to prove that Provenzano entertained the premeditated design to kill Wilkerson.

Provenzano does not contest the fact that he shot Wilkerson.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
497 So. 2d 1177, 11 Fla. L. Weekly 541, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/provenzano-v-state-fla-1986.