Ray v. State

522 So. 2d 963, 1988 WL 23451
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
DecidedMarch 22, 1988
Docket86-2288
StatusPublished
Cited by40 cases

This text of 522 So. 2d 963 (Ray 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
Ray v. State, 522 So. 2d 963, 1988 WL 23451 (Fla. Ct. App. 1988).

Opinion

522 So.2d 963 (1988)

Jerome Edward RAY, Appellant,
v.
The STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 86-2288.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.

March 22, 1988.

Bennett H. Brummer, Public Defender, and Harvey J. Sepler, Asst. Public Defender, for appellant.

*964 Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Michael J. Neimand, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.

Before SCHWARTZ, C.J., and BASKIN and DANIEL S. PEARSON, JJ.

DANIEL S. PEARSON, Judge.

The question presented by this case is whether a defendant can be found guilty of burglary under Section 810.02, Florida Statutes (1985), where he lawfully enters the home of another, and after communicating to the occupant — by word or deed — his intent to commit a crime therein, remains in the home against the occupant's wishes.

I.

Ray was prosecuted on charges of attempted first-degree murder, attempted sexual battery, and burglary with the intent to commit an assault. Charlene Bryant, the alleged victim, testified that on the day of the crimes, she first saw Ray when, returning to the floor on which her apartment was located, she passed him on the stairs where he was seated having a beer with another tenant in the complex. Shortly thereafter, Ray knocked on Bryant's door and asked to come in. Bryant let Ray in, and they sat down. Ray told Bryant that he had overheard her telling the "rent lady" that she was short on the rent. Ray offered to find Bryant a man who would pay her to have sex, but Bryant refused. Their ensuing brief conversation about other things was interrupted by a woman knocking on the door. Both Bryant and Ray went to the door, and Ray left Bryant's apartment. A short time later, Ray again knocked on Bryant's door, and again she let him in. He explained that the woman who had come to the door was his girlfriend. Moments later Ray grabbed Bryant from behind, began choking her, dragged her toward the part of the main room where the bed was located, and tried to force her to have sex with him. Bryant fought him off until the police, summoned by neighbors who heard the struggle, arrived and subdued Ray.[1] Ray's unwillingness to go peacefully with the police resulted in the lodging of additional charges of resisting an officer with violence and battery upon a police officer. The jury found Ray guilty of battery of a law enforcement officer and burglary of a dwelling with the intent to commit an assault; it acquitted Ray of all other charges. On this appeal, Ray challenges the burglary conviction only.[2]

II.

Section 810.02(1), Florida Statutes (1985), defines the crime of burglary[3] as:

*965 "entering or remaining in a structure or a conveyance with the intent to commit an offense therein, unless the premises are at the time open to the public or the defendant is licensed or invited to enter or remain."

Because, as the State concedes, Ray was invited to enter Bryant's premises and therefore cannot be convicted of the crime of entering, we confine our discussion to the "remaining in" language of the statute.

The phrase "remaining in" has been interpreted as proscribing an act distinct from that of entering.[4] In Routly v. State, 440 So.2d 1257 (Fla. 1983), the court rejected, as being without merit, the defendant's contention that because he had lawfully entered the decedent's home at the outset, there could be no burglary. The court held that "[t]he burglary statute is satisfied when the defendant `remains in' a structure with the intent to commit an offense therein. Hence, the unlawful entry is not a requisite element." Id. at 1262. See State v. Belton, 190 Conn. 496, 500, 461 A.2d 973, 976 (1983) ("To enter unlawfully contemplates an entry which is accomplished unlawfully, while to remain unlawfully contemplates an initial legal entry which becomes unlawful at the time the actor's right, privilege or license to remain is extinguished.") (footnote omitted). The interpretation given the statute in Routly complies with the rule of statutory construction that, if possible, meaning should be ascribed to all words in a statute. Terrinoni v. Westward Ho!, 418 So.2d 1143 (Fla. 1st DCA 1982); Pinellas County v. Woolley, 189 So.2d 217 (Fla. 1st DCA 1966); see Chaffee v. Miami Transfer Co., 288 So.2d 209 (Fla. 1974). Moreover, such an interpretation follows from the holding that consent is a recognized defense to a charge of unlawful entry in this state. See State v. Hicks, 421 So.2d 510 (Fla. 1982); note 3, supra. Since, as the State concedes, the evidence is undisputed that Ms. Bryant consented to Ray's entering the premises, the issue we must address is whether the evidence supports the jury's necessary, albeit implicit, finding that Bryant's consent to Ray's remaining in the premises was withdrawn. Otherwise stated, once consensual entry is complete, a consensual "remaining in" begins, and any burglary conviction must be bottomed on proof that consent to "remaining in" has been withdrawn.[5]

*966 III.

It is undeniably true that a person would not ordinarily tolerate another person remaining in the premises and committing a crime, and that when a victim becomes aware of the commission of a crime, the victim implicitly withdraws consent to the perpetrator's remaining in the premises. Thus, in Hambrick v. State, 174 Ga. App. 444, 330 S.E.2d 383 (1985), the court held that a jury question was presented regarding whether the victim's struggle with the defendant indicated withdrawal of consent to be on the premises, which would render unauthorized the defendant's remaining there.

"With regard to burglary, Hambrick argues that the evidence is undisputed that he had authority to enter. While that is true, it does not end the matter... . When Hambrick's ulterior purpose beyond the bounds of a friendly visit became known to Arrington [the victim — Hambrick's elderly stepgrandfather], who was the source of the authority, and he reacted against it, a reasonable inference could be drawn that the authority to remain ended. Arrington did not have to shout `Get out!' for this to be so. Yet Hambrick remained until he got possession of the money, far beyond the time at which the scope of the permission ended."

Hambrick v. State, 330 S.E.2d at 385-86.

Likewise, in Johnson v. State, 473 So.2d 607 (Ala. Crim. App. 1985), the court held that for the purpose of satisfying the requirement that the defendant enter or remain unlawfully, the occupant's consent is terminated when the defendant knows or has reason to know that the occupant no longer wants the defendant to remain. Finding that non-consent could be proved by circumstantial evidence, the court inferred that the murder victim had terminated the defendant's license to remain from the circumstances of the brutal murder: there were obvious signs of struggle and the victim had been severely beaten. See also People v. Powell, 58 N.Y.2d 1009, 448 N.E.2d 797, 461 N.Y.S.2d 1012 (1983) (burglary conviction sustained where jury could find that though defendant's entry was lawful, he was not licensed to remain because it was apparent from the time of day and absence of people that the offices were no longer open to the public); People v. Racanelli, 132 Ill. App.3d 124, 87 Ill.Dec.

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Bluebook (online)
522 So. 2d 963, 1988 WL 23451, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ray-v-state-fladistctapp-1988.