Robertson v. State

611 So. 2d 1228, 1993 WL 1331
CourtSupreme Court of Florida
DecidedJanuary 7, 1993
Docket74914
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 611 So. 2d 1228 (Robertson 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
Robertson v. State, 611 So. 2d 1228, 1993 WL 1331 (Fla. 1993).

Opinion

611 So.2d 1228 (1993)

Lavarity ROBERTSON, Appellant, Cross-Appellee,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee, Cross-Appellant.

No. 74914.

Supreme Court of Florida.

January 7, 1993.

*1229 Robin H. Greene of Greene and Greene, P.A., Miami, for appellant.

*1230 Robert Butterworth, Atty. Gen. and Anita J. Gay, Asst. Atty. Gen., Janet Reno, State Atty. and Joseph S. Rosenbaum, Asst. State Atty., Miami, for appellee.

PER CURIAM.

Lavarity Robertson appeals his convictions for first-degree murder and other felonies and his resulting sentences, including a death sentence.[1] We have jurisdiction based on article V, section 3(b)(1) of the Florida Constitution. We affirm Robertson's convictions for two counts of first-degree murder, armed burglary and armed robbery. However, we vacate Robertson's two death sentences and remand the case to the trial judge to reweigh the remaining aggravating and mitigating circumstances and to resentence Robertson. We also vacate Robertson's consecutive life imprisonment sentences for armed robbery and armed burglary and remand for resentencing within the sentencing guidelines.

On November 6, 1988, Robertson, his girlfriend's thirteen-year-old brother Anthony Williams, C.J. Williams, and Gerald Griffin went fishing along the 79th Street Causeway in Miami. After fishing for a couple of hours, the foursome drove to a bait and tackle shop to buy some bait and two six-packs of beer. They then drove to the 36th Street Causeway and continued to fish. As they fished, Robertson retrieved a semiautomatic .22 caliber rifle from the trunk of the car that he was driving. The foursome then took turns shooting at objects floating in the water.

As they prepared to leave, Robertson suggested to C.J. Williams that they rob a couple sitting in a car parked on the access road beside the causeway. C.J. Williams resisted the suggestion and left in a car with Gerald Griffin. Robertson put the rifle in the front seat of the car that he was driving and left with Anthony Williams. Robertson drove past the parked car in which the couple was sitting. He then made a u-turn, pulled alongside of the couple's car and parked. He took his rifle and walked towards the couple's car. Anthony Williams saw Robertson go to the driver's side of the couple's car and heard him demand money from the driver. Anthony Williams then heard shots. The man sitting in the driver's seat slumped toward the passenger side of the car. Anthony Williams then saw a woman emerging from the passenger side of the car. Robertson went towards the woman and demanded, "Give me the rings." Anthony Williams then heard the woman crying and screaming that she did not have any money. Anthony Williams then heard more shots and he then saw the woman fall to the ground outside the car.

On returning to his car, Robertson put some rings in the ashtray and stated to Williams, "Why you ain't try to stop me?" During the drive to Williams' home, Robertson told him to remain quiet about the murders. Later that night, Robertson confided to his friend, C.J. Williams, that he had killed a man and woman on the access road beside the causeway. C.J. Williams testified that Robertson told him that he had shot the woman because she was screaming. The next day Robertson also confessed to his friend, Willie Finch, that he had shot and robbed a man and woman on the causeway. Finally, Robertson also confessed to his girlfriend, Sheekita Barron, that he had shot and robbed a driver in a car on the causeway. He gave her the rifle and rings to hide. Barron wore the rings for a couple of days and hid the rifle under her mattress and then later in a closet.

On November 7, 1988, early in the morning, a police officer discovered the victims. The victims were identified as Frank Najarro *1231 and Leticia Paguada.[2] Najarro, who was in the driver's seat, was slumped towards the passenger door. The police officer found Paguada's body face down outside the passenger door. The police officer secured the area around the vehicle and contacted the homicide division. At the scene, police officers recovered casings from a .22 caliber rifle and made photographs of the tire tracks found near the victims' car. Dr. Bruce Hyma, the forensic pathologist, found that the rigor mortis of Paguada's body had set in but was easily broken, thus leading him to the opinion that the victims had probably been dead for more than twelve hours. Dr. Hyma also observed an amount of gunpowder residue on Najarro's white shirt. An autopsy showed that each victim died from multiple gunshot wounds. Najarro had four gunshot wounds and Paguada nine.

The police investigation focused on Robertson because of witnesses' statements that Robertson had committed the crimes. On November 19, 1988, Detective Spear, the homicide investigator in the case, went to Robertson's home and asked him to come to the station for questioning. Before the questioning began, a detective informed Robertson of his Miranda[3] rights, and had him initial a consent form for an interview. During the questioning, Robertson claimed that he had no involvement in the murders. He stated that he, Anthony Williams, C.J. Williams, and Gerald Griffin fished and drank beer near the 36th Causeway and that he had considered robbing the people but that he had changed his mind and drove past the parked car. After this initial interview, the police attempted to verify his statements. Unable to verify his statements, the police returned to the station and asked Robertson to give a taped statement. Robertson repeated his prior statements on tape which the State admitted into evidence. Shortly after he gave his statement, the police arrested Robertson for the murders.

On November 20, 1988, Margaret Williams, the mother of Barron and Anthony Williams, gave the police officers permission to enter her home and retrieve the rifle that Barron had hidden in the closet. A firearms expert matched the .22 caliber rifle with the casings found at the murder scene and the gunpowder residue pattern found on Najarro's shirt. The expert also stated the opinion that the tread and wear of the tires on the car that Robertson was driving on the day of the murders were consistent with the photographs of the tire tracks found near the murder scene.

Following Robertson's arrest, a sales clerk for a pawn shop heard Robertson's name mentioned on the television reports of the murders. The clerk checked the pawn shop's records and found a pawn slip with Robertson's name. The pawn slip showed that on November 15, 1988, Robertson pawned seven rings for fifty dollars. The pawn slip contained Robertson's name, date of birth, race, sex, address, phone number, hair color, eye color, driver's license number, social security number, and a right thumb print. The sales clerk contacted the police, and the officers retrieved the rings and the pawn slip from the clerk. At trial, Blanca Paguada identified the rings as belonging to her sister. Further, expert testimony matched Robertson's handwriting with his signature on his driver's license, the consent form he initialed, and the pawn slip. Expert testimony also matched the thumbprint found on the pawn slip to Robertson.

The jury convicted Robertson of two counts of first-degree murder as well as armed robbery and armed burglary. The jury recommended the death penalty for *1232 Najarro's murder by a vote of eight to four and recommended the death penalty for Paguada's murder by a vote of twelve to zero.

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Bluebook (online)
611 So. 2d 1228, 1993 WL 1331, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/robertson-v-state-fla-1993.