Sanders v. State

621 So. 2d 723, 1993 WL 177748
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided May 28, 1993·No. 92-1302·Published·Cited by 26 cases

Opinion

621 So.2d 723 (1993)

Michael Allen SANDERS, Appellant,
v.
STATE of Florida, Appellee.

No. 92-1302.

District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.

May 28, 1993.
Rehearing Denied July 30, 1993.

*724 James M. Russ of Law Offices of James M. Russ, P.A., Orlando, for appellant.

Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Barbara C. Davis, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.

W. SHARP, Judge.

Sanders appeals from the trial court's denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence brought pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a). After a careful consideration of the history of Sanders' prior appeal and other related proceedings, the trial judge denied Sanders' motion on substantive grounds, the time bar of Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850,[1] and the prior "law of this case." We affirm.

This case has a long and unique history, which dictates the ultimate resolution of this proceeding. In July of 1986, Sanders was charged with Count I, armed robbery of Donald McClellan while carrying a firearm (a shotgun) and wearing a hood or mask;[2] Count II, aggravated assault on McClellan with a firearm (a shotgun) while wearing a hood or mask,[3] and Count III, unlawful display, use, and carrying a firearm (a shotgun) while committing a felony (armed robbery) while wearing a hood or mask.[4] Wearing a hood or mask while committing an offense enhances the degree of felony charged. § 775.0845, Fla. Stat.(1985). That statute provides:

The penalty for any criminal offense ... shall be increased as provided in this section if, while committing the offense, the offender was wearing a hood, mask, or other device that concealed his identity.
(1) A misdemeanor of the second degree shall be punishable as if it were a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(2) A misdemeanor of the first degree shall be punishable as if it were a felony of the third degree.
(3) A felony of the third degree shall be punishable as if it were a felony of the second degree.
(4) A felony of the second degree shall be punishable as if it were a felony of the first degree.

Sanders was convicted of all three crimes. The evidence at trial established that on November 5, 1985, McClellan, the manager of a Red Lobster Restaurant in *725 Orlando, arrived early in the morning to open for business. After he turned off the door alarm, he was confronted by a man wearing gloves and a ski mask, and carrying a shotgun. The man had apparently hidden overnight in the mens' restroom. He said: "This is a robbery. I'm not kidding."

Sanders marched McClellan and the other employees single file into the office. He directed McClellan to open the safe and place the cash into a bag. He warned McClellan against setting off any alarms. McClellan testified: "He pointed the gun at me and told me that if the police arrived, that he would blow my head off."

Sanders then walked everyone to the back door. He apparently knew the layout of the restaurant, and about the restaurant's alarm systems. He ordered the employees and McClellan into the freezer and told them not to come out for three minutes after he left. McClellan said the robber was not abusive, but appeared very much in control of the situation. Prudently, they obeyed his directions.

At the end of the trial on August 1, 1986, Sanders dismissed his attorney. Without appointing a successor counsel, or conducting a Feretta hearing,[5] the trial judge sentenced Sanders to thirty years for armed robbery, fifteen years for aggravated assault, and thirty years for the firearm offense. These sentences were beyond the applicable guidelines range. The trial judge explained his departure orally on the record: The crimes had been carried out in a "professional" manner; and, after the events in this case occurred, Sanders had been convicted of other crimes (some involving a Red Lobster Restaurant). Those events took place prior to the events in this case, but could not be scored. And the judge perceived that there is little hope for Sanders' rehabilitation.

On August 8, 1986, the trial judge held an amended sentencing at which he orally vacated the prior sentences and imposed identical sentences. At this hearing, Sanders was represented by counsel. The prosecutor had certified copies of Sanders' prior convictions, and a new scoresheet was prepared based on those documents. Defense counsel and Sanders both went over the scoresheet. Defense counsel said they thought it was "correct."

The trial judge orally stated on the record reasons why he was imposing a departure sentence. They were: three prior felony convictions which were unscored because the convictions were obtained after commission of the crimes in this case, and the professional manner in which this crime was accomplished. But no written reasons were placed of record.

The case was appealed to this court. On December 9, 1986, the state attorney moved to relinquish jurisdiction so that the sentences could be "corrected." Counsel pointed out that the trial court failed to place written reasons for departure in the record, and one offense was improperly designated a third degree rather than a first degree felony. This court granted the motion.

On January 14, 1987, the trial judge held a hearing to correct sentencing errors. Sanders was not present, but his public defender appeared. She objected to the fact that Sanders was not present. The trial judge explained he was merely correcting sentencing errors on remand, not resentencing.

The judge said he had timely dictated written reasons for departure to his secretary. She recalled typing them, but the document was misplaced and they could not find it. The court reviewed its reasons for departure: unscored crimes committed after the ones involved in this case; Sander's lack of rehabilitation in view of "numerous probations" and punishments; and the professional manner in which this crime was committed. He said any one of those reasons would cause him to "depart" from the guidelines. He also corrected the misdesignation of the possession of a firearm charge from being a third degree felony to a first degree felony.

*726 Accordingly an amended judgment was entered on January 4, 1987, nunc pro tunc as of August 8, 1986. A written order giving reasons for a departure sentence was filed January 15, 1987, also nunc pro tunc to August 8, 1986. The order provides:

The court in sentencing the defendant, having departed from the Presumptive Guideline Sentence, sets forth as reasons for departure the following:
1. The professional manner in which the crime was carried out.
a. Placement of an automobile at the rear door of the restaurant to facilitate his escape.
b. Secreting himself above the ceiling in the restroom overnight.
c. Waiting until restaurant personnel arrived to deactivate burglar alarms.
d. Use of mask and gloves.
e. Defendant's calm manner while carrying out the robbery.
2. Prior convictions for burglary, grand theft second degree and possession of burglary tools which were not scored in this scoresheet (those charges were pending at the time Defendant committed this robbery, the Defendant having skipped bond).
3.

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Sanders v. State, 621 So. 2d 723, 1993 WL 177748 (Fla. Ct. App. 1993).

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