Shahzad Nazir Sayed v. State of Florida

• Court: District Court of Appeal of Florida
• Decided: December 5, 2025
• Docket: 6D2023-0826
• Status: Published

Opinion

SIXTH DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL STATE OF FLORIDA _____________________________

Case No. 6D2023-0826 Lower Tribunal No. 20-1910F _____________________________

SHAHZAD NAZIR SAYED,

Appellant,

v.

STATE OF FLORIDA,

Appellee. _____________________________

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Charlotte County. Scott H. Cupp, Judge.

December 5, 2025

PER CURIAM.

Appellant, Shahzad Nazir Sayed (“Appellant”), appeals his sentence entered

following his no contest plea to one charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child. 1

Appellant argues that the trial court erred by denying his request for a downward

departure sentence, and that one of the cost impositions in the judgment for his

sentence fails to cite to the applicable authority for the cost.

1 This case was transferred from the Second District Court of Appeal to this Court on January 1, 2023. We determine that we have jurisdiction over Appellant’s appeal as it pertains

to the denial of his request for a downward departure, Caviness v. State, No. 23-

3661, 2025 WL 2737847, at *1 (Fla. 6th DCA Sept. 26, 2025), but we find no error

in the trial court’s denial of the request. Therefore, we affirm on that issue.

As to the cost imposition, we affirm on that issue for the reasons set forth in

Kim v. State, No. 24-0197, 2025 WL 2884470, *1 (Fla. 6th DCA Oct. 10, 2025), and

Spiro v. State, 418 So. 3d 316 (Fla. 6th DCA 2025). We also certify this decision to

be in direct conflict with Dibelka v. State, 326 So. 3d 835 (Fla. 2d DCA 2021),

R.T.D. v. State, 679 So. 2d 1263 (Fla. 2d DCA 1996), and Williams v. State, 285 So.

3d 1003 (Fla. 1st DCA 2019).

AFFIRMED. CONFLICT CERTIFIED.

SMITH, MIZE and GANNAM, JJ., concur.

Michael Ufferman, of Michael Ufferman Law Firm, P.A., Tallahassee, for Appellant.

James Uthmeier, Attorney general, Tallahassee, and Wendy Buffington, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee.

NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND DISPOSITION THEREOF IF TIMELY FILED