T.W. v. State

98 So. 3d 238, 2012 WL 4511343, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 16732
District Court of Appeal of Florida·Decided October 3, 2012·No. No. 4D11-2121·Published·Cited by 9 cases

Opinion

CIKLIN, J.

Introduction

T.W. appeals the trial court’s denial of a motion for dismissal of the charges against him for burglary and injuring a police dog. We conclude that the burglary conviction should have been dismissed because there was no evidence that T.W. intended to aid in the burglary or that he committed any act in furtherance of the burglary. We further hold that the evidence was insufficient to find that the police dog suffered “great bodily harm” under section 843.19(2), Florida Statutes (2010), as a result of his encounter with T.W., and reverse that conviction as well. We also remand for a new disposition hearing for T.W.’s remaining charge, resisting arrest without violence.

Background

The state filed a petition for delinquency on November 5, 2010, accusing T.W. of committing burglary of a conveyance, injuring a police dog, and resisting arrest without violence,1 based on events occurring on September 26, 2010. On May 20, 2011, the matter proceeded to a non-jury trial.

Deputy Michael Henken, of the Broward County Sheriffs Office, testified that he was on routine patrol around 1:00 a.m. in a marked law enforcement vehicle. He was slowly driving through a neighborhood and patrolling the homes in the area when he came upon two or three young males in and around a Ford Explorer sports utility vehicle (“SUV”), which was parked on the side of the road. As he drove past, he saw that one of the males was actually inside the SUV. He said that another male, T.W., was standing by the passenger door of the SUV with a “stunned” look on his face. Deputy Henken rolled his car past the SUV, stopped, put it in reverse, and returned to the SUV. As he did so, the males scattered on foot. Deputy Henken was unable to catch up to any of the fleeing individuals and thus called for K-9 and helicopter backup.

Next, Deputy Emmanuel Koutsofios testified that he is a K-9 handler whose primary job consists of locating fleeing suspects. He is trained to recognize if a police dog is in pain or injured. He arrived at the scene in response to a request to locate the burglary suspects who had fled. After issuing the standard canine warning,2 he released his police dog, Rocky, to find the suspects.

Rocky, remaining tethered to a fifteen-foot leash, detected someone near the side of a house. Deputy Koutsofios took Rocky to the backyard of the house, where he issued more police warnings. Deputy Koutsofios then heard the sounds of screaming and scuffling in the backyard near a pool pump and some bushes. He turned on his flashlight and saw T.W. on the ground kicking Rocky, who had detained T.W. by biting his leg. Deputy Koutsofios saw T.W. kick Rocky “several” times with his free leg but could not provide an estimated number of kicks. T.W. reportedly kicked Rocky throughout the dog’s entire facial area.

Deputy Koutsofios testified that he yelled at T.W. multiple times to stop kicking Rocky so the deputy could pull him [241] back, but T.W. did not comply, started to stand up, and then began punching Rocky “numerous times” with a closed fist. Deputy Koutsofios heard Rocky yelp, which he found unusual because Rocky had been hit previously while working but had never before made a similar sound. The deputy also testified that Rocky is trained to “bite and hold” in these situations and will only release a suspect upon command or if the dog’s defensive instincts force him to do so. Rocky released T.W.’s leg and began biting at T.W.’s hand, which was being used to strike Rocky in the face. Deputy Koutsofios indicated that Rocky is trained to tolerate high levels of pain, so the fact that Rocky yelped and released T.W. was significant.

Deputy Koutsofios then apprehended T.W., forced him to the ground, removed Rocky, and called for assistance. Deputy Koutsofios noticed that Rocky had blood around the white fur under his chin (most of Rocky’s fur is black). According to the deputy, Rocky “had blood coming from his nose down his mouth and it was all where the white part is and it was on the pool deck as well.”

Deputy Koutsofios’s supervisors instructed him to keep a watchful eye on Rocky for the evening and let him rest. The supervisor indicated that it was not necessary to bring Rocky to a veterinarian or make arrangements to have x-rays taken. The deputy kept Rocky in the living room of his house and vigilantly observed Rocky during the night. At the time of the trial, Deputy Koutsofios said that Rocky was doing fine.

On cross-examination, Deputy Koutsof-ios testified that Rocky was eighty-five pounds and T.W. was a thirteen-year-old child weighing approximately 120 pounds. The deputy indicated that Rocky bit T.W.’s left lower leg so severely that he broke it. The deputy acknowledged that T.W. was bleeding from the bite and some of the blood on the pool deck might have been T.W.’s. Deputy Koutsofios also testified that Rocky suffered no permanent injury as a result of his encounter with T.W. In fact, Rocky was able to return to regular K-9 training the following week.

After the state rested, T.W. made a motion for judgment of dismissal, arguing that the state failed to make a prima facie case for burglary because T.W. never entered the SUV. T.W. also argued that the state failed to make a prima facie case for injuring a police dog, because the statute under which the state chose to prosecute T.W. required proof of “great bodily harm” to the dog. The trial court denied both motions.

In presenting a defense, T.W. testified that he was the male standing on the passenger side of the SUV. He testified that he was accompanying some friends and that they were on their way to meet up with another friend. As a shortcut, they went through a residential neighborhood. One of T.W.’s friends approached the SUV because the friend said he needed money. T.W. testified that he warned the friend not to get into the SUV but his friend entered the vehicle anyway. Thereupon, T.W. told the friend that he was going to leave because he did not want to get in trouble. When asked why he ran, T.W. testified that he knew he was going to be suspected of illicit conduct because his friend was in the SUV by the time Deputy Henken approached. T.W. testified that he was scared.

The trial court ultimately found T.W. guilty of all charged offenses, adjudicated T.W. delinquent, and sentenced him to three concurrent sentences of one year and eight months in a level eight detention program.

[242] On appeal, T.W. challenges the court’s finding of guilt on both his burglary and injuring a police dog charges,

“The standard of review applicable to a motion for judgment of dismissal in a juvenile case is the same as the standard for a motion for judgment of acquittal in a criminal case, de novo review.” A.A.R. v. State, 926 So.2d 463, 465 (Fla. 4th DCA 2006). As such,

In moving for a judgment of dismissal, the movant admits not only the facts stated in the evidence adduced, but also admits every conclusion favorable to the adverse party that a jury might fairly and reasonably infer from the evidence. All reasonable inferences that may be drawn from such evidence must be viewed in a light most favorable to the state.

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T.W. v. State, 98 So. 3d 238, 2012 WL 4511343, 2012 Fla. App. LEXIS 16732 (Fla. Ct. App. 2012).

98 So. 3d 238 (T.W. v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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