Summary
reversing conviction of conspiracy to commit armed robbery because trial court should have granted defendant's motion for judgment of acquittal where prosecutor failed to present sufficient evidence, independent of appellant's self-incriminating statement, to establish corpus delicti of the crime
Summary of this case from Myshrall v. StateOpinion
No. 1D00-2125
November 30, 2001.
An appeal from Circuit Court for Columbia County. David E. Bembry, Judge.
Reese Marshall and Charlie L. Adams, Jacksonville, for Appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, and Robert R. Wheeler, Assistant Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
In this direct criminal appeal, the appellant presents various challenges to his convictions for armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. We reject the appellant's challenges to his conviction for armed robbery, but we conclude that one of his arguments merits reversal of his conviction for conspiracy to commit armed robbery. The trial court should have granted the appellant's motion for judgment of acquittal as to the conspiracy charge because the prosecutor failed to present sufficient evidence, independent of the appellant's self-incriminating statements, establishing the corpus delicti of the crime. See, e.g., Baxter v. State, 586 So.2d 1196 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991). Accordingly, the appellant's conviction of armed robbery is affirmed, but his conviction of conspiracy to commit armed robbery is reversed.
ALLEN, C.J., BOOTH and BENTON, JJ., CONCUR.