Case Name: Randy Scott DEGROAT, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1986-05-15
Citations: 489 So. 2d 1163
Docket Number: No. 85-1313
Parties: Randy Scott DEGROAT, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: UPCHURCH, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 489
Pages: 1163–1165

Head Matter:
Randy Scott DEGROAT, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 85-1313.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fifth District.
May 15, 1986.
Rehearing Denied June 17, 1986.
James B. Gibson, Public Defender, and Michael S. Becker, Asst. Public Defender, Daytona Beach, for appellant.
Jim Smith, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Ellen D. Phillips, Asst. Atty. Gen., Daytona Beach, for appellee.

Opinion:
SHARP, Judge.
Degroat appeals his sentence of five years for the theft of an automobile, a third degree felony. The presumptive sentence range under the guidelines was community control or twelve to thirty months incarceration. The imposed sentence was a departure three brackets above the presumptive sentence, and was the maximum possible under the Florida Statutes for this crime.
The trial judge gave as his reasons for the sentence:
1. Pattern of conduct established by the defendant of taking automobiles and driving them long distances over a period of time from his days as a juvenile through adult. Previous incarceration at State level did not deter this pattern of conduct.
2. Defendant needs drug, alcohol [sic] treatment that can only be accomplished in the secure setting of the DOC. Local drug treatment programs would be ineffective in this case.
3. Court systems must intervene and break this chain of conduct by extensive incarceration above second cell treatment.
The third reason given appears du-plicative of the other two and the second reason has been held insufficient to serve as the basis for a departure sentence under the guidelines. See Young v. State, 455 So.2d 551 (Fla. 1st DCA 1984), aff'd, 476 So.2d 161 (Fla.1985); Vance v. State, 475 So.2d 1362 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985). However, an escalating pattern of similar criminal conduct may justify the imposition of an aggravated sentence. May v. State, 475 So.2d 1004 (Fla. 5th DCA 1985), review denied, 484 So.2d 9 (Fla.1986).
In this case, some of Degroat's criminal record of theft, auto theft, and various driving violations was not scored because the crimes were committed while he was a juvenile. Upon becoming an adult, Deg-roat continued to commit and receive criminal sanctions for crimes relating to alcohol and drug abuse and driving violations, car theft and robbery. In 1984, he was adjudicated guilty of possessing stolen property, possessing burglary tools, possession of marijuana, and DWI felony. Since 1973, Degroat received almost every alternative sentence available to a long prison term including fines, suspended commitment, probation, DUI school, supervised probation, community service, and short term county jail sentences.
Based on appellant's record in this case, exclusive of factors scored in the scoresheet, we do not think the trial judge abused his discretion in imposing an aggravated sentence, and we think the state has shown beyond a reasonable doubt that the absence of the second and third reasons would not have affected the sentence given in this case. See Albritton v. State, 476 So.2d 158 (Fla.1985).
AFFIRMED.
UPCHURCH, J., concurs.
COWART, J., dissents with opinion.
. § 812.014(2)(b)(4), Fla.Stat. (1983).
. § 775.082(3)(d), Fla.Stat. (1983).
.Fla.R.Crim.P. 3.701.d.5(c).