Case Name: Vincent BEATRICE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2003-01-02
Citations: 832 So. 2d 972
Docket Number: No. 4D01-180
Parties: Vincent BEATRICE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: HAWLEY, ROBERT A., Associate Judge, concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 832
Pages: 972–974

Head Matter:
Vincent BEATRICE, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 4D01-180.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
Jan. 2, 2003.
Valentin Rodriguez, Jr. of Valentin Rodriguez, P.A., West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Richard E. Doran, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Marrett W. Hanna, Assistant Attorney General, West Palm Beach, for appellee.

Opinion:
ON MOTION FOR REHEARING
KLEIN, J.
We withdraw our previously filed opinion dated July 24, 2002 and replace it with the following.
Appellant appeals two convictions of aggravated assault with a firearm and two convictions of kidnaping while in possession of a firearm. We affirm in all respects, addressing only the issue of whether the trial court erred in determining that it did not have the discretion to impose a youthful offender sentence because of the 10/20/Life statute.
Appellant was convicted of kidnaping, a first degree felony, section 787.01(2), and the jury found that he possessed a gun. Under our 10/20/Life statute, section 775.087, Florida Statutes (2000), a first degree felony in which a gun is used is reclassified as a life felony. § 775.087(1). Corbitt v. State, 697 So.2d 1310 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997).
Our youthful offender statute provides that no one who has been found guilty of a life felony can be sentenced as a youthful offender. § 958.04(l)(c). Because appellant was found guilty of a life felony the youthful offender statute is not applicable.
State v. Wooten, 782 So.2d 408 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) is distinguishable in that the court in Wooten was only addressing a mandatory minimum sentence under the 10/20/Life statute. The crimes in Wooten, after reclassification, were not life felonies, and it is the life felony aspect of this case which precludes a youthful offender sentence. We therefore affirm.
HAWLEY, ROBERT A., Associate Judge, concurs.
GUNTHER, J., dissents with opinion.
. We cannot agree with the dissent that the "unless otherwise provided by law" language in the 10/20/Life statute permits the court to look to the youthful offender statute even when the conviction is for a life felony. That statute, by its own terms, does not apply to persons convicted of life felonies.