Case Name: STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Freddie SANDERS, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1999-02-19
Citations: 728 So. 2d 777
Docket Number: No. 98-01454
Parties: STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Freddie SANDERS, Appellee.
Judges: WHATLEY and SALCINES, JJ., Concur.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 728
Pages: 777–779

Head Matter:
STATE of Florida, Appellant, v. Freddie SANDERS, Appellee.
No. 98-01454
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
Feb. 19, 1999.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Ronald Napolitano, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellant.
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, Bartow, and Allyn Giambalvo, Assistant Public Defender, Clearwater, for Appellee.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
The State appeals the downward departure sentence that the trial court imposed upon Freddie Sanders after Sanders pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis, driving with suspended license, felony petit theft, and resisting arrest without violence. We reverse.
The State correctly argues that the trial court erred by departing on the basis that the capacity of Sanders to appreciate the criminal nature of his conduct or to conform his conduct to the requirements of law was substantially impaired based on his substance abuse. See State v. Brown, 717 So.2d 625 (Fla. 5th DCA 1998). Section 921.0016(5), Florida Statutes (1997), prohibits departure on this basis. However, Sanders is correct that he should be given credit for time served on community control because it was not his fault that the trial court imposed an illegal sentence. See Fraser v. State, 602 So.2d 1299, 1300 (Fla.1992).
Reversed and remanded.
WHATLEY and SALCINES, JJ., Concur.
PARKER, C.J., Concurs specially.