Case Name: Richard O. BUSH, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1989-04-19
Citations: 543 So. 2d 283
Docket Number: Case Nos. 87-737, 87-2315
Parties: Richard O. BUSH, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: LEHAN, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 543
Pages: 283–286

Head Matter:
Richard O. BUSH, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Case Nos. 87-737, 87-2315.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Second District.
April 19, 1989.
James Marion Moorman, Public Defender, and John T. Kilcrease, Jr., Asst. Public Defender, Bartow, for appellant.
Richard 0. Bush, pro se.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Candance M. Sunderland, Asst. Atty. Gen., Tampa, for appellee.

Opinion:
DANAHY, Acting Chief Judge.
Richard Bush appeals his convictions and sentences for two counts of manslaughter and one count of throwing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle. We find that reversible error occurred in the exclusion of certain evidence relevant to Bush's defense to the two homicides, and we reverse for a new trial on those charges.
The manslaughter charges stem from the deaths of Matthew Mullin and Ted Butcher on June 15, 1986, in Ft. Myers. On that day Mullin, accompanied by his twelve-year-old niece, was driving his Gremlin car back to Lehigh Acres from a beach excursion. Mullin, who had consumed an undetermined quantity of beer over the course of the day, almost ran a red light on Colonial Boulevard. In so doing, he apparently impeded the progress of a Pontiac in which Bush was a passenger while it was being driven by his brother, William Bush. This angered the occupants of the Bush vehicle, who called for Mullin to "get back here." Evidence indicated that both Bush and his brother also had been drinking. Mullin pulled into a nearby gas station and stopped. Bush exited the Pontiac and struck the top of Mullin's Gremlin with his hand. Mullin, exiting the gas station, struck Bush's car, and Bush gave pursuit. Various objects, including a beer can and frog gig, were thrown into the Gremlin from the Pontiac. Witnesses testified that Bush appeared to be "trying to . crowd [Mullin] off the road." Mullin drove at speeds of up to eighty miles per hour. Eventually, Mullin ran a second red light, striking a Nissan driven by Brad Miller, killing Ted Butcher, a passenger in that car, as well as Mullin himself.
Bush originally was charged with two counts of second degree murder, two counts of throwing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle, and one count of aggravated battery. At the close of the state's case, the trial court directed a verdict as to one count of throwing a deadly missile and the single aggravated battery charge. The jury found Bush guilty of the lesser crime of manslaughter. Bush was sentenced to a total of twenty-two years in prison, a term which was within the range recommended under the sentencing guidelines.
During the course of his trial, Bush sought to introduce scientific evidence that would have shown that Mullin's blood alcohol content at the time of his death was more than twice the legal limit. The trial court, while agreeing that the evidence was relevant to Bush's theory of defense, nevertheless excluded it because of a break in the chain of custody. At trial Bush proffered testimony showing that Marjorie Winters, a medical technologist, received samples of Mullin's blood in serum form and performed a gas chromatography test for blood alcohol content. Winters' proffered testimony was that had the samples been received in whole blood form the test result would have been only "a very minimal amount lower." Whole blood is converted to the serum form by spinning it in a centrifuge. Winters did not perform this intermediate procedure and did not know the identity of the person who had done so.
A mere break in the chain of custody is not in and of itself a basis for exclusion of physical evidence. Rather, the court should consider the probability that the evidence has been tampered with during the interim for which it is unaccounted. Beck v. State, 405 So.2d 1365 (Fla. 4th DCA 1981); Bernard v. State, 275 So.2d 34 (Fla. 3d DCA 1973). In the case before us, evidence of any such contamination, or the likelihood thereof, was lacking. Although the state argues, alternatively, that any error in excluding Winters' testimony was harmless, we cannot agree. The central question in this case is whether appellant can be held criminally responsible for Mul-lin's act of driving his automobile into the path of another. One who, by actual assault or threat of violence, causes another person to do an act resulting in injury or death is responsible only if the actions of the second person undertaken to avoid the danger were those which would have been done by a reasonable person under the circumstances. Wright v. State, 363 So.2d 617 (Fla. 1st DCA 1978), cert. denied, 372 So.2d 471 (Fla.1979); Parrish v. State, 97 So.2d 356 (Fla. 1st DCA 1957). Evidence of Mullin's intoxication, which was not otherwise adequately established by the evidence at trial, was clearly relevant to the determination whether his response to Bush's actions was reasonable. We do not view the exclusion of evidence of Mullin's blood alcohol level, which the trial judge agreed was relevant to this issue, as harmless error.
Turning to Bush's conviction for throwing a deadly missile, we find that these same considerations do not apply when weighing Bush's guilt because the reasonableness of Mullin's reaction would be irrelevant. Thus any error on the part of the trial court regarding the blood samples did not affect the fairness of Bush's trial with respect to this charge. There was suffi- dent evidence upon which to base a finding of guilt, and that conviction is affirmed. See, e.g., Parker v. State, 471 So.2d 1352 (Fla. 2d DCA 1985) (error in denying jury instruction on intoxication affected only those charges to which intoxication would have been a defense); Craft v. State, 441 So.2d 704 (Fla. 2d DCA 1983) (error in refusing to sever charge of possession of firearm by convicted felon requires retrial only of offenses where prior record is not an element).
We affirm Bush's conviction for one count of throwing a deadly missile into an occupied vehicle. We reverse his convictions for two counts of manslaughter, and we order a new trial on those charges and for resentencing in accordance with this opinion.
LEHAN, J., concurs.
PARKER, J., dissenting with opinion,
. Bush later filed a motion to vacate the judgment and sentence, or in the alternative, a petition for writ of error coram nobis, based on developments at the subsequent trial of Bush's brother and codefendant, William Bush. Ms. Winters apparently discovered that she had been in error when stating that Mullin's blood was received in serum rather than whole blood form. Thus the chain of custody problems experienced by appellant may have been nonexistent. Nevertheless the trial court denied the motion to vacate. Because of our holding that the state's objection, even if factually correct, was without merit, we need not address this second ruling.
. If after remand the state is unable to obtain new convictions for manslaughter, and deletion of those convictions would measurably affect the guideline recommendation, Bush may be entitled to resentencing on the deadly missile charge. See, e.g., Parker v. State, 506 So.2d 86 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987). Our decision is therefore without prejudice to appellant to seek relief via Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.800(a), if appropriate.