Case Name: C.M., a juvenile, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 2012-05-30
Citations: 89 So. 3d 1055
Docket Number: No. 3D11-2214
Parties: C.M., a juvenile, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: Before LAGOA, SALTER, and FERNANDEZ, JJ.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Third Series
Volume: 89
Pages: 1055–1056

Head Matter:
C.M., a juvenile, Appellant, v. The STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 3D11-2214.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Third District.
May 30, 2012.
Carlos J. Martinez, Public Defender, and Daniel Tibbitt, Assistant Public Defender, for appellant.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Joanne Diez, Assistant Attorney General, for appellee.
Before LAGOA, SALTER, and FERNANDEZ, JJ.

Opinion:
PER CURIAM.
C.M., a juvenile, appeals an order adjudicating him delinquent on a charge of petit theft of property worth less than $100, and placing him on juvenile probation. The testimony by the State's witness (a Wal-Mart loss prevention officer) and by C.M. is identical to the extent that C.M. actually paid for the merchandise in question. The State failed to overcome the defense of payment by introducing competent evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the merchandise was removed from the store premises (including the garden department) before the payment was made. § 812.014(l)(b), Fla. Stat. (2011). The adjudication and disposition order are thus reversed, and the case is remanded for the entry of an adjudication of non-delinquency and the discharge of the respondent/appellant.
Reversed and remanded.
. The shoplifting charge alleged the theft of headphones having a value between five and six dollars.