Case Name: Ronald CATHCART, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee
Court: Florida District Court of Appeal
Jurisdiction: Florida
Decision Date: 1994-10-19
Citations: 643 So. 2d 702
Docket Number: No. 93-1883
Parties: Ronald CATHCART, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
Judges: STEVENSON, J., concurs.
Reporter: Southern Reporter, Second Series
Volume: 643
Pages: 702–705

Head Matter:
Ronald CATHCART, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee.
No. 93-1883.
District Court of Appeal of Florida, Fourth District.
Oct. 19, 1994.
Rehearing Denied Nov. 21, 1994.
Richard L. Jorandby, Public Defender, and Susan D. Cline, Asst. Public Defender, West Palm Beach, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., Tallahassee, and Ettie Feistmann, Asst. Atty. Gen., West Palm Beach, for appellee.

Opinion:
GUNTHER, Judge.
Appellant, Ronald Cathcart, was convicted of robbery of an automobile with a weapon and kidnapping. He appeals his judgment and sentence for kidnapping and the imposition of prosecution costs and public defender fees. We affirm the kidnapping conviction and reverse the imposition of the costs and fees.
Appellant confronted Carol Moore at the Orange Blossom Mall while she was seated in her car searching for her car keys. Appellant demanded Moore's money and a struggle ensued. Appellant somehow procured the car keys and immobilized Moore by sitting on top of her. As he observed a security guard approaching the scene, Appellant started the car and drove some 200 yards before forcibly ejecting Moore from the moving vehicle. Appellant was finally apprehended after more than a twenty minute chase.
Kidnapping is defined as forcibly, secretly, or by threat confining, abducting, or imprisoning another person against his will and without lawful authority with intent to commit or facilitate the commission of a felony. 787.01(2), Fla.Stat. (1993). The supreme court has pronounced a three-pronged test for determining whether the evidence is sufficient to support a charge of kidnapping. Faison v. State, 426 So.2d 963 (Fla.1983). In order for an act to constitute kidnapping, the taking or confinement alleged to have been done to facilitate another crime (1) must not be slight, inconsequential and merely incidental to the other crime; (2) must not be of the kind inherent in the nature of the other crime; and (3) must have some significance independent of the other crime in that it makes the other crime easier to commit or makes detection of the other crime substantially more difficult. Id. at 965. Each prong of the Faison test must be met before the kidnapping charge is sufficiently supported. Id.
Appellant's actions not only facilitated the robbery of the automobile but also satisfies all three prongs of Faison. First, Appellant's confinement of Moore was not slight in that he held Moore down for a certain period of time and confined her for some 200 yards before forcibly ejecting her from the moving vehicle. Second, the confinement in this case was in no way inherent in the commission of the underlying robbery because the robbery could have been committed without the confinement, i.e., Appellant could have ejected Moore from the car before driving away. See Ferguson v. State, 533 So.2d 763, 764 (Fla.1988). Finally, Moore's confinement lessened the risk of detection; ejecting the resisting Moore at the outset would have slowed Appellant's departure thereby increasing the risk of apprehension. Because all of the prongs of the Faison test have been met, Appellant's conviction for kidnapping is affirmed.
At sentencing, the trial court sua sponte ordered Appellant to pay $200.00 as prosecution costs, without notice, without the court's determining his financial ability to pay, and without proof of how much was expended. This was error. The assessment of prosecution costs is discretionary, and therefore notice is required. Sutton v. State, 635 So.2d 1032 (Fla. 2d DCA 1994). The defendant must have an opportunity to be heard, and the record must state the statutory authority for the imposition of the costs. Williams v. State, 604 So.2d 13 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). Moreover, if costs of prosecution are based on section 939.01, Florida Statutes, the state has the burden of proving the amount of these costs, and the court must consider the defendant's financial resources before imposing them. Tennie v. State, 593 So.2d 1199 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992). In the instant ease, Appellant was not made aware of how the $200.00 was arrived at, and the court did not consider the actual amount of the costs incurred or Appellant's financial ability to pay. Accordingly, we reverse the trial court's assessment of prosecution costs and remand with directions to consider the State's actual cost and Appellant's ability to pay.
The trial court also ordered Appellant to pay $200.00 in public defender fees sua sponte and without notice. Public defender fees may not be imposed without notice and the opportunity for meaningful consideration. In the Interest of R.B., 582 So.2d 163 (Fla. 4th DCA 1991); see Mounts v. State, 638 So.2d 602 (Fla. 4th DCA 1994). Because no notice was afforded, the imposition of public defender fees is reversed.
AFFIRMED IN PART; REVERSED IN PART AND REMANDED.
STEVENSON, J., concurs.
KLEIN, J., dissents with opinion.