Opinion ID: 2811247
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: State Criminal Conviction

Text: In March 2005, Petitioner was charged in a Florida state court with one count of second-degree robbery. Around the same time, Petitioner was separately charged with three additional robberies, as well as burglary and possession of drugs and drug paraphernalia. After unsuccessful global plea negotiations, Petitioner proceeded to trial in the second-degree robbery case (which is the only conviction at issue in this habeas petition and appeal), and a jury found him guilty. 2 Case: 13-15223 Date Filed: 06/24/2015 Page: 3 of 13 The Florida court found that Petitioner qualified as a VCC based on his criminal history, and imposed the maximum sentence available under the VCC statute: 40 years in prison, with a minimum of 30 years to serve. The Florida appellate court affirmed Petitioner’s conviction and sentence on direct appeal.