Opinion ID: 1959936
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest

Text: The facts supporting commission of murder to avoid arrest must focus on the defendant's motivation for the crime. See Rodriguez v. State, 753 So.2d 29, 48 (Fla.2000). In order to establish that the murder was committed for the purpose of avoiding or preventing a lawful arrest or effecting an escape from custody, the evidence must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the sole or dominant motive for the killing was to eliminate a witness. See Zack v. State, 753 So.2d 9, 20 (Fla.2000); Consalvo v. State, 697 So.2d 805, 819 (Fla.1996). Mere speculation on the part of the State that witness elimination was the dominant motive behind a murder cannot support the avoid arrest aggravator. See Consalvo, 697 So.2d at 819. Likewise, the mere fact that the victim knew and could identify the defendant, without more, is insufficient to prove this aggravator. Id. This Court repeatedly has affirmed the finding of the avoiding arrest aggravator in cases where the victim is transported to another location and then killed. Jones v. State, 748 So.2d 1012, 1027 (Fla.1999) (upholding application of the avoiding arrest aggravator where the defendant robbed the victim at an ATM card machine and subsequently took the victim to a remote, wooded area and killed her); see also Preston, 607 So.2d at 406, 409 (upholding the trial court's findings of the avoiding arrest aggravating circumstance where the defendant robbed and kidnapped a victim from a convenience store and transported her to a remote location where he stabbed her); Swafford v. State, 533 So.2d 270, 276 (Fla. 1988) (upholding application of avoid arrest aggravator where defendant robbed gas station then took attendant to a remote area where he raped and shot her); Cave v. State, 476 So.2d 180, 188 (Fla.1985) (upholding aggravator where victim was kidnapped from a store and taken thirteen miles to a rural area where she was robbed and killed). In the present case, the trial court relied on the following facts to support a finding of this aggravating circumstance: (1) the defendant was acquainted with the victim and, in fact, he had sent her an Easter card that was still on the wall of her office in June when this robbery and murder occurred; (2) after attacking and robbing the victim at the Western Union, Card kidnapped the victim and drove her to a secluded area eight miles away where he slashed her throat; and (3) in committing his crimes, Card wore gloves and was not wearing a mask. We conclude that there is competent substantial evidence in the record to support the aggravator that Card committed murder to eliminate the only witness to his crimes. See Jones, 748 So.2d at 1027; Preston, 607 So.2d at 406, 409; Swafford, 533 So.2d at 276; Cave, 476 So.2d at 188; Card, 453 So.2d at 24. Therefore, we affirm the trial court's findings with regard to this aggravating circumstance.