Opinion ID: 1940521
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Monlyn's Claim Regarding Habit Testimony

Text: Monlyn first contends that counsel failed to object to inadmissible habit testimony and that but for this error he probably would not have been convicted of first-degree murder or robbery and would not have been sentenced to death. [4] At trial, the victim's widow testified that although she did not know exactly how much money her husband had in his wallet on the day he was murdered, he probably had between two and three hundred dollars, including a one-hundred dollar bill he kept in a hidden compartment. Monlyn claimed the wallet contained no cash. We need not determine whether the widow's testimony was erroneously admitted because we hold that Monlyn was not prejudiced by its admission. Even if the habit evidence were erroneously admitted, the trial court correctly found that the crime of robbery was established in this case. Section 812.13(1), Florida Statutes (Supp.1992), defines the crime of robbery as the taking of money or other property which may be the subject of larceny from the person or custody of another, with intent to either permanently or temporarily deprive the person or the owner of the money or other property when in the course of the taking there is the use of force, violence, assault, or putting in fear. The evidence at trial showed that after Monlyn beat the victim into submission, he took Watson's wallet with the intent to take any cash it might contain and then, after rifling through it, threw it away. Thus, competent, substantial evidence supports the robbery conviction even if no cash was actually found in the victim's wallet. Further, ample evidence other than the widow's testimony showed that the wallet did contain cash. Witnesses testified that before the murder, including the evening before, Monlyn expressed a plan to rob Watson of his money and truck, and Monlyn testified that he took the wallet with the intent to rob Watson. Monlyn only had a few dollars in quarters when he escaped from prison, but when he arrived in Lake City shortly after the murder, he admitted that he told his former girlfriend that he had bought the bicycle he was riding for $35 and had approximately $200. When she asked him where he got the money, he responded that for times like this, you just improvise. In addition, when he was arrested the day after the murder, he had more money on him than when he escaped from prison. Finally, Monlyn was charged with robbery in the alternative  currency or Watson's truck. The evidence at trial showed his prior intent to steal the truck, and Monlyn admitted, and the evidence showed, that Monlyn took the truck and drove it from Madison to Lake City, where he abandoned it.