Opinion ID: 1707925
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Denial of Judgment of Acquittal on Premeditation

Text: After the State rested its case, Pearce moved for a judgment of acquittal on the first-degree murder charge, arguing that there was insufficient evidence to warrant submission of the case to a jury on the theory of premeditation. The trial court denied the motion. Pearce now claims that the trial court erred in not granting his motion for judgment of acquittal. Under Florida law, the unlawful killing of a human being is murder in the first-degree (1) [w]hen perpetrated from a premeditated design to effect the death of the person killed or any human being; or (2) [w]hen committed by a person engaged in the perpetration of, or in the attempt to perpetrate, any ... kidnapping. § 782.04(1), Fla. Stat. (1999). A trial court should not grant a motion for judgment of acquittal unless there is no view of the evidence which the jury might take favorable to the opposite party that can be sustained under the law. Taylor v. State, 583 So.2d 323, 328 (Fla.1991). In moving for judgment of acquittal, Pearce admitted the facts in evidence as well as every conclusion favorable to the State that the jury might fairly and reasonably infer from the evidence. Id. Where there is room for a difference of opinion between reasonable people as to the proof or facts from which an ultimate fact is to be established, or where there is room for such differences on the inferences to be drawn from conceded facts, the trial court should submit the case to the jury. Id. Once competent, substantial evidence has been submitted on each element of the crime, it is for the jury to evaluate the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses. Davis v. State, 703 So.2d 1055, 1060 (Fla.1997); see also Hufham v. State, 400 So.2d 133, 135-36 (Fla. 5th DCA 1981). Premeditation is a fully formed conscious purpose to kill that may be formed in a moment and need only exist for such time as will allow the accused to be conscious of the nature of the act about to be committed and the probable result of that act. Green v. State, 715 So.2d 940, 943 (Fla.1998); Asay v. State, 580 So.2d 610, 612 (Fla.1991). Whether a premeditated design to kill was formed prior to a killing is a question of fact for the jury that may be established by circumstantial evidence. Asay, 580 So.2d at 612. Circumstantial evidence of premeditation can include the nature of the weapon used, the presence or absence of adequate provocation, previous difficulties between the parties, the manner in which the homicide was committed, and the nature and manner of the wounds inflicted. Spencer v. State, 645 So.2d 377, 381 (Fla.1994); Holton v. State, 573 So.2d 284, 289 (Fla.1990). However, where the element of premeditation is sought to be established by circumstantial evidence, the evidence relied upon by the State must be inconsistent with every other reasonable inference. Cochran v. State, 547 So.2d 928, 930 (Fla.1989). Notably, the circumstantial evidence rule does not require the jury to believe the defendant's version of the facts when the State has produced conflicting evidence. Spencer, 645 So.2d at 381. Where there is substantial, competent evidence to support the jury verdict, the verdict will not be reversed on appeal. Id. A review of the record in this case reveals that there was sufficient evidence from which the jury could have inferred premeditation by Pearce. Pearce told the victims and their companions that his money was their life, and that he expected them to come back with either his money or the drugs. Pearce subsequently told the victims and their companions that they would have to pay the consequences for losing his money. Pearce called armed assistance to the business location where he was holding the victims at gunpoint. Pearce rejected attempts and requests to let the victims leave. Pearce was the individual who ordered the victims into his car and drove the car to the remote location where the shootings took place. Pearce also switched guns with the triggerman, Smith, ostensibly to ensure that Smith had a functioning weapon. Pearce told Smith either to pop Tuttle in the jaw or break his jaw for stealing Pearce's money. After Smith shot Tuttle, Pearce requested assurance that Tuttle was dead. Smith assured Pearce that Tuttle was dead as he had shot him in the head with a fucking .40 caliber gun. When Pearce stopped the car and ordered Crawford out of the car, he thought that Tuttle was dead. Thus, even assuming arguendo that Pearce did not intend for Smith to shoot Tuttle, there is little doubt that Pearce intended for Smith to shoot Crawford, whose death is the basis of Pearce's first-degree murder conviction. There was no evidence that Pearce urged Smith not to shoot Crawford after Tuttle was shot or that Pearce in any way withdrew from this criminal plan. Pearce drove the car approximately 200 yards away from the scene where Tuttle was shot in the head and left for dead, stopped the car, and ordered Crawford to get out of the car. Crawford pled for his life before being shot in the head by Smith. There is no evidence that the victims provoked these shootings in any way during the drive. In light of this circumstantial evidence of premeditation, we find no error in the trial court's denial of Pearce's motion for judgment of acquittal as to premeditation.