Background
A Sarasota County jury found Lavoral Sebastian Hamilton, Jr., guilty of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The firearm was wedged between the driver’s seat and center console of the vehicle Hamilton was driving.
The trial court imposed a three-year mandatory minimum sentence under section 775.087(2)(a)(1), Florida Statutes. Hamilton appealed the conviction and sentence, and later argued that he was entitled to a twelve-person jury for his noncapital offense.
The Court’s Holding
The Second District affirmed the firearm-possession conviction. The location of the firearm in the vehicle Hamilton was driving provided sufficient evidence to support the jury’s finding that he possessed it.
But the court reversed the three-year mandatory minimum. Although the jury found actual possession, the sentencing enhancement required evidence that Hamilton carried the firearm on his person or had it within immediate physical reach with ready access and the intent to use it during the offense. The State presented neither kind of evidence. The court remanded for correction of the sentence and held that Hamilton need not be present for that correction.
The court also rejected Hamilton’s unpreserved twelve-person-jury argument, concluding that trying a noncapital case before a six-person jury was not fundamental error.
Key Takeaways
- Sufficient evidence supported the felon-in-possession conviction because the firearm was found beside the driver’s seat of Hamilton’s vehicle.
- Actual possession alone does not establish the factual basis for section 775.087’s three-year mandatory minimum.
- The enhancement requires proof of carrying the firearm on the person, or immediate reach, ready access, and intent to use it during the offense.
Why It Matters
The decision distinguishes the proof needed for a felon-in-possession conviction from the more specific proof required to impose Florida’s firearm mandatory-minimum enhancement. Prosecutors must establish the statutory definition of possession for the enhancement, not merely obtain a verdict finding actual possession.