Zuberlon Lenard Williams v. State of Florida
CourtDistrict Court of Appeal of Florida
Date FiledNovember 4, 2020
Docket1D19-0783
StatusPublished
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Full Opinion
FIRST DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL
STATE OF FLORIDA
_____________________________
No. 1D19-783
_____________________________
ZUBERLON LENARD WILLIAMS,
Petitioner,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Respondent.
_____________________________
Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus—Original Jurisdiction.
November 4, 2020
PER CURIAM.
In 2015, a jury found Petitioner guilty of burglary of a
dwelling. The trial court thereafter sentenced him to 15 years in
prison as a prison releasee reoffender (PRR). On appeal, Petitioner
objected to his PRR sentence, arguing that he committed the
burglary within 3 years after release from county jail on a plea to
a felony which had a sentence of 511 days with credit for 511 days
served. He never went to state prison on the prior felony. He
asserted that, although the sentence was consistent with this
Court’s controlling decision in State v. Wright, 180 So. 3d 1043
(Fla. 1st DCA 2015), Wright was wrongly decided. This Court per
curiam affirmed without written opinion. Counsel moved for a
written opinion and certification of conflict with Lewars v. State,
277 So. 3d 143 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017), but this Court denied the
request.
Subsequently, in State v. Lewars, 259 So. 3d 793 (Fla. 2018),
the Florida Supreme Court disapproved this Court’s decision in
Wright and approved the Second District’s holding in Lewars. The
supreme court specifically held that “commission of a PRR-
qualifying offense within three years of release from jail, rather
than prison, does not satisfy the requirements of section
775.082(9)(a)1.” Id. at 802.
Because Petitioner asked for certification of conflict with
Lewars, it would be manifestly unjust under the circumstances to
deny Petitioner the same relief as was afforded the defendant in
Lewars. See Elsperman v. State, 201 So. 3d 1247 (Fla. 1st DCA
2016). We grant the petition for writ of habeas corpus, vacate the
sentence imposed for the burglary of a dwelling offense, and
remand for resentencing in accordance with Lewars.
ROWE, WINOKUR, and NORDBY, JJ., concur.
_____________________________
Not final until disposition of any timely and
authorized motion under Fla. R. App. P. 9.330 or
9.331.
_____________________________
Andy Thomas, Public Defender, and Glen P. Gifford, Assistant
Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Petitioner.
Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Respondent.
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