Full Opinion

DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF FLORIDA SECOND DISTRICT GUSTAVO RUIZ, Appellant, v. STATE OF FLORIDA, Appellee. No. 2D21-3529 July 7, 2023 Appeal pursuant to Fla. R. App. P. 9.141(b)(2) from the Circuit Court for Hillsborough County; Michelle D. Sisco, Judge. Gustavo Ruiz, pro se. Ashley Moody, Attorney General, Tallahassee, and Elba Caridad Martin, Assistant Attorney General, Tampa, for Appellee. NORTHCUTT, Judge. Gustavo Ruiz appeals the nonsummary denial of his motion for postconviction relief filed under Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. We affirm but write to explain that we have not considered the merits of his first issue, a claim of an illegal sentence, which he raises for the first time in this appeal. See Adams v. State, 774 So. 2d 941, 942 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001) (explaining that claims not raised in the postconviction motion presented to the lower court are not preserved for appeal). Therefore, our affirmance is without prejudice to any right Ruiz may have to seek relief for that claim with the postconviction court in the first instance. Affirmed. VILLANTI and LUCAS, JJ., Concur. Opinion subject to revision prior to official publication. 2