Vernardo J. Gray v. State ( 2017 )

IN THE DISTRICT COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF FLORIDA
FIFTH DISTRICT
NOT FINAL UNTIL TIME EXPIRES TO
FILE MOTION FOR REHEARING AND
DISPOSITION THEREOF IF FILED
VERNARDO J. GRAY,
Appellant,
v. Case No. 5D16-3260
STATE OF FLORIDA,
Appellee.
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Opinion filed February 3, 2017
3.850 Appeal from the Circuit Court
for Orange County,
Heather L. Higbee, Judge.
Vernardo J. Gray, Malone, pro se.
No Appearance for Appellee.
EDWARDS, J.
Appellant, Vernardo J. Gray, appeals the trial court’s order summarily denying his
motion for postconviction relief. Appellant was convicted of attempted second-degree
murder (count 1) and aggravated assault with a firearm (count 2). He was sentenced to
concurrent terms of thirty years in prison on count 1 and twenty years in prison on count
2. Appellant timely filed an original, then an amended, and finally a second amended
motion for postconviction relief pursuant to Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.850. In
his motion, Appellant raises four claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The
postconviction court summarily denied all four claims. For the reasons set forth below,
we reverse as to Claim One and affirm as to Claims Two, Three, and Four.
In order to successfully argue ineffective assistance of counsel, a defendant must
allege that counsel’s performance was deficient and that he or she was prejudiced as a
result. See Maxwell v. Wainwright, 490 So. 2d 927, 932 (Fla. 1986) (citing Strickland v.
Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984) (additional citation omitted)). To show that
counsel’s performance was deficient, the defendant “must identify particular acts or
omissions of the lawyer that are shown to be outside the broad range of reasonably
competent performance under prevailing professional standards.” Id. To show the
requisite prejudice, the defendant must demonstrate a “reasonable probability that, but
for counsel’s unprofessional errors, the results of the proceeding would have been
different.” Wainwright v. State, 896 So. 2d 695, 698 (Fla. 2004) (quoting Strickland, 466
U.S. at 694). “A reasonable probability is a probability sufficient to undermine confidence
in the outcome.” Id. (quoting Strickland, 466 U.S. at 694).
In Claim One, Appellant alleges that defense counsel was ineffective for advising
Appellant to reject the State’s plea offer of five years in the Department of Corrections.
Appellant asserts that defense counsel incorrectly advised him that Appellant’s recorded
statement could not be admitted in evidence, and that without that evidence, the State’s
case was “extremely weak.” Appellant claims that if defense counsel had made him
aware of the potential that his recorded statement would be admissible, he would have
accepted the State’s offer of five years. He further asserts that the State would not have
withdrawn its offer and that the offer would have been accepted by the trial court, resulting
in a significantly shorter prison term.
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In its order summarily denying Claim One, the trial court explained that because
defense counsel inquired about the recorded statement just prior to trial, Appellant was
on notice that the statement would be admitted. The trial court thus concluded that
because of this knowledge Appellant cannot establish that defense counsel was
ineffective. To uphold a summary denial by the trial court, “the claims must be either
facially invalid or conclusively refuted by the record.” Peede v. State, 748 So. 2d 253,
257 (Fla. 1999) (citing Fla. R. Crim. P. 3.850(d)). The allegations of defendant’s motion
are assumed to be true unless conclusively refuted by the record. See Fla. R. Crim. P.
3.850(f)(4)-(6) (permitting summary denial of claims only if “conclusively refuted” by the
record); Freeman v. State, 761 So. 2d 1055, 1065 n.9 (Fla. 2000).
“A claim that misinformation supplied by counsel induced a defendant to reject a
favorable plea offer can constitute actionable ineffective assistance of counsel.” Colon v.
State, 909 So. 2d 484, 490 (Fla. 5th DCA 2005) (quoting Steel v. State, 684 So. 2d 290,
291 (Fla. 4th DCA 1996)). The Florida Supreme Court has stated as follows:
[I]n order to show prejudice, the defendant must demonstrate
a reasonable probability, defined as a probability sufficient to
undermine confidence in the outcome, that (1) he or she
would have accepted the offer had counsel advised the
defendant correctly, (2) the prosecutor would not have
withdrawn the offer, (3) the court would have accepted the
offer, and (4) the conviction or sentence, or both, under the
offer’s terms would have been less severe than under the
judgment and sentence that in fact were imposed.
Alcorn v. State, 121 So. 3d 419, 422 (Fla. 2013).
Appellant claims that defense counsel told him that his recorded statement could
not be admitted. The trial transcript shows that defense counsel asked the trial court for
additional time to review the recorded statements with Appellant. To the extent that
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defense counsel may have privately misadvised Appellant regarding the admissibility of
the recorded statement, the record does not conclusively refute this claim. The transcript
suggests that Appellant was not in the courtroom when defense counsel discussed the
statement with the court. Specifically, defense counsel informed the court that he had
discussed certain matters with Appellant “downstairs” and would like to have a few
minutes to discuss the State’s plea offer “once [Appellant was] upstairs.” Additionally, the
record does not show that Appellant formally rejected the plea offer or that the trial court
inquired about the plea offer.
Because Appellant’s claim is facially sufficient and because the record does not
conclusively refute Claim One, we reverse and remand for the postconviction court to
attach the records that conclusively refute this claim or, in the alternative, hold an
evidentiary hearing.
Claims Two, Three, and Four are meritless. Accordingly, we reverse as to Claim
One and affirm as to Claims Two, Three, and Four.
AFFIRMED in part; REVERSED in part.
PALMER and LAMBERT, JJ., concur.
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