J.P. v. State
J.P. v. State
Opinion of the Court
J.P., a juvenile, appeals from an order adjudicating him delinquent for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Because the evidence introduced below does not establish that the weapons in this case were used in a manner likely to cause great bodily harm, we reverse.
J.P. was charged below with two counts of aggravated battery for allegedly pointing a BB gun at and throwing rocks at another individual. No evidence was adduced at trial as to the count relating to the BB gun and the count was dismissed. As to the rock throwing charge, the testimony was that J.P. was “tossing [rocks] softly with one hand,” not “throwing [them] hard” but merely “flick[ing]” quarter-sized rocks at the victim. This testimony was legally insufficient to sustain an adjudication for aggravated assault.
To prove aggravated assault, the State had to show that J.P. committed an assault “[w]ith a deadly weapon without
The evidence was, however, sufficient to establish that J.P. was guilty of assault. See § 784.011(1), Fla. Stat. (2011) (“An ‘assault’ is an intentional, unlawful threat by word or act to do violence to the person of another, coupled with an apparent ability to do so, and doing some act which creates a well-founded fear in such other person that such violence is imminent.”); D.B.B., 997 So.2d at 486 (concluding that while throwing a bicycle in a manner not likely to cause great bodily injury or death was insufficient to establish assault with a deadly weapon, it was sufficient to establish simple assault); Rogan, 203 So.2d at 25 (similarly confirming that while throwing a flower pot through a window was insufficient to establish aggravated assault, it was sufficient to support a conviction for assault). We therefore reverse J.P.’s adjudication of delinquency for aggravated assault and remand for the trial court to adjudicate him for assault and to impose a sentence appropriate to that offense.
Reversed and remanded with directions.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.