David Devon Blackmon v. State of Florida

Summary

The court held that when a jury improperly convicts a defendant of both theft and dealing in stolen property arising from one scheme or course of conduct, the proper appellate remedy is to vacate the lesser theft conviction rather than order a new trial. Although the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on the statutory prohibition against dual convictions, the unpreserved instructional error was not fundamental and did not require a new trial. The court also upheld the dealing-in-stolen-property conviction because competent substantial evidence supported the finding that Blackmon knew or should have known the steel bars were stolen.