Dean Kenneth Rockmore, Petitioner v. State of Florida, Respondent

Summary

The court approved the result affirming Rockmore’s robbery-with-a-firearm conviction, holding that competent, substantial evidence supported the conviction and that the abandonment instruction issue did not warrant a new trial. Because Rockmore admitted fleeing with stolen merchandise and the alleged threat occurred during the immediate pursuit, the court held that the abandonment defense did not apply on these facts; any instructional error therefore benefited rather than harmed him. Chief Justice Polston and Justice Pariente, concurring in part and dissenting in part, would have required a new trial because the evidence supported an abandonment defense and the victim-awareness requirement was legally erroneous.