D.S.S. v. State

We have for review D.S.S. v. State, 806 So. 2d 554 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002), which expressly and directly conflicts with the decision in Covington v. State, 359 So. 2d 563 (Fla. 4th DCA 1978). We have jurisdiction. See art. V, § 3(b)(3), Fla. Const. We approve the decision below and disapprove Covington. On the evening of May 6, 2002, D.S.S. and three other juveniles broke into Plant City High School. They committed acts of vandalism and stole items from the school. Police responded to a burglar alarm and apprehended D.S.S. on school grounds. A delinquency petition was filed against D.S.S., charging burglary, criminal mischief, petit theft, and resisting an officer without violence. At the trial, police officers testified that D.S.S. was seen near damaged vending machines inside the building and was captured as he fled the building with five packages of candy in his pockets. An assistant principal also testified to the extent of damage done to the building and its contents, including the vending machines. The trial court adjudicated D.S.S. delinquent on the basis of all four charges.