When a defendant with a gun threatens four people and then discharges the gun into the air, the court is required to impose consecutive 20-year mandatory minimum sentences when the defendant is convicted of four aggravated assaults, an en banc Fourth DCA held April 24. Williams v. S., __ So. 3d __, 38 F.L.W. D912 (4th DCA 4/24/2013).
The defendant got into an argument with four others, and he drew his gun and fired into the air several times. The defendant was charged with four counts of aggravated assault, and he was convicted at trial with the jury finding that he actually possessed and fired the gun on each count. At sentencing the issue was whether section 775.087(2)(d) required the court to impose the 20-year mandatory minimum sentences consecutively, or whether the court had discretion to impose either consecutive or concurrent mandatories. In certifying a question to the Florida Supreme Court, an en banc court unanimously held that the statutes requires and does not merely permit consecutive mandatory minimums.
Applying the plain language of section 775.087(2)(d), as interpreted by our supreme court in State v. Sousa, 903 So. 2d 923 (Fla. 2005), we conclude that the trial court was required to impose consecutive sentences.