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Appeals Court Ruling Will Send Century Man Back To Prison On Drug Charge
October 30, 2015
A Century man that recently completed a prison sentence for a drug charge will be headed back to prison following an opinion issued this week by Florida’s First District Court of Appeals.
Steven Daniel Kite was arrested as part of the “Operation Blister Pack 2″ sweep in April 2013. It took an Escambia County jury just under an hour to find Kite guilty of conspiracy to traffic in methamphetamine and unlawful possession of a listed chemical – pseudoephedrine.
However, Kite moved for and obtained a judgement of acquittal on the conspiracy to traffic count. The trial judge cited two grounds for the judgement of acquittal — inaccurate wording and the failure to prove that there was any agreement between Kite and any other person to purchase and deliver pseudoephedrine. The state appealed the ruling.
Wednesday, the appeals court found the acquittal on the conspiracy to to traffic count to be incorrect and ordered the trial court to reinstate the jury’s original guilty verdict.
The appeals court found that Kite did conspire to traffic in methamphetamine. Between December 2010 and April 2013, Kite made 53 purchases of pseudoephedrine, totaling 123.94 grams, from various pharmacies. He would deliver the package of pseudoephedrine to the home of a known methamphetamine cook and receive half a gram of meth each time in return.
According to the State Attorney’s Office, Kite faces a minimum mandatory sentence of seven years on the reinstated trafficking charge. The seven years must be served day by day without the possibility of parole or gain time. He will not be able to receive any credit for the two years already served under the possession charge.
Kite previously received a two year sentence, with credit for 122 days previously served, on the possession charge. According to Florida Department of Corrections records, Kite was released from prison on September 20. A court date for sentencing on the reinstated charge has not yet been set.
In 2013, Operation Blister Pack targeted nearly 80 individuals on methamphetamine and pseudoephedrine related charges. Many of those arrested were involved with drug groups dubbed “The Village Group”, centered around “The Village” area of Forrest Street and Lakeview Avenue in Cantonment; and “The Ayers Group”, a group centered around Ayers Street in Molino, according to the Escambia County Sheriff’s Offfice.
Comments
27 Responses to “Appeals Court Ruling Will Send Century Man Back To Prison On Drug Charge”
REGARDING:
“Nope, the appeals court is for defendants to appeal their sentences,”
.
So you agree with the idea of possibly overturning a judge’s decision, just not on what decisions can be overturned?
What about in a civil trial in which guilt of innocence is not the question?
David for justice
@David Huie Green:
Nope, the appeals court is for defendants to appeal their sentences, not a way for the state to try them twice, as in double jeopardy.
CONSIDERING:
“If we start questioning judges rulings it means we don’t trust the people we make judges decisions, & that means the system will never work.”
We already DO question judges’ rulings.
This is nothing new.
We don’t trust them to be perfect.
We have courts of appeal for that very purpose.
And yet, the system DOES work ~ after a fashion.
David for better judges
UNBELIEVEABLE!!!
To concerned:
Why do you hate that they got caught you should as a good citizen want every drug dealer and user to get caught.
I hate these boys got in trouble. I hate even worse they were caught. They have always been into some sort of drugs since a young age They finally got caught. Take it as a wake up call. Do your time !! Thank god everyday that you got a second chance Make it count it time
Musta not been anyone home when the ayers street group in molino was busted. There are more drugs still be dealt and consumed on that street than ever If no one is home this time run up to the corner store and wait they will come !!
Steven has never felt in drugs EVER…. Here we go with people judging one because of a charge that’s layed on him…. He did his time.. He has got yanked from his family once and now home doing amazing and there trying to take him away again? This just isn’t right at all.. Mabye a drug issue in the past but never a drug dealer.. There’s real criminals out on the streets they need to go after not one who’s no harm to anyone and that just finished 2 years
@ David Huie Green
Sorry, I musta missed that the state appealed. I stand by all my other comments though, if we start questioning judges rulings it means we don’t trust the people we make judges decisions, & that means the system will never work.
Also, the state can’t play a shell game with a man’s life & decide after he was set free to put him back behind bars, it smacks of a lack of due process to me, just IMO, not stating it is a fact.
I really am used to everything I ever say, online or otherwise, being picked apart & denigrated, people are just that way, whether you are just giving an opinion or arguing something as fact.
Donald your probably right he just bought all that pseudoepherine because he has bad sinuses it must run in the family because his brother went to prison for the same thing
To all of those saying he needs to go back to prison God forbid any of you make a mistake.
He was innocent. He has never sold any drugs. He is also clean now and working on living a good honest life.
REGARDING:
“He did his time”
He did his time for a different crime, although reduced time.
Just because you served time for one crime doesn’t mean you should never have to fear prison for other crimes you may have committed before or after that crime.
David for better people
REGARDING:
“I don’t get it, who appealed, the state?”
As written above, “The state appealed the ruling.”
AND
“the original ruling by the trial judge should stand”
The judge overruled the jury.
The original was that of the jury with the court of appeal upheld.
AND
“especially since the man was set free”
He was freed because of a bad ruling by the judge, not because he was found not guilty.
AND
” having judges’ every ruling picked over, clogging up the judicial system, is unacceptable”.
There are many ways to unclog the judicial system:
People: Don’t commit crimes.
Law enforcement officers: Don’t arrest suspects.
Juries: Find all suspects guilty.
Juries: Find all suspects not guilty.
Citizens: Pay for more judges.
Legislators: Revoke laws.
Most of those are also considered unacceptable
David for justice
@ Gray. If you think manufacturing meth is a petty crime then I quit sure you are part of the problem. This guy tried to beat the system and not do all his time he almost got away with but it didn’t work out. I bet you wouldn’t think it was a petty crime if someone was giving meth to your children. He is no different than any other drug dealer
@HMMM
YOU SAY THAT THIS MAN SHOULDN’T BE TAKEN AWAY FROM HIS FAMILY, BUT IN THE SAME BREATH, YOU SAY THE PEOPLE ON QUINTETTE, AND CEDAR TOWN NEED TO BE SENT TO PRISON.
I SAY THEY ARE ALL DRUG DEALERS AND NEED TO GO TO PRISON! WHAT MAKES HIM SO DIFFERENT? METH CAN BLOW UP THE HOUSE/TRAILER WHERE IT’S BEING COOKED. YOU JUST KNOW HIM, AND DON’T CARE ABOUT THEM. I DON’T KNOW ANY OF THEM. SEND THEM ALL TO PRISON!
What a joke out justice system is. Especially when phedophiles get less time for their crimes.
He did his time served that they gave him . He’s been home for a month now they want to put him back in when he finally came home ?? What was the 2 years count for that he was gone from loved ones ?? A paid vacation ???? I’m not understanding this at all . If they were going to do the 7 years they should have done it in the first place . Not strip him from his family again once he got home and got back use to everything ….. What has this world came to ..
And yes I agree with you rloril . Cedar town and quentett need to be taking care of . It’s gotten so bad that I won’t even drive down them roads .
This is not fair. The man has already been through enough. Go after the real criminals and let him continue cleaning up his life.
He is a good man who has cleaned his life up and now this. And yes I would classify this as a petty crime.
Since when is manufacturing meth a petty crime. And as for not having enough people in prison that’s garbage if you build they will come
People are defending this guy…and why?? Is it against the law to participate in the activity (or activities) that he participated in? YES!
Illegal activity = prison time!
Neither I nor the State of Florida classify this crime as “petty”.
The private prisons CEO’s are complaining to the state about not locking enough people up. They make money off of the more people that are sent to their prisons. They are lobbying judges to send more people away and for harsher sentences for petty crimes.
Just when you thought you were out they go and put you back in
I don’t get it, who appealed, the state? Surely the defendant did not appeal an acquittal, so the state must have picked this up. If the defendant appealed his possession charge & the conspiracy charge came under scrutiny as a result, that is some really, really bad luck for Mr. Kite.
In any case, the original ruling by the trial judge should stand, (especially since the man was set free) because having judges every ruling picked over, clogging up the judicial system, is unacceptable.
Wish Escambia county sheriffs would come target the low lifes on cedar tree lane in cantonment and also quintette road in cantonment… its crazy, its a family owned enterprise out here and they’ve been selling crack here for decades…
This isn’t right nor fair… He did his time… He’s clean and home doing so good….. I pray for him and hope this isn’t true