A Florida appeals court has partially overturned multiple drug convictions against a Lee County man, ruling prosecutors failed to prove that a nearby park met the legal definition of a municipal park at the time of the alleged offenses.
On September 5, the Sixth District Court of Appeal reversed six of Thomas Andrew Vana Jr.’s eighteen convictions for selling drugs within 1,000 feet of a municipal park. The panel ruled the State did not meet its burden of showing that Lake Kennedy Community Park was city-owned in 2018, when the crimes occurred.
Court Finds Proof Lacking
Under Florida law, drug sales within 1,000 feet of a municipal park carry harsher penalties. Prosecutors argued that Vana’s home was within that distance of the park and relied on testimony from a Cape Coral property broker, who described the site as a city-owned municipal park.
But appellate judges said the testimony failed to establish ownership during the specific year of the alleged sales.
Writing for the court, Chief Judge Dan Traver said:
“The City’s broker did not offer this testimony. She merely said the City owned it, without reference to whether this ownership corresponded to the time of the charged offenses. This fell short of the State’s obligation to prove every element of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt.”
Next Steps
The ruling reduces Vana’s six overturned convictions to the lesser offense of sale of a controlled substance, without the park-enhancement factor. His other twelve convictions remain in place.
The case now returns to Lee County Circuit Judge Margaret O. Steinbeck, who will resentence Vana using a revised scoresheet that reflects the reduced charges.
Judges Carrie Ann Wozniak and John Gannam joined Traver in the unanimous decision.
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