Garry Augustus Sheppard v. State

Appellant raises two issues in his appeal of his conviction for burglary and petit theft. Because we find that neither claim has merit, we affirm.

First, appellant claims the prosecutor improperly commented during her closing statement on his right to remain silent, when she directed jurors to use their common sense and rhetorically asked, “How else is his palm print and his thumbprint going to end up in [the victims’] house?” We find no merit in this claim, as identical comments were held not to be a comment on silence in Smith v. State, 378 So.2d 313, 313-14 (Fla. 5th DCA 1980). We find the…