Conners v. State

The defendant, Herman Lee Conners, appeals his conviction for felony petit theft. We affirm his conviction without discussion, but reverse the upward departure sentence.

The trial court imposed the upward departure sentence based upon its finding of a persistent pattern of criminal activity. As this court stated in Smith v. State, 599 So.2d 265, 265 (Fla. 2d DCA 1992), “a persistent pattern is not enough; the pattern must also be escalating.” See also State v. Darrisaw, 660 So.2d 269, 270-271 (Fla.1995); Jackson v. State, 687 So.2d 36, 37 (Fla. 4th DCA 1997).

Because the trial court’s only…