Shepard v. State
Annotate this Case
The Supreme Court approved the decision of the First District Court of Appeal concluding that an automobile can be a weapon for purposes of Florida’s reclassification statute, Fla. Stat. 775.087(1), holding that an automobile is a weapon under section 775.087(1) if it is used to inflict harm on another and that it is a question of fact for the jury to determine whether an automobile or other object was used as a weapon by the defendant.
Defendant was convicted of manslaughter with a weapon, where the weapon supporting the charge was an automobile, and leaving the scene of a crash involving death. On appeal, Defendant argued that the trial court erred in allowing his manslaughter conviction to be reclassified from a second-degree felony to a first-degree felony for using a weapon pursuant to section 775.087(1). The First Circuit disagreed and upheld the conviction. The Supreme Court approved the First District’s conclusion that an automobile can be a weapon for purposes of the reclassification statute, holding that any object used or intended to be used to inflict harm on another constitutes a weapon within the meaning of the statute.
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.