BATTERY ON A PERSON 65 YEARS OF AGE OR OLDER (F.S. § 784.08(2)(c)) — 2 COUNTS
BOTH FELONY COUNTS DISMISSED (NOLLE PROSEQUI); RESOLVED ON REDUCED MISDEMEANOR CHARGES — COURT COSTS WAIVED
Escambia County, FL
July 13, 2026
Client was charged in Escambia County with two counts of Battery on a Person 65 Years of Age or Older (F.S. § 784.08(2)(c)), each a third-degree felony carrying up to 5 years in Florida State Prison and a $5,000 fine. Florida reclassifies battery upward when the alleged victim is elderly, converting what would otherwise be a misdemeanor into a felony. Two counts compounded the exposure: prosecutors treat multiple counts as evidence of a pattern, and plea offers escalate accordingly. The client was also foreclosed from the ordinary alternative. The State took the position that he was ineligible for Pretrial Intervention because of a criminal record more than ten years old — even though he was not a convicted felon — and that a felony plea was therefore his only path.
The State's offers reflected that position: first, adjudication withheld with 18 months of felony probation on each count running concurrently, anger management, no-contact conditions, random testing at the client's own expense, and approximately $870 in court costs; then a revised offer of 12 months of probation with leave to apply for early termination at six months. The defense declined to treat a decade-old record as a reason to accept a felony disposition and continued to press for a resolution matching the actual conduct rather than the statutory enhancement. The State restructured the case entirely. Both felony counts were nolle prossed. The information was amended to add two counts of simple Assault under F.S. § 784.011 — a second-degree misdemeanor — and the client resolved those with adjudication withheld and 6 months of probation. Court costs were waived. Two felonies carrying ten years of combined prison exposure became two withheld misdemeanors, six months of supervision instead of eighteen, and no costs. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes; each case depends on its facts and circumstances.