Third District Court of Appeal
State of Florida
Opinion filed March 8, 2017.
Not final until disposition of timely filed motion for rehearing.
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No. 3D15-122
Lower Tribunal No. 12-22501
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John Chiarenza,
Appellant,
vs.
The State of Florida,
Appellee.
An Appeal from the Circuit Court for Miami-Dade County, Thomas J.
Rebull, Judge.
Weisberg Kainen Mark, PL, and Dennis G. Kainen; Benedict P. Kuehne,
P.A., and Benedict P. Kuehne, Michael T. Davis and Susan Dmitrovsky, for
appellant.
Pamela Jo Bondi, Attorney General, and Jeffrey R. Geldens, Assistant
Attorney General, for appellee.
Before SUAREZ, C.J., and WELLS and SCALES, JJ.
PER CURIAM.
We affirm Appellant John Chiarenza’s conviction for aggravated assault.
The jury’s verdict is supported by competent, substantial evidence of each element
of the crime. Walker v. State, 957 So. 2d 560, 577 (Fla. 2007). Further, the trial
court did not abuse its discretion in denying the admission of Chiarenza’s preferred
expert. Rodriguez v. State, 413 So. 2d 1303, 1304 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982). Nor did the
trial court abuse its discretion by denying Chiarenza’s requested special “defense
theory of the case” jury instruction. While the trial court, in its discretion, certainly
could have given the defense’s special instruction (Card v. State, 803 So. 2d 613,
624 (Fla. 2001)), the standard instructions given to the jury fully covered
Chiarenza’s defense theories. Stephens v. State, 787 So. 2d 747, 755-56 (Fla.
2001).
Affirmed.
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