Opinion
No. 92-795.
June 15, 1993.
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Monroe County, Jefferson Overby, J.
Yale L. Galanter, Miami, for appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Atty. Gen., and Consuelo Maingot, Asst. Atty. Gen., for appellee.
Before HUBBART, BASKIN and GERSTEN, JJ.
Appellant, Noel Ferron, appeals his conviction for possession of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver. We affirm.
First, the trial court did not err in admitting Ferron's pre-arrest statement since volunteered statements of any kind are not barred from admissibility by the Fifth Amendment. See Christopher v. State, 583 So.2d 642, 645 (Fla. 1991).
Second, the State presented substantial, competent evidence from which the jury could exclude Ferron's hypothesis of innocence that he had no knowledge of the presence of the drugs in the vehicle. Thus, the trial court properly denied the motion for judgment of acquittal. State v. Law, 559 So.2d 187 (Fla. 1989); Lynch v. State, 293 So.2d 44 (Fla. 1974).
Third, the prosecutor's remarks made in closing argument were proper as an invited response to defense counsel's closing argument. Dufour v. State, 495 So.2d 154, 160-61 (Fla. 1986), cert. denied, 479 U.S. 1101, 107 S.Ct. 1332, 94 L.Ed.2d 183 (1987). Accordingly, the conviction and sentence are affirmed.
Affirmed.