Florida Statutes

Fla. Stat. § 790.161 (2025)

Making, possessing, throwing, projecting, placing, or discharging any destructive device or attempt so to do, felony; penalties.

✓ 2025 Florida Statutes — current through the 2025 Regular Session

Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section FL-LEGleg.state.fl.us JustiaFla. Statutes CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar

790.161 Making, possessing, throwing, projecting, placing, or discharging any destructive device or attempt so to do, felony; penalties.—A person who willfully and unlawfully makes, possesses, throws, projects, places, discharges, or attempts to make, possess, throw, project, place, or discharge any destructive device:

(1) Commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.084.

(2) If the act is perpetrated with the intent to do bodily harm to any person, or with the intent to do property damage, or if the act results in a disruption of governmental operations, commerce, or the private affairs of another person, commits a felony of the second degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.084.

(3) If the act results in bodily harm to another person or in property damage, commits a felony of the first degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082 or s. 775.084.

(4) If the act results in the death of another person, commits a capital felony, punishable as provided in s. 775.082. In the event the death penalty in a capital felony is held to be unconstitutional by the Florida Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court, the court having jurisdiction over a person previously sentenced to death for a capital felony shall cause such person to be brought before the court, and the court shall sentence such person to life imprisonment if convicted of murder in the first degree or of a capital felony under this subsection, and such person shall be ineligible for parole. No sentence of death shall be reduced as a result of a determination that a method of execution is held to be unconstitutional under the State Constitution or the Constitution of the United States.

History.—s. 1, ch. 59-29; s. 6, ch. 69-306; s. 1, ch. 70-85; s. 747, ch. 71-136; s. 6, ch. 72-724; s. 2, ch. 76-38; s. 44, ch. 88-381; s. 3, ch. 90-124; s. 3, ch. 90-176; s. 19, ch. 93-406; s. 2, ch. 94-228; s. 3, ch. 98-3.

Arrestable Offenses under F.S. 790.161

M = misdemeanor · F = felony · degree: F=1st S=2nd T=3rd

§790.161(1)EXPLOSIVES-USINGTHROW PROJECT ETC ATTEMPT DESTRUCTIVE DEVICEF · 3rd

§790.161(1)EXPLOSIVES-POSSESSINGMAKE OR ATTEMPT TO MAKE DESTRUCTIVE DEVICEF · 3rd

§790.161(2)EXPLOSIVES-POSSESSINGMAKE OR ATT DESTRUCT DVC WIT CAUSE BODILY HARMF · 2nd

§790.161(2)EXPLOSIVES-USINGPROJECT ETC ATT DESTRUCT DVC WIT BODILY HARMF · 2nd

§790.161(3)EXPLOSIVES-USINGTHROW ETC DESTRUCT DVC BODILY HARM PROP DMGF · 1st

§790.161(3)EXPLOSIVES-POSSESSINGMAKE ATT DESTRUCTIVE DVC WIT HARM OR DMG PROPF · 1st

§790.161(4)EXPLOSIVES-USINGTHROW ETC ATT DESTRUCT DEVICE RESULT IN DEATHF

§790.161(4)EXPLOSIVES-POSSESSINGMAKE ATTEMPT DESTRUCTIVE DVC RESULT IN DEATHF

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 28 cases, 1973–2019 · leading case: Stand. Jury Instructions-Crim. Cases, 603 So. 2d 1175 (Fla. 1992).

Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment

Stand. Jury Instructions-Crim. Cases, 603 So. 2d 1175 (Fla. 1992). · cites it 8× “Explanation of proposed instructions: This instruction is based on the instruction on page 103 of the manual and on amendments to F.S. 790.161 in 1990. [Page A-38] *1216 THROWING, MAKING, PLACING, PROJECTING, OR DISCHARGING DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE (New) F.”

In Re Stan. Jury Instr. in Crim. Cases, 543 So. 2d 1205 (Fla. 1989). · cites it 5× “] Although the wording of the Section 790.161, Florida Statutes, may be ambiguous, the committee believes that "governmental" modifies only "operations" and not "commerce.”

De La Cova v. State, 355 So. 2d 1227 (Fla. 3d DCA 1978). · cites it 8× “The third point urges that count two should have been dismissed upon defendant's motion because it improperly charged the defendant with an attempt to commit the crime described in Section 790.161, Florida Statutes (1975).”

State v. Rhoden, 448 So. 2d 1013 (Fla. 1984). · cites it 2× “He was tried as an adult, however, and was convicted and sentenced to a mandatory ten-year term pursuant to section 790.161(3), Florida Statutes (1981).”

McGouirk v. State, 493 So. 2d 1016 (Fla. 1986). · cites it 4× “A jury subsequently convicted petitioner of one count of attempted first-degree murder, two of attempted manslaughter, and one of placing a destructive device in violation of section 790.161, Florida Statutes (1983).”

Wallace v. State, 860 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003). · cites it 5× “Appellant was charged with and convicted of a violation of section 790.161, Florida Statutes (1999), which provides that "[a] person who willfully and unlawfully makes, possesses, throws, projects, places, discharges, *497 or attempts to make, possess, throw, project, place, or…”

Downs v. State, 616 So. 2d 444 (Fla. 1993). · cites it 2× “The trial court stacked the five-year minimum mandatory sentence allowed by subsection 775.”

State v. Dixon, 283 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1973). “; homicide caused by a destructive device, § 790.161(1), F.S. 1971 F.S.A.; rape of a female of the age of ten years or more, § 794.”

Insko v. State, 969 So. 2d 992 (Fla. 2007). “§ 790.161(1). Standing alone, the definition "merely describe[s] some obnoxious behavior, leaving any reader assuming that it must be a crime, but never being actually told that it is.”

State v. McKenzie, 574 So. 2d 1176 (Fla. 5th DCA 1991). · cites it 3× “Less clear wording is found in section 790.161, Florida Statutes (Supp. 1990), amended by Ch.”

Jacobson v. State, 375 So. 2d 1133 (Fla. 3d DCA 1979). · cites it 2× “The testimony which most concerns us was introduced into evidence over the defendant's objection (as well as several motions for mistrial) and may be characterized as (a) testimony by former associates of the defendant implicating him in prior acts of drug smuggling and…”

Reid v. State, 405 So. 2d 500 (Fla. 2d DCA 1981). · cites it 2× “Section 790.161 provides that it is unlawful for any person to throw, place or discharge a destructive device with intent to do bodily harm or damage to property.”

Show all 28 citing cases →

— 790.161(1) — 6 cases

State v. Dixon, 283 So. 2d 1 (Fla. 1973). “; homicide caused by a destructive device, § 790.161(1), F.S. 1971 F.S.A.; rape of a female of the age of ten years or more, § 794.”

Stand. Jury Instructions-Crim. Cases, 603 So. 2d 1175 (Fla. 1992). “Explanation of proposed instructions: This instruction is based on the instruction on page 103 of the manual and on amendments to F.S. 790.161 in 1990. [Page A-38] *1216 THROWING, MAKING, PLACING, PROJECTING, OR DISCHARGING DESTRUCTIVE DEVICE (New) F.”

P.W.G. v. State, 702 So. 2d 488 (Fla. 1997).

PWG v. State, 702 So. 2d 488 (Fla. 1997).

— 790.161(2) — 5 cases

Gross v. State, 138 So. 3d 590 (Fla. 5th DCA 2014).

Wallace v. State, 860 So. 2d 494 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003). “Appellant was charged with and convicted of a violation of section 790.161, Florida Statutes (1999), which provides that "[a] person who willfully and unlawfully makes, possesses, throws, projects, places, discharges, *497 or attempts to make, possess, throw, project, place, or…”

Hernandez v. State, 397 So. 2d 715 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981).

In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases - Report 2019-04 (Fla. 2019).

— 790.161(3) — 10 cases

State v. Rhoden, 448 So. 2d 1013 (Fla. 1984). “He was tried as an adult, however, and was convicted and sentenced to a mandatory ten-year term pursuant to section 790.161(3), Florida Statutes (1981).”

Downs v. State, 616 So. 2d 444 (Fla. 1993). “The trial court stacked the five-year minimum mandatory sentence allowed by subsection 775.”

McGouirk v. State, 493 So. 2d 1016 (Fla. 1986). “A jury subsequently convicted petitioner of one count of attempted first-degree murder, two of attempted manslaughter, and one of placing a destructive device in violation of section 790.161, Florida Statutes (1983).”

State v. Hoag, 419 So. 2d 416 (Fla. 3d DCA 1982).

— 790.161(4) — 2 cases

In Re: Stand. Jury Instructions in Crim. Cases-Report 2018-08., 259 So. 3d 754 (Fla. 2018).

Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.