Jay, J.
Appellant was tried on the charge of armed robbery. The jury found him guilty as charged. On appeal, he raises four points for reversal. We find no error under any of the points and affirm on all four. We write only to address our affirmance on Point II because the relevant facts exemplify a permissible use of rebuttal argument in a criminal trial.
Under Point II, Appellant claims that the trial court erred when it denied defense counsels request during closing arguments to respond to the States rebuttal argument. Counsel maintained that the prosecutors statements in her rebuttal argument improperly transcended the scope of the defense closing argument, and the trial courts failure to give defense counsel an opportunity to respond was similar to the denial of a re-cross examination when a new matter is raised on redirect.
We review a trial courts ruling on the propriety of closing argument for an abuse of discretion. See Cardona v. State , 185 So.3d 514, 520 (Fla. 2016). In the present case, we are not persuaded by Appellants argument that the trial court abused its discretion. Instead, we view the prosecutors rebuttal as a fair comment on defense counsels closing. Our reasoning is set forth below.
The evidence at trial established that two men robbed the victim at gunpoint in the late night hours of December 19, 2015. While one of the robbers held a gun on the victim, the other robber grabbed her purse to find the keys to her car. Once it became clear that the keys were not in her purse-and because her screams for help were growing louder-the robbers settled on taking the victims wallet, which contained a single dollar bill. They kept the dollar, but threw away the gun and the wallet after they fled. Neither item was recovered.
The police quickly responded to the scene of the crime, and the victim gave a clear description of the robbers distinct attire. Within moments of a be-on-the-look-out (BOLO) alert, another officer apprehended two men fitting the victims description a half mile from the scene of the robbery. The initial responding officer drove the victim to where the men were being detained to conduct a show-up. The victim was able to directly identify one of the men by both his attire and his face, but was only able to identify the second man by his attire. Appellant was that second man. Both men were taken into custody and interviewed by a robbery detective. During Appellants interview, he admitted to having been with the other man-Derrick Matthews-earlier in the evening, smoking marijuana, but he denied being with Matthews when the robbery occurred.
At Appellants trial, Derrick Matthews appeared as the States key witness, having already pleaded guilty to the robbery. Matthews testified that Appellant was the man who had held the gun on the victim while directing Matthews to take her purse. Also testifying for the State was Detective Blankinchip, who revealed that after he had interviewed Appellant, he placed Appellant and Matthews alone together in an interview room that was wired for audio, allowing Detective Blankinchip to listen to their conversation. The detective testified that he heard Appellant tell Matthews: Dont say sh*t.
During his closing argument, defense counsel urged the jury to place little weight on Derrick Matthews testimony, insinuating that in exchange for his cooperation in incriminating Appellant, the State would argue on Matthews behalf for a light sentence. As for Detective Blankinchips testimony, counsel had this, and only this, to say:
Then the State called Officer Blankinchip and he [Appellant] honestly admitted that he was with Derrick Matthews earlier in the day smoking marijuana, but he didnt say anything about the subject incident. Theres no confession or admission there. And Detective Blankinchip kind of sneered when he talked about my client Brenden Browns refusal to talk any further. But he had to admit [on cross-examination], theres a lot of innocent people that wisely choose not to talk to the police. So you cant take any error for anything with somebody using their good judgment and not talking with a law enforcement officer. Maybe wait until they get a lawyer.
Counsel briefly discussed the remaining evidence and then exhorted the jury not to convict Appellant because the whole of the States case depended on Derrick Matthews testimony, and he [was] a completely dishonest lying [and] unbelievable individual.
After the courtroom settled, the prosecutor stood to deliver her rebuttal argument. Do not say sh*t, she began, quoting Appellant. Defense counsel did not object. The prosecutor continued: Thats what this defendant said to Derrick Matthews when they were together in the Interview Room the night that they robbed [the victim] at gunpoint. Still no objection. The prosecutor went on: Ladies and gentlemen of the Jury, I want you to think based on the defenses Closing Argument, dont say sh*t about what, if the Defendant wasnt even there. If the Victim made up a second assailant and it was all Derrick Matthews. The defense was silent.
After the prosecutor finished her rebuttal argument, defense counsel requested a side-bar at which, out of the hearing of the jury, he argued that the States rebuttal had exceeded the scope of his closing argument with the Do not say sh*t comment. He pointed out that the comment was not addressed in his closing and the prosecutors quote kind of came out of the blue. Accordingly, he asked the trial court to permit him the opportunity to address just that point. The trial court denied the request, finding that the prosecutors argument was fair comment on defense counsels generic reference to the detectives interview and his failure to address Appellants subsequent statement to Matthews.
Defense counsels closing argument deftly omitted any acknowledgment of Appellants instruction to Matthews. That strategy left a monumental hole in the evidentiary narrative that the State had every right to fill in-to rebut defense counsels argument that Appellants only statement was that he was not a participant in the robbery and that Appellant didnt say anything about the subject incident. In that respect, the States rebuttal qualified as a legitimate, real-time reaction to defense counsels synopsis of the States evidence.
The proper limit of a rebuttal is a reply to what has been brought out in the defendants [closing] argument. Brown v. State , 18 So.3d 1149, 1151 (Fla. 4th DCA 2009) (quoting Heddendorf v. Joyce , 178 So.2d 126, 130 (Fla. 2d DCA 1965) ); see also Jackson v. State , 147 So.3d 469 (Fla. 2014) (holding that the prosecutors comments made in rebuttal to the defenses closing arguments, which implicitly rebuked the defenses closing arguments, were, instead, a fair response to defense counsels attack on the credibility of the States witnesses). Yet, a variant of that rule is also true. Certain facts may be strategically omitted in a closing argument in order to enhance the non-criminal explanation for the defendants behavior. In those circumstances, the States invited response-to facts that are in the record but omitted by defense counsel-falls within the appropriate boundaries of rebuttal argument. See Walls v. State , 926 So.2d 1156, 1166 (Fla. 2006) (A prosecutors comments are not improper where they fall into the category of an invited response by the preceding argument of defense counsel concerning the same subject.); State v. Ling , 212 So.3d 530, 533 (Fla. 1st DCA 2017) (Where defense counsel places an issue before the jury in closing argument, the prosecution is permitted to respond, and the defense may not be granted a new trial because the state rose to the bait. ) (citation and internal quotations omitted); Lot v. State , 13 So.3d 1121, 1124 (Fla. 3d DCA 2009) ([T]he States comments were made in direct response to the defendants closing argument that the defendants easily-traceable actions indicate a non-criminal motive or intent.... [W]e hold that the trial court acted within its discretion by allowing the prosecutors argument and denying the defendants subsequent motion for a mistrial.); cf. Brown , 18 So.3d at 1150-51 (holding that the States thirty-four-slide PowerPoint presentation on rebuttal-which included a photograph never introduced in the evidence and the name of a witness who never testified at trial-went far beyond its proper function as a reply to the defenses closing argument).
Here, at the close of defense counsels argument, the jurors were left with the impression that Appellants last word on the subject robbery was his statement to Detective Blankinchip that he did not commit the crime. The State, therefore, was entitled to remind them of Detective Blankinchips testimony concerning what Appellant said to Matthews, as well as to argue any fair inferences from that testimony.
Accordingly, because the States rebuttal did not come out of the blue, but was invited by defense counsels argument, we hold that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying defense counsel a second opportunity to address the jury.
AFFIRMED .
Winsor and M.K. Thomas, JJ., concur.