Aaron Amberson v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedNovember 15, 2018
Docket02-17-00298-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Aaron Amberson v. State (Aaron Amberson v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

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Aaron Amberson v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth ___________________________

No. 02-17-00298-CR ___________________________

AARON AMBERSON, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS

On Appeal from the 16th District Court Denton County, Texas Trial Court No. F17-1973-16

Before Sudderth, C.J.; Meier and Gabriel, JJ. Memorandum Opinion by Chief Justice Sudderth MEMORANDUM OPINION

I. Introduction

In four issues, Appellant Aaron Amberson appeals his conviction for criminal

mischief for which he was sentenced to ten years’ confinement after pleading true to

the habitual-offender enhancement allegations. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 28.03

(West Supp. 2018). We affirm.

II. Background1

A 9-1-1 caller reported that someone driving an older model gray Ford

Expedition had attached a chain to that vehicle and had pulled a coin-dispensing

machine out of the wall of a car wash near Main Street in The Colony. After spotting

a vehicle matching that description parked at a Taco Bell not far from the car wash,

police entered the restaurant and arrested Amberson. They later discovered the coin

machine and chain inside Amberson’s Expedition. Evidence admitted at trial showed

that the owner of the car wash, Paul Hamilton, had received over $12,000 in insurance

proceeds to cover the required repairs, which totaled over $8,000.

1 Because Amberson challenges only the amount of pecuniary loss—not the sufficiency of the evidence to support the remaining elements of his conviction for criminal mischief—we omit a detailed factual background and set forth the pertinent facts under each issue.

2 III. Lesser-Included-Offense Instruction

In his first issue, Amberson argues that the trial court erred by denying his

request for a jury instruction on the lesser-included offense of Class A misdemeanor

criminal mischief.

A. Standard of Review and Applicable Law

In our review of a jury charge, we first determine whether error occurred; if

error did not occur, our analysis ends. Kirsch v. State, 357 S.W.3d 645, 649 (Tex. Crim.

App. 2012). We use a two-step analysis to determine whether an appellant was

entitled to a lesser-included offense instruction. Hall v. State, 225 S.W.3d 524, 528

(Tex. Crim. App. 2007); Rousseau v. State, 855 S.W.2d 666, 672–73 (Tex. Crim. App.),

cert. denied, 510 U.S. 919 (1993).

First, the lesser offense must come within article 37.09 of the code of criminal

procedure. Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 37.09 (West 2006); Moore v. State, 969

S.W.2d 4, 8 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). An offense is a lesser-included offense of

another offense, under article 37.09(1), if the indictment for the greater-inclusive

offense either (1) alleges all of the elements of the lesser-included offense or

(2) alleges elements plus facts (including descriptive averments, such as nonstatutory

manner and means, that are alleged for purposes of providing notice) from which all

of the elements of the lesser-included offense may be deduced. Ex parte Watson, 306

S.W.3d 259, 273 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009) (op. on reh’g).

Second, some evidence must exist in the record that would permit a jury to

3 rationally find that if the appellant is guilty, he is guilty only of the lesser offense.

Hall, 225 S.W.3d at 536; Salinas v. State, 163 S.W.3d 734, 741 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005);

Rousseau, 855 S.W.2d at 672–73. The evidence must be evaluated in the context of the

entire record. Moore, 969 S.W.2d at 8. There must be some evidence from which a

rational jury could acquit the appellant of the greater offense while convicting him of

the lesser-included offense. Id. The court may not consider whether the evidence is

credible, controverted, or in conflict with other evidence. Id. Anything more than a

scintilla of evidence may be sufficient to entitle a defendant to a lesser charge. Hall,

225 S.W.3d at 536.

A person commits the offense of criminal mischief if, without the effective

consent of the owner, he intentionally or knowingly damages or destroys the tangible

property of the owner. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 28.03(a)(1). If the property is

damaged (as opposed to destroyed)2 the amount of pecuniary loss is determined by

“the cost of repairing or restoring the damaged property within a reasonable time

after the damage occurred.” Holz v. State, 320 S.W.3d 344, 345 (Tex. Crim. App.

2010) (quoting Texas Penal Code section 28.06(b) and setting forth how to calculate

amount of pecuniary loss if property is damaged). The property owner’s testimony

regarding the payment from his insurance provider is sufficient to prove the cost of

2 Although the jury charge allowed the jury to convict Amberson if it found that he “intentionally and knowingly damage[d] or destroy[ed] tangible property,” we proceed solely under the theory of criminal mischief by damage.

4 repairs and, thereby, pecuniary loss. Campbell v. State, 426 S.W.3d 780, 785 (Tex. Crim.

App. 2014).

The amount of pecuniary loss suffered by the owner determines the degree of

the offense. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 28.03(b); Holz, 320 S.W.3d at 345. The

offense is a Class-A misdemeanor if the amount of pecuniary loss is $750 or more but

less than $2,500. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 28.03(b)(3)(A). The offense is a state-jail

felony if the amount of pecuniary loss is $2,500 or more but less than $30,000. Id.

§ 28.03(b)(4)(A).

B. Analysis

The State concedes, and we agree, that misdemeanor criminal mischief was a

lesser-included offense of felony criminal mischief as alleged in the indictment. See id.

§ 28.03(b)(3), (4); Holz, 320 S.W.3d at 345, 347. Therefore, we focus our analysis on

whether a rational jury could have found Amberson guilty only of misdemeanor

Because the difference between misdemeanor criminal mischief and felony

criminal mischief is solely the amount of pecuniary loss, we examine the record to see

if there is any evidence to show that the pecuniary loss from the damage to the car

wash from the forcible removal of the coin machine was $750 or more but less than

$2,500. The record here contains no evidence from which a rational trier of fact

could have concluded that the pecuniary loss, if any, could only have been in an

amount of less than $2,500.

5 Hamilton testified without objection that he received a check from his

insurance provider for “a little over $12,000” and was told to take care of the repairs

himself. Amberson did not controvert Hamilton’s testimony, but he argues that

“there was only documentation of payment [i.e., cancelled checks] for a total of

$2,096.06 in this case.” While acknowledging that caselaw holds that the property

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