Adrian Rashun Gaston v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMay 30, 2019
Docket14-17-00904-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Adrian Rashun Gaston v. State (Adrian Rashun Gaston 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.

Bluebook
Adrian Rashun Gaston v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

Affirmed and Memorandum Opinion filed May 30, 2019.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

NO. 14-17-00904-CR

ADRIAN RASHUN GASTON, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 176th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1524489

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant Adrian Rashun Gaston asserts that the evidence is legally insufficient to support his conviction for capital murder either as a principal or as a party. Appellant also asserts that under the accomplice-witness rule, there is insufficient corroborating evidence tending to connect appellant with the capital murder. Lastly, appellant asserts that the trial court erred in including in the jury charge, over his timely objection, a paragraph authorizing his conviction as a co-conspirator. We affirm. I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The complainant, Cameron Wilson, was shot and killed in his apartment on December 18, 2014. Lisa Mendoza testified that on this evening, she drove her boyfriend, Akmal “Chino” Abdullaev, and his friend, appellant, to the Hollister Apartments where they were going to “hit a lick.” Mendoza testified that the two men entered the apartment and returned approximately 15 minutes later with “money, some drugs, and a watch.” The men returned “running back” and looking “sweaty and like their adrenaline was rushing.” In the car ride after the incident, the men admitted to Mendoza that “they beat up somebody pretty badly.” She testified “Chino told me that he shot somebody.” The appellant could not be excluded as a source of DNA found in the fingernail scrapings of the complainant during the autopsy. The appellant was arrested and charged by indictment with capital murder. Appellant pleaded “not guilty.” A jury found the appellant guilty as charged, and the trial court sentenced appellant to confinement for life, without the possibility of parole.

II. ISSUES AND ANALYSIS

A. Does sufficient evidence support the conviction? When evaluating a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting a criminal conviction, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. Wesbrook v. State, 29 S.W.3d 103, 111 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). The issue on appeal is not whether we, as a court, believe the State’s evidence or believe that appellant’s evidence outweighs the State’s evidence. Wicker v. State, 667 S.W.2d 137, 143 (Tex. Crim. App. 1984). The verdict may not be overturned unless it is irrational or unsupported by proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Matson v. State, 819 S.W.2d 839, 846 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). The trier of fact stands as

2 the only judge of the witnesses’ credibility and the strength of the evidence. Fuentes v. State, 991 S.W.2d 267, 271 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999). The trier of fact may choose to believe or disbelieve any portion of the witnesses’ testimony. Sharp v. State, 707 S.W.2d 611, 614 (Tex. Crim. App. 1986). If any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt, we must affirm. McDuff v. State, 939 S.W.2d 607, 614 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). The indictment alleged that appellant, while in the course of committing and attempting to commit the robbery of the complainant, intentionally caused the complainant’s death by shooting him with a deadly weapon, namely a firearm. A person commits capital murder if the person intentionally causes the death of an individual in the course of committing or attempting to commit robbery. See Tex. Penal Code §§ 19.02(b), 19.03(a) (West 2016); Owolabi v. State, 448 S.W.3d 148, 150 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, no pet.). Direct evidence of the elements of the offense, including the identity of the perpetrator and culpable mental state, is not required. Mayreis v. State, 462 S.W.3d 569, 573 (Tex. App.— Houston [14th Dist.] 2015, pet. ref’d). The jury is permitted to make reasonable inferences from the evidence presented at trial, and circumstantial evidence is as probative as direct evidence in establishing the guilt of the actor. Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9, 14 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007). “A person is criminally responsible as a party to an offense if the offense is committed by his own conduct, by the conduct of another for which he is criminally responsible, or both.” Tex. Penal Code § 7.01(a) (West 2016); Cerna v. State, 441 S.W.3d 860, 864 (Tex. App.— Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, pet. ref’d).

The trial court instructed the jury on the law of parties under Penal Code section 7.02(a)(2) and the law of conspiracy under Penal Code section 7.02(b). See

3 Tex. Penal Code § 7.02 (West 2016). Under section 7.02, “[a] person is criminally responsible for an offense committed by the conduct of another if: . . . (2) acting with intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense, he solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to aid the other person to commit the offense.” Id. § 7.02(a)(2); Cerna, 441 S.W.3d at 864. If, in the attempt to carry out a conspiracy to commit burglary or robbery, capital murder is committed by one of the conspirators, all conspirators are guilty of the capital murder actually committed, though having no intent to commit it, if the capital murder was committed in furtherance of the unlawful purpose and was one that should have been anticipated as a result of the carrying out of the conspiracy. See Tex. Penal Code § 7.02(b); Cerna, 441 S.W.3d at 864. When, as in this case, a jury returns a general verdict and the evidence is sufficient to support a “guilty” finding under any of the alternative allegations submitted, the reviewing court will uphold the verdict. Rabbani v. State, 847 S.W.2d 555, 558 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992); Hernandez v. State, 171 S.W.3d 347, 353 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2005, pet. ref’d). The Evidence At trial, the State presented Lisa Mendoza, an accomplice witness, who testified that she knew appellant through her ex-boyfriend, Chino, and that she saw the two men together on various occasions. She testified that on December 18, 2014, she finished work around 5:00 p.m. or 6:00 pm, drove Chino to pick up appellant, and then got lost driving as appellant and Chino directed her to take them to an apartment. Mendoza testified that she was intoxicated on Xanax, and was drowsy and sleepy.

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Related

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Wicker v. State
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Ervin v. State
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847 S.W.2d 555 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1992)
McDuff v. State
939 S.W.2d 607 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Sharp v. State
707 S.W.2d 611 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1986)
Monsour G. Owolabi v. State
448 S.W.3d 148 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2014)
Jor"Dan Jacqueinn Maurice Lewis v. State
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Gross v. State
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Adrian Rashun Gaston v. State, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/adrian-rashun-gaston-v-state-texapp-2019.