Ana Retana v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 12, 2007
Docket08-05-00173-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Ana Retana v. State (Ana Retana 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
Ana Retana v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

Becker v. State
COURT OF APPEALS
EIGHTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
EL PASO, TEXAS




ANA RETANA,

Appellant,



v.



THE STATE OF TEXAS,



Appellee.

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No. 08-05-00173-CR


Appeal from

243rd District Court



of El Paso County, Texas



(TC # 20040D01365)

O P I N I O N


Ana Retana appeals her conviction of criminal mischief. A jury found Appellant guilty and the court assessed punishment at confinement in the state jail for two years, probated for four years. We affirm.

FACTUAL SUMMARY

On January 30, 2004, Patricia Duran Sr. (Duran) went to Andale Restaurant for a celebratory dinner with her sister, Dr. Estela Robinson, and Dr. Robinson's office staff. Duran's daughter, Patricia Duran Jr. (Patricia), also attended the dinner. Appellant had previously worked for Dr. Robinson but was not invited to the party. At some point during the evening, Duran saw Appellant in the restaurant. Appellant appeared to be intoxicated. She walked up to the table and began drinking Dr. Robinson's beer. She then kneeled down at the table and began arguing with her. Dr. Robinson and other guests at the table told Appellant to leave. Dr. Robinson left the table and went into the bar with Appellant to speak with her. Duran knew Appellant and was familiar with her past behavior. Believing something bad was about to happen, she left the table to talk to the manager and ask for his assistance in getting Appellant to leave. As she and the manager walked into the bar, she saw Appellant pushing Robinson. (1) The manager then asked Appellant to leave. Expecting more trouble, Duran called 911. Appellant eventually left the restaurant.

Patricia decided to leave at about the same time. In the parking lot, she saw Appellant standing over the hood of Duran's car with an object in her hand. Although Patricia said she saw Appellant "keying" her mother's Pontiac Aztec, she did not know what object Appellant had in her hand. She demonstrated for the jury what Appellant was doing, saying, "She had something in her hand and she was going like this, forward." Patricia went back into the restaurant, found her uncle, Johnny Robinson, and told him that Appellant was doing something to their car. Robinson and Duran went outside and found large scratches on the Aztec and on a Dodge Durango driven by Patricia. In the meantime, Appellant had gone back inside of the restaurant and was seated in the bar. Appellant's sister and brother-in-law arrived and Duran told them that Appellant had scratched her vehicle. They went inside and found Appellant in the bar. As they escorted her from the building, Appellant broke away and struck Duran in the face with a closed fist. The trial court admitted a photograph showing the injuries to Duran's face.

Appellant invited her sister, Laura Jauragui, to go hear some live music at Andale Restaurant on the evening of January 30, 2004. Jauragui at first declined but she and her daughter went to the restaurant after learning from another sister, Sylvia Espalin, that the Robinsons were at the restaurant and Appellant was there by herself. Jauragui knew "there was going to be trouble if [Appellant] was by herself." Jauragui went with the intention of leaving her daughter to stay with Appellant. While looking for a parking space, Jauragui saw the Robinsons' housekeeper, Pilar, walking by some vehicles parked in front. Pilar had what appeared to be a key in her hands and she squatted down by the vehicles. Sylvia Espalin also called yet another sister, Blanca Retana. As a result of their conversation, Blanca and her brother-in-law, Gabriel Espalin, went to the restaurant to pick up Appellant because they did not want her there by herself with the Robinsons. They saw a police officer in the parking lot when they arrived. They entered the restaurant and found Appellant in the bar. As they walked her out of the restaurant, they came upon Johnny Robinson and Duran waiting for them by the entrance. Johnny, who was closer to them, started yelling, "We finally got you." Johnny grabbed Appellant by her right hand and she "got him by the mouth." As Blanca attempted to separate them, Duran charged over with a cell phone in her hand. Appellant broke free and tried to strike the cell phone but struck Duran's face instead. The police officer arrested Appellant for assaulting Duran. A grand jury subsequently indicted Appellant for two counts of criminal mischief over $1,500 but less than $20,000 in connection with the damage to the Aztec and Durango.

Appellant testified that she was trying to find a band to play at her parent's fiftieth wedding anniversary so she went to Andale's that night to listen to the band. When Appellant saw the Robinsons and other people from the office, she walked over to say hello. She felt embarrassed because she was there by herself. She told Dr. Robinson that she knew there would be trouble when Duran showed up. Dr. Robinson was angry with Appellant and jealous because she was there by herself. While they were talking in the bar, Duran walked over and asked Appellant what she was doing there and demanded that Dr. Robinson leave Appellant alone. Duran was furious because Dr. Robinson was talking to her. Duran did not like Appellant because she and Dr. Robinson had maintained a lesbian relationship for several years. Dr. Robinson asked Appellant to go home but she refused. Both Duran and Dr. Robinson walked away and left Appellant in the bar. She sat down and began drinking with a man who offered to buy her a beer after overhearing the argument. She called her sister, Sylvia, and told her that she was there by herself and there was going to be trouble. She also wanted someone to drive her home because she had been drinking. She did not leave the bar until Gabriel and Blanca arrived. As they exited the restaurant, Appellant saw Johnny standing in front of her and he began yelling at her. Johnny grabbed her hand and "somehow [her] fingers went in his mouth and he was biting." When Appellant saw Duran approaching her, she thought Duran was going to hit her with the cell phone in her hand, so Appellant tried to knock the phone out of her hand. Appellant denied scratching the cars.

Duran was the registered owner of both vehicles damaged that evening. Adan Lopez, who is employed at the Midway Chevrolet Collision Center, had twenty-three years' experience in estimating the cost to repair damage to vehicles. He estimated that the cost to repair the damage to the Pontiac Aztec was $3,200 to $3,400, and the cost to repair the Durango was between $2,750 and $3,000. The jury rejected Appellant's defense and found her guilty of both counts of criminal mischief.

LEGAL AND FACTUAL SUFFICIENCY

In Point of Error One, Appellant challenges the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence supporting her conviction.

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Ana Retana v. State, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ana-retana-v-state-texapp-2007.