Angel Meduna Villareal v. the State of Texas

Opinion

In The

Court of Appeals

Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-26-00039-CR

ANGEL MEDUNA VILLAREAL, APPELLANT V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE

On Appeal from the Criminal District Court 2 Tarrant County, Texas

Trial Court No. 1890235, Honorable Brian Bolton, Presiding

August 18, 2026

ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND REMAND Before DOSS and YARBROUGH and PRATT, JJ.

Appellant, Angel Meduna Villareal, appeals his conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon1 and sentence to forty-five years of confinement.2 Appellant’s brief was originally due May 8, 2026, but we granted Appellant’s appointed counsel three extensions to file a brief due to counsel’s caseload. By letter of July 9, 2026, we

1 See TEX. PENAL CODE § 46.04(e).

2 Originally appealed to the Second Court of Appeals, this appeal was transferred to this Court by the Texas Supreme Court pursuant to its docket equalization efforts. See TEX. GOV’T CODE § 73.001.

admonished Appellant’s counsel that no further extensions would be granted and that failure to file a brief by August 7, 2026, would result in the appeal being abated and the cause remanded to the trial court for further proceedings without further notice. On August 12, 2026, Appellant’s counsel filed a fourth motion requesting a twenty-one-day extension to file a brief.

In the interest of conservation of judicial resources, we deny Appellant’s fourth motion for extension, abate the appeal, and remand the cause to the trial court for further proceedings. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(b)(2), (3). Upon remand, the trial court shall determine the following:

1. whether Appellant still desires to prosecute the appeal;

2. whether Appellant is indigent;

3. if Appellant is not indigent, whether Appellant has made the necessary arrangements for filing a brief;

4. why a timely appellate brief has not been filed on behalf of Appellant;

5. whether Appellant’s counsel has abandoned the appeal;

6. whether Appellant has been denied the effective assistance of counsel;

7. whether new counsel should be appointed; and 8. if Appellant desires to continue the appeal, the date the Court may expect Appellant’s brief to be filed.

The trial court is also directed to enter such orders necessary to address the aforementioned questions. So too shall it include its findings on those matters in a supplemental record and cause that record to be filed with this Court by September 17, 2026. If it is determined that Appellant desires to proceed with the appeal, is indigent,

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and has been denied the effective assistance of counsel, the trial court may appoint new counsel; the name, address, email address, phone number, and state bar number of any newly appointed counsel shall be included in the aforementioned findings.

Should Appellant’s counsel file a brief on or before the date the trial court acts per our directive, he shall immediately notify the trial court of the filing, in writing, whereupon the trial court shall not be required to take any further action.

It is so ordered.

Per Curiam

Do not publish.