Ashley Nicole Wilson v. the State of Texas

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided May 20, 2024·No. 05-23-00119-CR·Published

Opinion

AFFIRM AS MODIFIED; Opinion Filed May 20, 2024

S In The

Court of Appeals

Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-23-00119-CR

ASHLEY NICOLE WILSON, Appellant V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the County Criminal Court No. 8 Dallas County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. MA19-04281-J

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Justices Molberg, Nowell, and Kennedy Opinion by Justice Kennedy Ashley Nicole Wilson appeals her conviction for impersonating a security

officer. In three issues, appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support her conviction, the trial court’s admission of extraneous-offense/bad-act evidence, and the lack of any jury instruction on her mistake-of-fact defense. The State requests modification of the judgment to reflect the correct name of the attorney for the State. We overrule appellant’s issues and sustain the State’s cross- issue. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment as modified. Because all issues are settled in law, we issue this memorandum opinion. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.4.

BACKGROUND

Appellant had been working temporary jobs, including one that required her to wear a t-shirt that said “security” while she passed out brochures at a convention, when she decided she needed a career to support herself financially. Her mother told her about a private security company seeking new employees, North Texas Strike Force (“Strike Force”). Appellant applied and was hired in late 2018. As part of her employment, appellant completed a 40-hour training course in December 2018. Appellant bought her own uniform, which included a jacket with “North Texas Strike Force,” her name, and a badge on the shoulder. Appellant also purchased a belt with a holster; she did not have a gun, but she did have empty magazines in her holster.

On March 31, 2019, appellant was working a 12-hour shift at an apartment complex. She was wearing the uniform and belt she had purchased and was sitting in a parked security guard car eating her lunch. Appellant saw a naked man walking past where she was parked in the parking lot. Appellant lowered the driver’s side window and asked the man, later determined to be Christopher Willard, where he was going and where he was coming from. Willard walked towards appellant where she sat, reached through the half-open window of the car to hit her in her mouth, and then opened the driver’s door to drag appellant out of the car. Two cars driving past the security guard car stopped, and the drivers distracted Willard, so that appellant was able to kick him off of her. Willard walked away from appellant, and she drove

the security guard car out of the complex and back inside the complex while observing where Willard was walking. Appellant informed dispatch what had happened and when that call “somehow got disconnected,” she called the Dallas Police Department and the owner of Strike Force, Victor Hobbs.

Soon thereafter, a firetruck and ambulance arrived, as well as Hobbs. While waiting for emergency responders and Hobbs, appellant lost sight of Willard. Hobbs, who was armed with a gun, and appellant walked through the complex, looking for Willard in order to make sure no one else on the property was assaulted by him.

Hobbs and appellant located Willard in an apartment unit. Hobbs announced them as with Strike Force, and appellant approached the unit door, which was open a crack, to look inside. Willard shouted to leave him alone and closed the door on appellant’s foot. Hobbs kicked down the door to free appellant’s foot. Hobbs attempted to subdue Willard and directed appellant to give him handcuffs. While Hobbs was struggling to subdue Willard, appellant hit Willard with her flashlight. Hobbs and appellant ran out of the apartment unit, and Willard chased after them, armed with a board or table leg, which he swung at them. Victor Johnson, another security guard, arrived and unsuccessfully attempted to stun Willard using a stun gun. Johnson and Willard began fighting, while appellant and Hobbs told Willard to put down the board or table leg. Willard turned and went towards Hobbs who shot Willard. Hobbs yelled at appellant to call an ambulance. Appellant, Hobbs,

and Johnson remained with Willard until the police arrived. The police split up the security guards and interviewed them separately. Willard died from the gunshot wound inflicted by Hobbs.

Appellant was charged by indictment with impersonating a security officer.

The case proceeded to trial before a jury, who found appellant guilty as charged in the indictment. Appellant elected to be sentenced by the trial judge who imposed a sentence of three days of confinement in jail. This appeal followed.

DISCUSSION

I. Sufficient Evidence Supports the Conviction In her first issue, appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support her conviction of impersonating a security officer.

When addressing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we consider whether, after viewing all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Zuniga v. State, 551 S.W.3d 729, 732 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018) (citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979); Villa v. State, 514 S.W.3d 227, 232 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017)). This standard requires the appellate court to defer “to the responsibility of the trier of fact fairly to resolve conflicts in the testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts.” Id. (quoting Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319). We may not re-weigh the evidence or substitute our judgment for that of the factfinder. Id. (citing Williams v. State,

235 S.W.3d 742, 750 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007)). The court conducting a sufficiency review must not engage in a “divide and conquer” strategy but must consider the cumulative force of all the evidence. Id. at 733 (quoting Villa, 514 S.W.3d at 232). Although juries may not speculate about the meaning of facts or evidence, juries are permitted to draw any reasonable inferences from the facts so long as each inference is supported by the evidence presented at trial. Id. (citing Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319; Cary v. State, 507 S.W.3d 750, 757 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016); Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9, 16–17 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007)). We presume that the factfinder resolved any conflicting inferences from the evidence in favor of the verdict, and we defer to that resolution. Id. (citing Merritt v. State, 368 S.W.3d 516, 525 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012)). This is because the jurors are the exclusive judges of the facts, the credibility of the witnesses, and the weight to be given to the testimony. Id. (citing Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893, 899 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010)). Direct evidence and circumstantial evidence are equally probative, and circumstantial evidence alone may be sufficient to uphold a conviction so long as the cumulative force of all the incriminating circumstances is sufficient to support the conviction. Id. (citing Ramsey v. State, 473 S.W.3d 805, 809 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015); Hooper, 214 S.W.3d at 13).

We measure whether the evidence presented at trial was sufficient to support a conviction by comparing it to “the elements of the offense as defined by the hypothetically correct jury charge for the case.” Id. (quoting Malik v. State, 953

S.W.2d 234, 240 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997)). The hypothetically correct jury charge is one that “accurately sets out the law, is authorized by the indictment, does not unnecessarily increase the State’s burden of proof or unnecessarily restrict the State’s theories of liability, and adequately describes the particular offense for which the defendant was tried.” Id. (quoting Malik, 953 S.W.2d at 240) (citing Daugherty v. State, 387 S.W.3d 654, 665 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013)). The “law as authorized by the indictment” includes the statutory elements of the offense and those elements as modified by the indictment. Id. (quoting Daugherty, 387 S.W.3d at 665).

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