Blue, Lawrence v. State

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: October 16, 2003
• Docket: 01-02-00552-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

Opinion issued October 16, 2003

In The

Court of Appeals

For The

First District of Texas

____________

NO. 01-02-00552-CR

LAWRENCE BLUE, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

---

On Appeal from the 272nd District Court

Brazos County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 28,714-272

---

MEMORANDUM OPINION

          A jury convicted appellant, Lawrence Blue, of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon and assessed punishment at 13 years’ confinement. In three points of error, appellant argues that (1) the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain a conviction for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon; (2) the evidence was factually insufficient to sustain a conviction for the offense of unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon; and (3) fundamental error occurred in the State’s closing argument to the jury during the guilt-innocence phase of the trial. We affirm.

FACTS

          In the early morning hours of April 13, 2001, Bryan Police Officer Alan Melnyk was operating a stationary radar, watching for traffic violations. At approximately 1:00 a.m., he spotted a car traveling at 108 miles per hour. Officer Melnyk stopped the car, which was driven by appellant, the sole occupant. After smelling a strong odor of alcohol and conducting field sobriety tests on appellant, Officer Melnyk arrested him for driving while intoxicated.

          Officer Melnyk then conducted a search of appellant’s car and found a loaded Target Bulldog .44 caliber handgun in a pouch attached to the front of the driver’s seat. No fingerprints were recovered from the gun.

          Jerry Fling, the manager of JP Auto Sales, testified that he sold the vehicle in question to appellant and George Coker on April 3, 2001, 10 days before the arrest. State’s exhibit 1, the contract for sale signed by appellant, with buyers listed as “Lawrence Blue” and “George Coker,” was admitted into evidence.

          Appellant stipulated that he had been convicted of the predicate felony of aggravated assault and that his period of incarceration and parole expired within five years of April 13, 2001.

          As the sole witness for the defense, Lloyd Franklin testified that, on April 12, 2001, he had borrowed appellant’s car to drive to the VA hospital in Temple for a medical appointment and had left the gun in appellant’s car by accident. He testified that he had owned the gun for two to two-and-a-half years, after finding it while mowing the yard.

          Gil Schultz, an investigator with the Brazos County District Attorney’s office, testified that he contacted Franklin on January 9, 2002, to determine if Franklin could identify the handgun that he claimed belonged to him, not appellant. Schultz showed Franklin three handguns, one of which was the handgun retrieved from appellant’s car the night of his arrest. Schultz testified that he let Franklin handle all three weapons, and that Franklin told him neither of the handguns was the one he left in appellant’s car.

LEGAL SUFFICIENCY

          In his first point of error, appellant contends the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain a conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm. Specifically, appellant argues that the State failed to “affirmatively link” him to the firearm recovered from the pouch in his car.

          When reviewing the legal sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. King v. State, 29 S.W.3d 556, 562 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).

          To prove unlawful possession of a firearm, the State must prove that the accused knowingly possessed the contraband in question; that is, the State must prove that the accused knew of the weapon’s existence and that he exercised care, custody, control, or management over it. See Brown v. State, 911 S.W.2d 744, 747 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995). The State can accomplish this task with “affirmative links” that demonstrate that the accused was conscious of his connection with the contraband and knew what it was. Id.

          In Gilbert v. State, this Court considered some of the factors that may establish sufficient affirmative links. 874 S.W.2d 290, 298 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1994, pet. ref’d). We noted, in pertinent part, that these factors may include whether (1) the contraband was in plain view; (2) the contraband was conveniently accessible to the accused; (3) the accused was the owner of the place where the contraband was found; (4) the accused was the driver of the car in which the contraband was found; (5) the contraband was found on the same side of the car seat as the accused was sitting; (6) the place where the contraband was found was enclosed; (7) the conduct of the accused indicated a consciousness of guilt; (8) the accused has a special connection to the contraband; (9) occupants of the car gave conflicting statements about relevant matters; and (10) affirmative statements connect the accused to the contraband. Id. The number of factors present is not as important as the logical force the factors have in establishing the elements of the offense. Id. (citing Whitworth v. State, 808 S.W.2d 566, 569 (Tex. App.—Austin 1991, pet. ref’d)).

          We find several of these factors present in this case. The firearm was located within easy reach in a pouch on the front of the driver’s seat, conveniently accessible to appellant, the driver. Appellant was the owner of the vehicle, having recently purchased it from Jerry Fling. Appellant was the driver and sole occupant of the car at the time the firearm was found, and the firearm was found in a pouch on the driver’s side of the vehicle. Viewing this evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant knowingly possessed the handgun.

          Accordingly, we overrule appellant’s first point of error.

FACTUAL SUFFICIENCY

          In his second point of error, appellant contends that the evidence was factually insufficient to sustain his conviction. In conducting a factual sufficiency review, we must decide “whether a neutral review of all evidence, both for and against the finding, demonstrates that the proof of guilt is so obviously weak as to undermine confidence in the jury’s determination, or the proof of guilt, although adequate if taken alone, is greatly outweighed by contrary proof.” King, 29 S.W.3d at 563. We will reverse only if a manifest injustice has occurred. Id.

          Evidence before the jury demonstrated that appellant was the owner of the vehicle in which the handgun was found. Furthermore, appellant was the driver and sole occupant of the vehicle at the time the handgun was found, and the gun was found in a pouch to which appellant had convenient access. Although Lloyd Franklin testified that the gun was his and that he had left it in the car without appellant’s knowledge, the jury was free to disbelieve his testimony, especially in light of the fact that Franklin could not identify the gun.

          Therefore, after reviewing all of the evidence, both for and against appellant, we cannot say that proof of guilt is so obviously weak as to undermine confidence in the jury’s determination. Neither can we say that the proof of guilt is greatly outweighed by contrary proof. The jury, as the trier of fact, is free to believe some testimony and disbelieve other testimony. Margraves v. State, 34 S.W.3d 912, 919 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).

          Accordingly, we overrule appellant’s second point of error.

IMPROPER JURY ARGUMENT

          In his third point of error, appellant contends that, during closing argument at the guilt-innocence phase of the trial, the State improperly commented on his Fifth Amendment right not to testify.

          During closing argument, the prosecutor commented:

Mr. Jones [trial counsel for appellant] will argue that there’s no evidence from the State that his client was aware the gun was there. Well, there is, because you are allowed to make a reasonable deduction from the evidence. It’s his car; he’s driving it. It’s there, it’s not concealed. It’s not anywhere concealed in anything in the glove box. And that’s the purpose that the pouch serves. You put stuff in there so you can get it out. Okay? It wasn’t hidden under the back seat; or the officer thought there must be something there. It’s just right out there available where somebody can get at it pretty quickly. There was no evidence that he was unaware it was there. Okay? There is no evidence of that.

Appellant argues that the statement, “There was no evidence that he was unaware it was there. Okay? There is no evidence of that,” was an improper comment on his Fifth Amendment right not to testify.

          However, appellant did not object to the State’s argument. Generally, as a prerequisite to presenting a complaint for appellate review, the record must show that the complaint was made to the trial court by a timely request, objection, or motion. See Tex. R. App. P. 33.1. Nevertheless, appellant argues that this comment constitutes fundamental error under Rule 103(d) of the Texas Rules of Evidence, and, thus, no objection is needed to preserve the issue for appeal. See Tex. R. Evid. 103(d).

          Appellant does not direct us to any case law holding that such improper jury argument constitutes fundamental error under Rule 103(d) of the Texas Rules of Evidence. To the contrary, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has held that a defendant’s failure to object to a jury argument or a defendant’s failure to pursue to an adverse ruling his objection to a jury argument forfeits his right to complain about the argument on appeal. Valencia v. State, 946 S.W.2d 81, 82-83 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997) (quoting Cockrell v. State, 933 S.W.2d 73, 89 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996)). By failing to object, appellant has failed to preserve this complaint for appeal.

          Accordingly, we overrule appellant’s third point of error.

CONCLUSION

          We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

                                                                        Sherry Radack

                                                                        Chief Justice

Panel consists of Chief Justice Radack and Justices Keyes and Alcala.

Do not publish. Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).