Bowser v. State

649 S.W.2d 705, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4113
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided March 3, 1983·No. No. 13-81-393-CR·Published

Opinion

OPINION

UTTER, Justice.

Appellant was found guilty under the third count of a five-count indictment which charged him with five separate aggravated robberies. The jury assessed punishment at 30 years imprisonment. We affirm.

Ramiro Trevino, Modesta Martinez, and Delphino Prado testified that on the night of January 27, 1981, Mr. Prado, Mr. Trevino, Ms. Martinez and Bertha Abrego were at a restaurant in Corpus Christi, Texas. Shortly after 1:30 a.m., Mr. Prado stepped outside the restaurant and eventually encountered appellant, who put a pistol to his back, robbed him, and held him against his will for some fifteen to twenty minutes. When Mr. Prado’s three companions emerged from the restaurant, appellant again exhibited his pistol and demanded Mr. Trevino’s money. After Mr. Trevino repeatedly refused the demands, appellant shot him four times and fled.

Throughout his brief, appellant has neglected to identify those portions of the record in which asserted errors occurred; thus, his grounds of error are not in compliance with Article 40.09, Section 9 of the Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. Bell v. State, 620 S.W.2d 116 (Tex.Cr.App.1981). However, in the interest of justice we will consider his arguments.

In his first ground of error, appellant challenges the admissibility of the confession made by him while he was in police [707] custody, contending that it was not voluntarily given.

In cases such as this, the totality of the circumstances surrounding the taking of the statement must be examined to determine whether a confession is voluntary. Berry v. State, 582 S.W.2d 463 (Tex.Cr.App.1979); Farr v. State, 519 S.W.2d 876 (Tex.Cr.App.1975). “At a hearing on the volun-tariness of a confession, the trial court is the sole judge of the credibility of the witnesses.” Moon v. State, 607 S.W.2d 569 (Tex.Cr.App.1980); Barton v. State, 605 S.W.2d 605 (Tex.Cr.App.1980). Therefore, in such a hearing the trial court, as trier of fact, is free to believe the State’s witnesses and to disbelieve appellant. Aranda v. State, 506 S.W.2d 221 (Tex.Cr.App.1974); Olivers v. State, 481 S.W.2d 125 (Tex.App.1972).

While considering a previous appeal from a conviction under another count of his indictment, this Court ruled against appellant on this issue. Bowser v. State, 647 S.W.2d 325 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi, 1982). However, in the present case, appellant has expanded on his testimony concerning the acts occurring before and during the taking of his confession.

Appellant now contends that the following circumstances show that the statement was made involuntarily: (1) he was denied telephone calls; (2) he was not allowed to see his mother for approximately three days; (3) he was told that he could not leave City Jail until he signed the statement; (4) he suffered severe medical withdrawal symptoms resulting from heroin and valium addiction; (5) medical aid was refused although he was vomiting, sweating profusely and unable to eat; and (6) he was never brought before a magistrate and informed of his rights.

Police Sergeant Stivors testified that appellant was warned of his rights by a magistrate, and the State introduced into evidence a certification signed by Judge J.A. Gonzalez which stated that at 1:44 p.m. on January 30, 1981, appellant was advised of his rights by a magistrate’s warning. Sergeant Stivors attributed the making of the confession to appellant’s displeasure with an alleged accomplice who had eluded police custody, and testifiéd that appellant was “quite willing to cooperate”; that appellant did not request a lawyer and expressed no reluctance in giving the statement; that appellant appeared to be healthy, and on the day of the confession did not appear to be under a physical handicap, was not sweating profusely, did not complain about his health, and, to Sergeant Stivor’s knowledge, did not request either a doctor or medical treatment; that appellant was not known to be a heroin addict and was not exhibiting withdrawal symptoms; and that no promises were made to appellant in order to obtain his statement. In addition, the State introduced an affidavit signed by both appellant and his attorney which stated that appellant understood and spoke the English language. Sergeant Stivors further testified that appellant was repeatedly warned of his rights during the taking of the confession, and appellant himself admitted signing the typewritten record of his confession.

We hold that the totality of the circumstances as shown by the record supports the trial court finding that the confession was given voluntarily; consequently, appellant’s first ground of error is overruled. Harville v. State, 591 S.W.2d 864 (Tex.Cr.App.1979); Alonzo v. State, 591 S.W.2d 842 (Tex.Cr.App.1979); Riddick v. State, 624 S.W.2d 709 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1981).

In his second ground of error appellant claims that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress the courtroom identification of him by eyewitnesses to the shooting of Mr. Trevino.

Appellant states that Mr. Trevino, the victim of the assailant, incorrectly identified appellant from a photographic spread. This is true; however, Mr. Trevino made an in-court identification of appellant only at the hearing on the motion to suppress identity, at which no jury was present. Later at this same hearing, the trial judge was clearly informed that Mr. Trevino had not [708] been able to identify appellant from the photographic spread and in fact was never able to positively identify appellant as the man who shot him. At the trial before the jury, Mr. Trevino was not requested to identify appellant and did not do so. Appellant’s first argument is without merit.

Appellant then claims injury because Ms. Martinez admitted that, before she was shown the photographic spread, she was told that one of the included pictures would be that of the accused, and that this information was so unnecessarily suggestive that it led to mistaken identification. Appellant cites no authority for his position.

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Bowser v. State, 649 S.W.2d 705, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4113 (Tex. Ct. App. 1983).

649 S.W.2d 705 (Bowser v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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