Camacho v. State

864 S.W.2d 524, 1993 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 156, 1993 WL 404605
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 13, 1993
Docket71098
StatusPublished
Cited by437 cases

This text of 864 S.W.2d 524 (Camacho v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Camacho v. State, 864 S.W.2d 524, 1993 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 156, 1993 WL 404605 (Tex. 1993).

Opinions

OPINION

WHITE, Judge.

Appellant, Genaro Ruiz Camacho, was convicted by a jury of capital murder pursuant to V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Section 19.03(a)(2).1 [527]*527The jury answered the special issues in the affirmative. Article 37.071(b), V.A.C.C.P. The trial court then imposed a sentence of death. Article 37.071(g). Appeal to this Court is automatic. Article 37.071(h), V.A.C.C.P. We will affirm.

Appellant brings fourteen points of error to this Court. The sufficiency of the evidence to support the verdict or the answers to the special issues is not challenged. Point of error number eleven complains that the trial court forced appellant to state his grounds for challenge for cause in the presence of the challenged venireman. Point of error number four complains that the trial court erred in not extending the voir dire of the venirepersons who had been selected for the jury to determine whether any of them had changed their attitudes regarding the ease. Appellant argues that those selected early on to serve on the jury had exposure to prejudicial news stories published in the community. Points of error numbers one, two and three assert that the State employed its peremptory challenges in a discriminatory fashion. Points of error numbers five, six, and seven challenge the court’s action in admitting evidence of extraneous offenses. Point of error number ten alleges that the trial court erred in failing to recess the trial for the purpose of allowing appellant time in which to examine the written statement of a witness called by the State. Point of error number eight argues that the trial court, at the guilt stage, should have given a limiting instruction to the jury with respect to extraneous offenses. Points of error numbers nine, twelve, thirteen and fourteen object to the refusal of the trial court to give requested instructions, definitions and charges to the jury.

We will affirm.

Although the sufficiency of the evidence to support either the verdict of guilt or the answers of the jury to the special issues is not challenged, a brief recitation of the facts will be helpful.

On May 20, 1988, appellant entered the residence of one Sam Wright. He was accompanied by co-actors all of whom possessed firearms. Appellant confronted Wright, his spouse and his three-year-old son and demanded that Wright pay appellant some $20,000, a debt allegedly arising out of prior drug transactions. An employee of Sam Wright, David Wilburn, then arrived at the residence, knocked on the door and was admitted. Appellant then shot the employee. Having shot Wilburn, appellant ordered that Wright’s spouse be handcuffed. At that moment the sound of a door slamming shut in another part of the house distracted appellant and his group. Sam Wright took advantage of that moment of inattention to escape from the house. Appellant then retreated from the house with the Wright’s son and spouse. Some days later, members of appellant’s group killed both the son and the spouse.

Dallas police recovered evidence of forced entry into the residence of Sam Wright, including a severed chain which had secured a set of burglar bars in front of the entrance to Wright’s residence and a broken door frame lying in the entryway.

In points of error one, two and three appellant alleges that the State peremptorily struck venirepersons solely because of the race and in violation of TEX.CODE CRIM. PROC.ANN. art. 35.261. Appellant specifically identifies Elizabeth Gamboa, a Hispanic, Johnny Crowder, and Charles Brooks both of whom are black as those venireper-sons who were struck by the State because of their race. Appellant states that the discriminatory use of peremptory strikes by the State violates both Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 106 S.Ct. 1712, 90 L.Ed.2d 69 (1986) and our own Article 35.261, V.A.C.C.P. Having filed his pre-trial motion to prohibit the State from using peremptory challenges in a racially biased manner, appellant then sought a Batson hearing at the conclusion of voir dire, which hearing was conducted before the jury was sworn. In the hearing, the State’s attorney was questioned by appellant and stated his reasons fpr striking the three veni-repersons named above.

We note that the record demonstrates that appellant’s pretrial motion relat[528]*528ed only to the potential violation of the rule in Batson supra. Therefore we must hold that appellant has failed to preserve for review by this Court the point which he seeks to present here, namely that Art. 35.261, V.A.C.C.P. has been violated. Harris v. State, 784 S.W.2d 5, 27 (Tex.Cr.App.1989). Only the claim that the State violated the requirement of Batson, supra is before us. We have held that appellate review of a Batson claim shall be conducted by an examination of the record in the light most favorable to the ruling of the trial court. Keeton v. State, 749 S.W.2d 861 (Tex.Cr.App.1988). The standard of review is whether the ruling of the trial court was or was not “clearly erroneous”. Whitsey v. State, 796 S.W.2d 707 (Tex.Cr.App.1990) (opinion on rehearing). If supported by the record, including the voir dire, the prosecutor’s explanation of his use of a peremptory challenge, the rebuttal by appellant and impeaching evidence, the decision of the trial court will not be clearly erroneous. Vargas v. State, 838 S.W.2d 552 (Tex.Cr.App.1992). To prevail, appellant must establish that the reasons offered by the State for the peremptory challenge were merely pretextual and a cover for a racially motivated challenge. Hill v. State, 827 S.W.2d 860, 870 (Tex.Cr.App.1992).

After the conclusion of the voir dire, but before the jurors were sworn, the trial court conducted a hearing on the charge by appellant that the State had employed racially motivated strikes. The trial court then made findings of fact and conclusions of law on the record/ The trial court found no racially discriminatory purpose in the State’s peremptory challenges.

In regard to venireperson Gamboa, appellant argues that the decision of the trial court was incorrect, and states the following facts in support of this argument:

(1)The venireperson and appellant were of the same ethnic minority, viz. Hispanic.
(2) While the prosecutor under questioning said that Gamboa was too young (24 years old) and was undereducated, the prosecutor actually accepted a veniremen age 26 who was white, and Gamboa testified in voir dire that she was a high school graduate and that she held a diploma from El Centro Junior College.
(3) The prosecutor described Ms. Gamboa as tentative and diffident, not characteristics which he wanted in jurors on cases that he was trying. The personality of Ms. Gamboa, as disclosed in the record, however, is of a person who displayed appropriate responses to the voir dire questioning and who did not equivocate.

In its reply to the foregoing, the State points out that the jury finally selected contained two Hispanic women, that the youngest juror seated was 29 and that venireper-son Gamboa was the youngest venireperson actually questioned. The State also emphasizes portions of the voir dire examination of Ms.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Kevin Debnam v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2023
DELACRUZ, ISIDRO MIGUEL v. the State of Texas
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2023
Inthalangsy, Santhy
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2021
Tammi Dawn Deere v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2021
Veronica Ann Arroyo v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Santhy Inthalangsy v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Laymon Billy Blanton v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Terrence Coleman v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Corles Nash v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Ronald Evan Cooper v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Amanda Raquel Mitchell v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2018
Zachary Ryan Simons v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2018
Jose Manuel Brito v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2018
Gregory Dewayne Tennyson v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2017
James Vernon Harper v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2017
Larry Wayne Davis v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2017
Paulo Trevino v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2016
Johnathan Ross Nickerson v. State
478 S.W.3d 744 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015)
Justin Davis v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2015
Desormeaux v. State
362 S.W.3d 233 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
864 S.W.2d 524, 1993 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 156, 1993 WL 404605, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/camacho-v-state-texcrimapp-1993.