Carrion v. State

926 S.W.2d 625, 1996 Tex. App. LEXIS 2955, 1996 WL 403082
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 11, 1996
DocketNo. 11-95-213-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by6 cases

This text of 926 S.W.2d 625 (Carrion v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Carrion v. State, 926 S.W.2d 625, 1996 Tex. App. LEXIS 2955, 1996 WL 403082 (Tex. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

ARNOT, Chief Justice.

The jury convicted John Anthony Carrion of two counts of fabricating physical evidence.1 The jury found the enhancement paragraphs to be true and assessed his punishment at 75 years confinement for each count.2 In six points of error, appellant complains that the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to support the verdict, that the trial court erred in not requiring a severance, and that the trial court erred in refusing to allow appellant to be present at the hearing on his motion for new trial. We affirm in part, and we reverse in part.

Appellant’s girlfriend, Christina Dean, and his cousin, Vanetta Ann Biggers, made an arrangement allowing Dean to use Biggers’ car. The agreement became unworkable, and Biggers wanted Dean to return the car. On October 13, 1993, Dean called the police and reported that Biggers had assaulted her. Terrell Lynn Perkins, Jr., an officer with the Abilene Police Department, arrived at appellant’s residence and questioned appellant and Dean about the assault. Appellant and Dean told the officer that Biggers came to the residence, demanded the return of the vehicle, and assaulted Dean. Officer Perkins testified that appellant handed him a stick and claimed that Biggers used it as a club to assault Dean. Officer Perkins subsequently made a police report concerning the assault.

Tommy Pope, a detective with the Abilene Police Department, was later assigned to the case. Detective Pope testified that he began investigating the assault on October 27,1993. The following day, Detective Pope received an affidavit from appellant in which appellant stated that Biggers had assaulted Dean. Detective Pope next interviewed Biggers, and she denied committing the assault and provided Detective Pope with the names of witnesses who could account for her whereabouts at the time of the alleged assault. Detective Pope confirmed that Biggers was at her aunt’s house around the time of the alleged offense and that Biggers had possession of her car at that time. Detective Pope [627]*627also verified that Biggers had possession of her car on October 12 (the day before the alleged offense) and on the entire day on which appellant claimed Biggers came to repossess the car. The State asserts that appellant and Dean invented the assault as a scheme to get Biggers’ parole revoked so that Biggers could not take the car from them. Appellant was subsequently indicted for fabricating physical evidence under TEX.PENAL CODE ANN. § 37.09 (Vernon 1994).

Appellant testified at trial. In his version of the facts, appellant testified that, on October 13, 1993, Biggers came to his residence and demanded the return of the vehicle. Appellant testified that he saw Biggers and Dean struggling and, then, that Biggers hit Dean with a stick. Appellant said that, when he attempted to break up the struggle, Big-gers displayed a knife. Biggers then left appellant’s residence, and Dean called to report the assault to the police.

The indictment alleged in the first count that appellant committed the offense by fabricating a police report or affidavit and in the second count that appellant committed the offense by fabricating a club. In his second point of error, appellant argues that the evidence was legally insufficient to support his conviction for fabricating physical evidence under the first count of the indictment.

In reviewing claims of legal sufficiency, this court follows the standard set out in Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); Clewis v. State, 922 S.W.2d 126 (Tex.Cr.App.1996); and Geesa v. State, 820 S.W.2d 154 (Tex.Cr.App.1991). We must review all of 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 crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Section 37.09 provides:

(a) A person commits an offense if, knowing that an investigation or official proceeding is pending or in progress, he:
⅜ ⅝ ⅜ ⅜ ⅜ ⅜
(2) makes, presents, or uses any record, document, or thing with knowledge of its falsity and with intent to affect the course and outcome of the investigation or official proceeding.

In order to commit the offense of fabricating physical evidence as alleged in the first count of the indictment, the record would have to show that appellant made the police report or affidavit, a document or record, with the knowledge of its falsity. The record shows that Officer Perkins made the police report concerning the assault after interviewing both Dean and appellant. The report was used exclusively by the Abilene Police Department in investigating the assault. Officer Pope testified that he requested that appellant give a statement. Officer Pope then wrote the affidavit in his own handwriting, and appellant signed it and swore to it. Appellant gave information that was later put into a police report and gave an affidavit.

Appellant argues that the evidence shows that he gave false statements to the police but that the police wrote the report and typed the affidavit. Therefore, appellant claims that he could not have made the false record. The issue in this case is whether facts that would establish that appellant had committed the offense of perjury 3 or making a false report to a peace officer4 rise to the level sufficient to establish the offense of fabricating physical evidence.5 We find no cases where solely giving a false statement rises to the level of fabricating physical evidence. The reported cases brought under the statute of tampering with or fabricating physical evidence concern matters where the defendant has altered, destroyed, or concealed physical evidence. In Spector v. State, 746 S.W.2d 945 (Tex.App.—Austin 1988, no pet’n), after a stop and search, the defendant tore a marihuana cigarette in half [628]*628and attempted to throw it away. The contents and remains of the cigarette were recovered and used to convict the defendant for possession of marihuana. The court held that this evidence of the attempted destruction of evidence was legally insufficient to show that the defendant destroyed evidence within the meaning of Section 37.09(a)(1). Cuadra v. State, 715 S.W.2d 723 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1986, pet’n ref'd), involved the conviction of an officer in the Corps of Cadets at Texas A & M for tampering with evidence. A written list of exercises was completely destroyed after the police officer investigating reckless conduct asked for the list. The sufficiency of the evidence was not challenged. The court held that the conviction did not violate the cadet officer’s fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination. In Dillard v. State, 640 S.W.2d 85 (Tex.App.—Fort Worth 1982, no pet’n), the defendant admitted to the grand jury that he told the sheriffs deputy that he did not have a stolen radio when in fact he did have possession of the radio.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
926 S.W.2d 625, 1996 Tex. App. LEXIS 2955, 1996 WL 403082, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/carrion-v-state-texapp-1996.