Collins v. State

800 S.W.2d 267, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 2625, 1990 WL 166231
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided November 1, 1990·No. C14-89-1083-CR·Published·Cited by 38 cases

Opinion

OPINION

ELLIS, Justice.

Appellant, John Fitzgerald Collins, appeals his judgment of conviction for the offense of aggravated robbery, Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 29.03 (Vernon 1989). The jury rejected appellant’s not guilty plea and assessed punishment at twenty years confinement in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. We affirm.

Appellant and Lavada Gilder had been living together for eight months proceeding the incident. The relationship had terminated and appellant had been in the process of moving out for three or four days. At noon on May 13, 1988, appellant and Gilder argued over money. Gilder’s car had broken down and appellant wanted the money he paid for a part he had put in Gilder’s car.

They continued arguing with appellant asking for his money, and Gilder refusing to give him any. Gilder testified appellant came into the kitchen with a “shotgun” and *268 shot her. She then gave appellant the money he wanted.

Trial testimony of Gilder is as follows:
Q: After you went to the kids’ room what happened?
A: I went into the kitchen. I was taking my barbecue stuff out onto the counter and he came around the corner from my bedroom, you know, around the corner to the kitchen and he stood there by the pantry door and he told me, he said, you’re not going to give me my money. I said no, but before I could get it out of my mouth he had a shotgun.
Q: Did you see the shotgun?
A: I did not see prior to him shooting me.
Q: Where were you shot?
A: Right here. (Indicating).
Q: When you say "right here,” the record doesn’t right that.
A: Near my right — like in the breast.
Q: Did you hear the gunshot?
A: Yes, I did.
Q: And what made you realize you had been shot?
A: I didn’t want the noise, really the sound like a pop, you know, like a firecracker, I really — I think I was more shocked than anything because I didn’t think he would do that.
Q: Did you have any warning that he was going to shoot you?
A: No, no.
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Q: After he shot you what did you say?
A: I said, “Oh, God, Jay, you shot me.” And he said, “I know, give me the money.”
Q: What did you do?
A: I went off in my bosom to get him the money and I handed him the money that I had taken out, but he told me, no, just give it all to me, give it all to me. And I went back up and got the rest of it although it was bloody.
Q: As far as the money that you keep in your bosom what did you keep it there for?
A: For safety because for safety so it wouldn’t be taken.
Q: Did the Defendant know that’s where you kept it?
A: No.
Q: How much money did you have with you on May 18th of 1988?
A: In my bosom I would say anywhere from $85 to $100.
Q: What was that money for?
A: For my rent and my other bills.
Q: Were you going to give him how much money?
A: He had told me I owed him $30 and since he was being like that and had shot me, of course, I would give him $30.
Q: Is that what he said, no, give me all the money?
A: No, just give it all to me, just give it all to me.
Q: Did you give it to him?
A: Yes, I sure did.
Q: What did you do then?
A: After he shot me and I gave him the money he proceeded to go to the front door. I was going towards the back room where my nephew was and he told me, I ought to shoot you again. I ought to just kill you, which made me get away, I guess. He took off the door; I was trying to get out of the way.

In his first point of error, appellant contends that the trial court erred in that the State’s evidence was insufficient to support a conviction for aggravated robbery because all the elements of “theft,” as defined in Chapter 31 of the Texas Penal Code, were not proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Appellant claims that the State failed to prove: (1) that appellant knowingly and intentionally stole money from his girlfriend, Ms. Gilder; and (2) who the actual or true owner of the money was.

The proper standard of review in the case before us is that of Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979), that is, when confronted with a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, an appellate court must determine *269 whether, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, a rational trier of fact could have found all the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Under the Jackson standard, the reviewing court is not to position itself as a thirteenth juror in assessing the evidence. Moreno v. State, 755 S.W.2d 866, 867 (Tex.Crim.App.1988). Further, the appellate courts ensure only the rationality of the fact finder, serving as a final due process safeguard. Moreno v. State, 755 S.W.2d at 867. The jurors are the exclusive judges of the facts, the credibility of the witnesses, and the weight to be given their testimony. Esquivel v. State, 506 S.W.2d 613, 616 (Tex.Crim.App.1974). It is not our place to second guess the determination made by the trier of fact.

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Collins v. State, 800 S.W.2d 267, 1990 Tex. App. LEXIS 2625, 1990 WL 166231 (Tex. Ct. App. 1990).

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