Colt Dillon Gaulding v. the State of Texas

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedDecember 29, 2022
Docket02-21-00096-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Colt Dillon Gaulding v. the State of Texas (Colt Dillon Gaulding v. the State of Texas) 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
Colt Dillon Gaulding v. the State of Texas, (Tex. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth ___________________________

No. 02-21-00096-CR ___________________________

COLT DILLON GAULDING, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS

On Appeal from the 297th District Court Tarrant County, Texas Trial Court No. 1581939R

Before Bassel, Womack, and Wallach, JJ. Memorandum Opinion by Justice Womack MEMORANDUM OPINION

I. INTRODUCTION

Appellant Colt Dillon Gaulding appeals his convictions on two counts of

aggravated assault with the use or exhibition of a deadly weapon and two counts of

assault causing bodily injury to a family member while having a prior conviction.1 On

appeal, Gaulding argues in three related points that the trial court abused its discretion

by admitting certain extraneous offense evidence pursuant to Article 38.371 of the

Texas Code of Criminal Procedure. We will affirm.

II. BACKGROUND

A. Gaulding and the Complainant Meet and Begin a Romantic Relationship

In 2013, the complainant, who had recently separated from her husband, met

Gaulding while out with a friend. After a short acquaintance, Gaulding and the

complainant began a romantic relationship, and Gaulding quickly moved in with the

complainant and her three children.

During their relationship, Gaulding and the complainant frequently consumed

excessive amounts of alcohol and used marijuana together. Gaulding also introduced

the complainant to methamphetamine and Xanax. Due in part to the couple’s drug

use, their relationship was fraught with violence and abuse.

1 Gaulding was also charged with two counts of aggravated sexual assault but was found not guilty of these charges.

2 B. The Needles, California Incident

Gaulding first physically abused the complainant while they were on a trip to

Needles, California, to visit Gaulding’s friend Ian. During the visit, the complainant

was hospitalized after being injured in an off-roading car accident. While lying in bed

recuperating at Ian’s home, the complainant received a text message from an ex-

boyfriend. After reading the text, Gaulding flew into a jealous rage. He climbed on

top of the complainant and struck her in the face. Ian heard the commotion and told

Gaulding to stop. Though the complainant was shocked and upset by this incident,

she returned home with Gaulding and continued their relationship.

C. The Luau Bar Incident

In May 2016, Gaulding physically abused the complainant again. After

drinking at some clubs in Corpus Christi, Gaulding and the complainant began to

argue. During the drive back to their home in Kingsville, Gaulding began striking the

complainant in the face. Gaulding then grabbed the complainant’s hair, pulled her

head to his lap, and repeatedly punched her in the head.2 When the assault stopped

and the complainant was able to lift her head, she saw that they were in the parking

lot of the Luau Bar in Kingsville. The complainant did not want to enter the bar

because her face was bruised and her lip was bleeding, so Gaulding ordered her to tidy

herself up before going inside. Once inside, the complainant sneaked away to the

2 While Gaulding admitted that he had “backhanded” the complainant, he denied that he had pulled her head into his lap and punched her.

3 bathroom and escaped. The police were called, and Gaulding was arrested.3 Despite

this incident, Gaulding and the complainant stayed together.

D. The Barbell Incident

In September 2017, another incident of physical abuse occurred. While

Gaulding and the complainant were at Gaulding’s father’s house in Nueces County,

Texas, Gaulding’s brother arrived and began threatening to commit suicide. While

Gaulding was talking to his brother and attempting to console him, the complainant

injected herself into the conversation.4 This angered Gaulding, and he slapped the

complainant in the face with such force that she was knocked to the ground.

Gaulding’s brother witnessed the slap and immediately exited the room saying, “I

don’t want to have anything to do with this.” Gaulding then began to kick and stomp

on the complainant as she lay helplessly on the floor. The complainant called out to

Gaulding’s brother, who eventually returned and restrained Gaulding, allowing the

complainant to grab her keys and flee.

As the complainant attempted to drive away, Gaulding grabbed a 45-pound

barbell—a long bar to which weights can be added at each end—and threw it through

3 Gaulding was ultimately charged with the misdemeanor offense of assault causing bodily injury to a family member and sentenced to community supervision, which was later revoked. 4 The complainant claimed that she had been trying to dissuade Gaulding’s brother from harming himself, but Gaulding testified that she had been encouraging him to do so.

4 the complainant’s windshield.5 The barbell narrowly missed the complainant’s head

and came to rest in the back seat. The complainant drove away to a safe place and

then called police. Gaulding was ultimately charged with aggravated assault with a

deadly weapon, assault causing bodily injury to a family member with a previous

conviction for the same, and continuous violence against the family.6

After this incident, Gaulding and the complainant remained apart for some

time. The complainant entered Oxford House, a drug treatment facility in Dallas, and

remained sober for eight months.

E. Events Giving Rise to the Current Case

Shortly after leaving Oxford House, the complainant rekindled her relationship

with Gaulding and began living with him in an Arlington hotel. The complainant

soon relapsed when Gaulding offered her methamphetamine, and the two began

regularly using drugs while staying at the hotel.

On June 5, 2018, Gaulding and the complainant had dinner and drinks with

another couple in the hotel restaurant. Afterward, all four of them returned to

Gaulding and the complainant’s room where they continued to consume large

quantities of alcohol and use methamphetamine. At one point, the other couple

5 Gaulding claimed that the complainant was not inside the vehicle when he hurled the barbell through the windshield. 6 Gaulding initially received deferred adjudication for these charges but was ultimately adjudicated guilty of all three charges and sentenced to ten years in prison.

5 started arguing, and the complainant became angry and upset when Gaulding told the

complainant that he thought the man was being abusive to the woman and wanted the

complainant to help her.7

Once the other couple left, Gaulding began hitting the complainant in the face

and ribs with his fists. The complainant escaped to the parking lot where she

screamed for help to several people, including her friend Bobbie,8 who also resided at

the hotel. Gaulding chased the complainant, who threw herself to the ground.

Gaulding then carried her—kicking and screaming—back to their hotel room.9

Minutes later, Bobbie knocked on the door. Gaulding told the complainant to tell

Bobbie that everything was fine and not to call the police. The complainant complied

but winked as she did so, signaling to Bobbie and prompting her to immediately

contact the police.

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210 S.W.3d 637 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2006)
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Montgomery v. State
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Donald Ray Wells v. State
558 S.W.3d 661 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2017)
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Colt Dillon Gaulding v. the State of Texas, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/colt-dillon-gaulding-v-the-state-of-texas-texapp-2022.