Courtney Dobbins v. the State of Texas

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 18, 2021
Docket07-20-00095-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Courtney Dobbins v. the State of Texas (Courtney Dobbins 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
Courtney Dobbins v. the State of Texas, (Tex. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo ________________________

No. 07-20-00095-CR ________________________

COURTNEY DOBBINS, APPELLANT

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE

On Appeal from the 140th District Court Lubbock County, Texas Trial Court No. 2019-416,791; Honorable Jim Bob Darnell, Presiding

June 18, 2021

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before QUINN, C.J., and PIRTLE and DOSS, JJ.

Appellant, Courtney Dobbins, appeals from his conviction by jury of the second

degree felony offense of aggravated assault, 1 with a deadly weapon finding, enhanced

by a prior felony conviction, and the resulting sentence of imprisonment for a term of

1 TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.02(a)(2) (West 2020). twenty-seven years and the imposition of a fine of $10,000. 2 Appellant challenges his

conviction and sentence through five issues alleging the trial court erred by (1) admitting

an exhibit that purported to show he sought to influence the testimony of the alleged

victim, (2) finding forfeiture by wrongdoing pursuant to article 38.49 of the Texas Code of

Criminal Procedure, (3) admitting lay testimony regarding whether the victim’s injuries

were self-inflicted, (4) admitting lay testimony regarding the distance between the shooter

and the victim, and (5) the cumulative effect of the errors complained of in issues 1

through 4 rendered his trial fundamentally unfair. Based on the reasons set forth below,

we will affirm the judgment of the trial court.

BACKGROUND

Appellant does not challenge the sufficiency of the evidence to support his

conviction. Therefore, we will set forth only those facts necessary to a disposition of

Appellant’s issues. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.1.

Appellant was charged via indictment with the aggravated assault of his girlfriend,

Alexa Hernandez. He pleaded “not guilty” and the matter was tried before a jury. Through

the testimony of several witnesses, the State introduced evidence that Appellant and

Alexa had an argument during which the two struggled over a gun. Alexa suffered a

gunshot wound to her neck and back 3 and went to a local hospital for treatment. She

also suffered other injuries that appeared to be related to a physical altercation.

2 TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 12.42(b) (West 2020). When enhanced by a prior felony conviction, an

offense which is “punished as” a higher offense only raises the level of punishment and not the degree of the offense. See Oliva v. State, 548 S.W.3d 518, 526-27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018). 3 Testimony indicated the bullet entered Alexa’s shoulder line at the base of her neck and exited out the middle of her back.

2 Several witnesses testified that Alexa told them Appellant had shot her. A

recording of a 911 call was also introduced during which Alexa is heard stating the same.

However, prior to trial, Alexa signed an affidavit of non-prosecution and during her trial

testimony, she stated she shot herself. Despite this testimony, at the close of the

evidence, the jury found Appellant guilty as charged in the indictment and sentenced him

as noted after a punishment hearing.

ANALYSIS

ISSUE ONE—ADMISSION OF LETTER OVER APPELLANT’S RULE 404(B) OBJECTION

Through his first issue, Appellant argues the trial court erred when it admitted a

letter purportedly written by Appellant to Alexa. The letter was found among his

belongings in his jail cell and an employee of the jail testified the letter was never sent.

Alexa denied receiving such a letter. Consequently, Appellant argues, the trial court

should not have admitted it and in doing so, harmed him.

During Alexa’s trial testimony, the prosecutor asked her about a jail phone call with

Appellant during which he told Alexa she should not testify in court. The prosecutor later

asked Alexa, during cross-examination, about a letter from Appellant that said, “No

witness, no case.” It appeared to encourage her to assert her Fifth Amendment privilege.

Alexa said she did not receive a letter like this. She testified at length until, after being

confronted with the jail phone call, she decided to assert her privilege under the Fifth

Amendment to the United States Constitution.

A deputy at the detention center where Appellant was held testified she searched

Appellant’s cell on January 30, 2020. She said she found items in a manila envelope and

3 authenticated the letter from Appellant. The State offered it as Exhibit S99. The trial court

admitted it over Appellant’s Rule 404(b) objection and others. The letter was published

and read to the jury by the deputy. The deputy also testified the letter was never sent.

During closing, the State referenced this letter when it said, “He was writing her in

January. ‘Deny I did anything to you. Plead the 5th.’ That’s what she did. She followed

instructions.” Appellant argues the admission of this letter was erroneous and harmed

him.

We review a trial court’s decision to admit evidence under Rule 404(b) for an abuse

of discretion. De La Paz v. State, 279 S.W.3d 336, 343-44 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009). “As

long as the trial court’s ruling is within the ‘zone of reasonable disagreement,’ there is no

abuse of discretion, and the trial court’s ruling will be upheld.” Id. (citation omitted). If the

trial court’s decision is correct on any theory of law applicable to the case, we will uphold

the decision. Id. at 344.

Rule 404(b) expressly provides that evidence of other crimes, wrongs, or acts is

not admissible to prove the character of the defendant to show he acted in conformity

therewith. Rule 404(b) codifies the common law principle that a defendant should be tried

only for the offense for which he is charged and not for being a criminal generally. Rogers

v. State, 853 S.W.2d 29, 32 n.3 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993). See Segundo v. State, 270

S.W.3d 79, 87 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008) (explaining that the defendant is generally to be

tried only for the offense charged, not for any other crimes).

But, extraneous offense evidence may be admissible for other purposes such as

proof of motive, opportunity, intent, preparation, plan, knowledge, identity, or absence of

mistake or accident. TEX. R. EVID. 404(b). The list of examples in Rule 404(b) is non-

4 exhaustive. Prible v. State, 175 S.W.3d 724, 731 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). The trial court’s

Rule 404(b) ruling admitting evidence is generally within the zone of reasonable

disagreement “if there is evidence supporting that an extraneous transaction is relevant

to a material, non-propensity issue.” Devoe v. State, 354 S.W.3d 457, 469 (Tex. Crim.

App. 2011). Texas courts utilize a two-step analysis for determining the admissibility of

extraneous offenses or uncharged acts. Rogers, 853 S.W.2d at 32-33. Courts determine

first whether the evidence is relevant to a material issue in the case and second whether

the relevant evidence should be admitted as an exception to Rule 404(b). Id.

Appellant argues that because the letter found in his cell was never sent, he has

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