Damian Lamon Murkledove v. State

437 S.W.3d 17, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 5267, 2014 WL 2013438
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided May 15, 2014·No. 02-12-00194-CR·Published·Cited by 47 cases

Opinions

OPINION

SUE WALKER, Justice.

I. Introduction

A jury convicted Appellant Damian La-mon Murkledove of capital murder, and in accordance with the mandatory sentencing statute, the trial court sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. §§ 12.31(a)(2), 19.03(a)(2) (West Supp. 2013). In ten points, he complains of the jury instructions, the trial court’s instructions to the venire panel, the admission of his written statements, and the constitutionality of mandatory life without parole sentencing. We will affirm.

II. Factual and Procedural Background

One evening after Murkledove played cards with friends, Dominique Jones asked to speak with him outside. Jones informed Murkledove that he wanted to burglarize the house of their mutual acquaintance, Daniel Garner. Jones told Murkledove that he knew when the house would be vacant but that if Garner happened to be there, Jones “would smoke him.” Jones offered for Murkledove to participate in the break-in. Murkledove went home that night and thought about what Jones had told him.

The following morning, after Murkle-dove showered, he texted Jones and said he “might need to hit ... a lick,” which means to break into a house and steal property. Jones responded that he was going to burglarize Garner’s house and asked if Murkledove could find a ride. Murkledove called Bryan Jones,1 who agreed to provide transportation in exchange for $125. Murkledove then texted Garner to ask if he was at work; Murkle-dove was afraid that if Garner was home during the break-in, Jones might shoot him. Garner said he was not at work.

Bryan picked up Murkledove, and the two drove to Jones’s house to get him. After picking up Jones, they went to Jones’s grandmother’s house so that Jones could get his gun from the house. They then drove to Garner’s house, and Bryan waited in the car while Murkledove and Jones walked up to the house. Jones opened the door and saw Garner inside playing videogames. Jones shot and killed him. Jones and Murkledove loaded Bryan’s vehicle with items from Garner’s home, including a television, two X-box gaming systems, a computer, a basket full of purses, a small lockbox, and an assault rifle.

The men drove to Jones’s grandmother’s house. Jones told Murkledove to “sneak” the stolen rifle inside the house. Jones’s uncle opened the lockbox in the backyard, [21]*21and they found prescription medicine inside. Murkledove threw the medicine in the sewer across the street. Jones, Murk-ledove, and Bryan drove to another house, where they traded the TV for a pair of tire rims, some marijuana, and money. The men returned to Jones’s grandmother’s house, where they played dice for a while before Bryan drove Jones and Murkledove home. Jones took the purses with him to give to his mother.

III. JuRY Instructions

Murkledove’s first through fourth and sixth through eighth points all involve the trial court’s jury instructions. We will address each of his complaints below.

A. Standard of Review

The purpose of the jury charge is to inform the jury of the applicable law and guide the jury in its application in the case, and the trial judge is ultimately responsible for the charge’s accuracy. Delgado v. State, 235 S.W.3d 244, 249 (Tex.Crim.App.2007); see Tex.Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 36.14 (West 2007). In our review of a jury charge, we first determine whether error occurred; if error did not occur, our analysis ends. Kirsch v. State, 357 S.W.3d 645, 649 (Tex.Crim.App.2012). If error occurred, whether it was preserved determines the degree of harm required for reversal. Id.

Generally, a defendant is entitled to a jury instruction on every defensive issue raised by the evidence when requested. Allen v. State, 253 S.W.3d 260, 267 (Tex.Crim.App.2008). A defense is supported or raised by the evidence “if there is some evidence, from any source, on each element of the defense that, if believed by the jury, would support a rational inference that that element is true.” Shaw v. State, 243 S.W.3d 647, 657-58 (Tex.Crim.App.2007), cert. denied, 553 U.S. 1059, 128 S.Ct. 2486, 171 L.Ed.2d 777 (2008). The defendant bears the burden of showing some evidence exists to support each element of the defense. Juarez v. State, 308 S.W.3d 398, 404 (Tex.Crim.App.2010); Shaw, 243 S.W.3d at 657-58. A trial court may refuse an instruction on a defensive theory if the issue was not raised by the evidence. See Shaw, 243 S.W.3d at 657-58. When reviewing a trial court’s decision to deny a requested defensive instruction, “we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the defendant’s requested submission.” Bufkin v. State, 207 S.W.3d 779, 782 (Tex.Crim.App.2006).

B. Instruction on the Law of Parties

In his first two points, Murkledove argues that by including part of the definition of the offense of conspiracy in the jury charge, the court actually instructed the jury that it could convict him as a party to the more serious offense of capital murder if the jury found him guilty of conspiracy, an offense for which he was not indicted.

A person commits the offense of capital murder when he intentionally causes the death of an individual during the course of committing or attempting to commit burglary or robbery. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 19.03(a)(2); see also id. §§ 19.02(b)(1), 29.02(a), 30.02(a) (West 2011). A person commits the offense of criminal conspiracy if, with the intent that a felony be committed, he agrees with one or more persons that they or one or more of them engage in conduct that would constitute the felony offense. Id. § 15.02(a)(1) (West 2011).

A person may be convicted as a party to an offense if the offense is committed by his own conduct, by the conduct of another for which he is criminally responsible, or both. Id. § 7.01(a) (West 2011). The law of parties, set forth in penal code section 7.02, may be applied to [22]*22a case even though no such allegation is contained in the indictment. Montoya v. State, 810 S.W.2d 160, 165 (Tex.Crim.App.1989), cert. denied, 502 U.S. 961, 112 S.Ct. 426, 116 L.Ed.2d 446 (1991); see Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 7.02 (West 2011). Under section 7.02(a), a person may be found guilty of an offense as a party to an offense if “acting with intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense, he solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to aid the other person to commit the offense.” Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 7.02(a)(2). Section 7.02(b) provides another theory of party liability as a co-conspirator:

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

Damian Lamon Murkledove v. State, 437 S.W.3d 17, 2014 Tex. App. LEXIS 5267, 2014 WL 2013438 (Tex. Ct. App. 2014).

437 S.W.3d 17 (Damian Lamon Murkledove v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Ivan Villalobos v. the State of Texas
Tex. App. Ct., 6th Dist. (Texarkana), 2026
Kenneth Foster v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2025
Qualon Deshon Weaver v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2024
Edwin Noel Hernandez v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2024
Jade Guevara v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2024
Bethany Grace MacIel v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2023
Timothy Kion Huff v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2023
Desmond Armond Jones v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2022
Glen Samuel McCurley v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2022
Gabriel Delgato v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2021
Jace Montange v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
William Frederick Petty, III v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Ronnie Michael Hopper v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Alexis Botello v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Ricky Moreno v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Randy Joe Daugherty, Jr. v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2019
Miranda Renea Kelso v. State
562 S.W.3d 120 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2018)