Douglas Lee McBath v. the State of Texas

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided February 29, 2024·No. 02-23-00056-CR·Published

Opinion

In the

Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth

No. 02-23-00056-CR No. 02-23-00057-CR

DOUGLAS LEE MCBATH, Appellant V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS

On Appeal from the 235th District Court Cooke County, Texas

Trial Court Nos. CR22-00224, CR23-00043

Before Womack, Wallach, and Walker, JJ. Memorandum Opinion by Justice Womack

MEMORANDUM OPINION

I. INTRODUCTION

Douglas Lee McBath appeals his convictions for burglary of a habitation with assault or attempted assault (Case No. CR22-00224) and attempted aggravated assault (Case No. CR23-00043). See Tex. Penal Code Ann. §§ 22.02(a)(1), 30.02(a)(3). In two issues, McBath contends that the evidence was legally insufficient to show that he entered the habitation in question without effective consent and that convictions for both assault-based burglary and attempted aggravated assault violated his double- jeopardy right against multiple punishments for the same conduct.1 We affirm the trial court’s judgments.

II. BACKGROUND

At the time of the offenses, McBath’s seventeen-year-old daughter Shalonda Johnson lived with her mother Mary Johnson and Shalonda’s two half-siblings. Keon Holland is the father of one of Shalonda’s half-siblings. Both McBath and Holland

1 In his second issue, McBath asserts that his “[p]rosecution for both burglary with an assault (or an attempted assault) and for the assault itself violated [his] double jeopardy rights against multiple punishments for the same conduct.” But “[a] multiplepunishments violation occurs after sentencing . . . .” Ex parte Aubin, 537 S.W.3d 39, 43–44 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017). Despite his second issue’s mischaracterization, McBath argues that a defendant cannot be convicted of both a greater-included and lesser- included offense when the evidence shows that the defendant committed only one act. See Ochoa v. State, 982 S.W.2d 904, 908 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). Thus, we will address McBath’s double-jeopardy issue as arising from his convictions for the two offenses, not the prosecution thereof.

were permitted in Mary’s house, but Holland was Mary’s “live-in boyfriend” at the time. McBath visited Shalonda, but there is evidence that he was not permitted in Mary’s house when Holland was there.

On May 18, 2022, Mary, Shalonda, and Holland were at Mary’s house when McBath arrived to see Shalonda. McBath entered the house and then went back outside with Shalonda, where she told him that Holland had threatened to beat up Mary and her. Shalonda and McBath reentered the house and found Holland in a bedroom. McBath confronted Holland with Shalonda’s allegations, and the men fought.

After the fight, McBath left, Holland went to purportedly get a gun from his brother, and Mary called 911. Police responded, and upon his return to Mary’s house, Holland told the responding officers that McBath had entered Mary’s house, attacked him, and put him in a choke hold. McBath was arrested the next day and charged with burglary of a habitation with assault or attempted assault and attempted aggravated assault.

A jury convicted McBath on both counts and assessed a ninety-nine-year sentence on each count. The trial court sentenced him accordingly, and this appeal followed.

III. DISCUSSION

In his first issue, McBath contends that the evidence supporting the burglary conviction is legally insufficient to show that he entered Mary’s house without consent. He asserts that he had “express permission” to enter the house. In his second issue,

McBath contends that the convictions for assault-based burglary and attempted aggravated assault violated his double-jeopardy right against multiple punishments for the same crime. McBath reasons that since assault is a lesser-included offense of both aggravated assault and burglary, the State could not convict him for both offenses. We will address each issue in order. A. Issue 1: Sufficiency of the Evidence 1. Standard of Review In our evidentiary-sufficiency review, we view all the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict to determine whether any rational factfinder could have found the crime’s essential elements beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 2789 (1979); Queeman v. State, 520 S.W.3d 616, 622 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017). This standard gives full play to the factfinder’s responsibility to resolve conflicts in the testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts. See Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S. Ct. at 2789; Harrell v. State, 620 S.W.3d 910, 914 (Tex. Crim. App. 2021).

The factfinder alone judges the evidence’s weight and credibility. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.04; Martin v. State, 635 S.W.3d 672, 679 (Tex. Crim. App. 2021). We may not re-evaluate the evidence’s weight and credibility and substitute our judgment for the factfinder’s. Queeman, 520 S.W.3d at 622. Instead, we determine whether the necessary inferences are reasonable based on the evidence’s cumulative force when viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict. Braughton v. State,

569 S.W.3d 592, 608 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018); see Villa v. State, 514 S.W.3d 227, 232 (Tex. Crim. App. 2017) (“The court conducting a sufficiency review must not engage in a ‘divide and conquer’ strategy but must consider the cumulative force of all the evidence.”). We must presume that the factfinder resolved any conflicting inferences in favor of the verdict, and we must defer to that resolution. Braughton, 569 S.W.3d at 608.

To determine whether the State has met its burden to prove a defendant’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt, we compare the crime’s elements as defined by a hypothetically correct jury charge to the evidence adduced at trial. Hammack v. State, 622 S.W.3d 910, 914 (Tex. Crim. App. 2021); see also Febus v. State, 542 S.W.3d 568, 572 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018) (“The essential elements of an offense are determined by state law.”). Such a charge is one that accurately sets out the law, is authorized by the indictment, does not unnecessarily increase the State’s burden of proof or restrict the State’s theories of liability, and adequately describes the particular offense for which the defendant was tried. Hammack, 622 S.W.3d at 914. The law as authorized by the indictment means the statutory elements of the offense as modified by the charging instrument’s allegations. Curlee v. State, 620 S.W.3d 767, 778 (Tex. Crim. App. 2021); see Rabb v. State, 434 S.W.3d 613, 616 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014) (“When the State pleads a specific element of a penal offense that has statutory alternatives for that element, the sufficiency of the evidence will be measured by the element that was actually pleaded, and not any alternative statutory elements.”).

2. Analysis McBath was indicted for committing burglary by “intentionally or knowingly enter[ing] a habitation or a portion thereof, without the effective consent of Keon Holland, the owner or a person with the greater right to possession and use thereof, and attempt[ing] to commit or commit[ing] an assault against Keon Holland.”2 See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 30.02(a)(3). McBath argues that the evidence is insufficient to show that he did not have effective consent to enter the habitation in question—Mary’s house. He specifically asserts that the evidence did not show that Holland was the homeowner and, in fact, showed that he entered with the owner’s “express permission.” He does not challenge the proof of the offense’s remaining elements. See id.

“‘Consent’ means assent in fact, whether express or apparent.” Id. § 1.07(a)(11).

“‘Effective consent’ includes consent by a person legally authorized to act for the owner.” Id. § 1.07(a)(19). An owner is a person who “has title to the property, possession of the property, whether lawful or not, or a greater right to possession of

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