Durham v. State

234 S.W.3d 723, 2007 Tex. App. LEXIS 6474, 2007 WL 2325496
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 16, 2007
Docket11-06-00168-CR
StatusPublished

This text of 234 S.W.3d 723 (Durham v. State) 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
Durham v. State, 234 S.W.3d 723, 2007 Tex. App. LEXIS 6474, 2007 WL 2325496 (Tex. Ct. App. 2007).

Opinion

OPINION

JIM R. WRIGHT, Chief Justice.

A jury convicted Donald S. Durham of misdemeanor theft by a public servant. The trial court assessed punishment at confinement in the Harris County Jail for one year, but it suspended the imposition *724 of the sentence and placed appellant on community supervision for two years. The trial court also imposed a fine of $2,000. We affirm.

In his first two issues, appellant contends that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support his conviction. In order to determine if the evidence is legally sufficient, we must review all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); Jackson v. State, 17 S.W.3d 664 (Tex.Crim.App.2000). To determine if the evidence is factually sufficient, we review all of the evidence in a neutral light. Watson v. State, 204 S.W.3d 404, 414 (Tex.Crim.App.2006) (overruling in part Zuniga v. State, 144 S.W.3d 477 (Tex.Crim.App.2004)); Johnson v. State, 23 S.W.3d 1, 10-11 (Tex.Crim.App.2000); Cain v. State, 958 S.W.2d 404, 407-08 (Tex.Crim.App.1997); Clewis v. State, 922 S.W.2d 126, 129 (Tex.Crim.App.1996). Then we determine whether the evidence supporting the verdict is so weak that the verdict is clearly wrong and manifestly unjust or whether the verdict is against the great weight and preponderance of the conflicting evidence. Watson, 204 S.W.3d at 414-15; Johnson, 23 S.W.3d at 10-11.

Appellant was employed as a Houston police officer. He injured his back after he slipped and fell while pursuing two suspects. The pain from the injury prevented appellant from returning to work.

The Houston Police Department had a written policy for injured employees. Appellant received and signed a copy of the policy. In the document, the Houston Police Department outlined appellant’s responsibilities while on leave for his injury. The policy contained the statement that an injured employee had an obligation as part of his job responsibilities to follow the procedures outlined in the policy. Some of the procedures were that injured employees must remain at home, comply with all doctor’s instructions, call his supervisors each day, and keep his supervisors informed of his progress. Additionally, an injured person could not seek outside employment. Sergeant Mike Craig, a staff attorney with the Houston Police Department, explained that the language contained in the department’s “Instructions for Classified Workers Injured on the Job” made it explicitly clear that the injured employee’s home served as his new duty station. Appellant’s assigned work hours during his disability leave were Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Appellant received the equivalent of his complete salary while on disability leave.

Sergeant Darryl Baker served as appellants’s primary contact person, and Sergeant Baker told appellant to contact her daily. Sergeant Baker testified that appellant failed to contact her regularly and that she had had a difficult time reaching appellant during the times that he was supposed to be at home. Even though appellant had signed a copy of the policy for injured employees, Sergeant Baker reminded him of his obligation to remain at home. Appellant acknowledged that he understood Sergeant Baker’s instructions.

Sergeant William R. Rios of the Internal Affairs Division of the Houston Police Department conducted surveillance on appellant in order to determine whether he was violating the orders given to him while on injury duty. Sergeant Rios and his partner noticed that appellant frequently left his house and went to a business known as Personally Fit. Appellant’s wife owned Personally Fit. Sergeant Rios set up an appointment to train at the gym. Appel *725 lant arrived for their first workout at 4:45 p.m. Appellant trained Sergeant Rios and showed him how to exercise with weights. Sergeant Rios scheduled another appointment for November 2, 2005, at 1:00 p.m. When he arrived at the gym, Sergeant Rios noticed that appellant was already training another individual. Appellant again worked with Sergeant Rios. Sergeant Baker testified that appellant had called her on November 2, 2005, at 11:80 a.m. Appellant indicated to Sergeant Baker that he would be at home all day. Sergeant Baker called appellant back at 1:30 p.m., but appellant was not at home. Appellant returned Sergeant Baker’s call at 2:30 p.m., but he did not tell Sergeant Baker that he had left his home that day.

Appellant supervised Sergeant Rios’s workout again on November 7. Sergeant Baker received a phone call at 3:31 p.m. from appellant, and appellant told her that he was at home that day. The Houston Police Department paid appellant for a full eight hours of work on November 2 and on November 7.

Appellant contends that the evidence is both legally and factually insufficient to support his conviction. Appellant claims that he went to the gym in order to follow his doctor’s instruction. Dr. Sam Alianell, appellant’s doctor, testified that lifting weights served as part of appellant’s rehabilitation process. Dr. Alianell also testified that it was important for appellant to maintain social contacts while recovering from his injury. Not only was the Houston Police Department policy clear that injured employees must follow doctor’s instructions, but it was also clear that the injured employee must remain at home and must follow reporting requirements. Appellant views these instructions as inconsistent. We do not. Under the policy and the instructions, an injured employee could go to places of recovery but must report the place of recovery. Appellant did not. The instructions were not inconsistent because appellant could have reported to the Houston Police Department that his doctor ordered him to lift weights and socialize. Furthermore, we note that appellant’s activities at the gym were more consistent with the activities of a gym employee rather than of one recovering from an injury. Prior to his injury, appellant competed as an amateur bodybuilder.

Appellant also argues that the evidence is factually and legally insufficient because the City of Houston owed him money. He claims that two of his paychecks had been misplaced. If an accused proves by a preponderance of the evidence that he gave consideration for or had a legal interest in the property stolen, the amount of the consideration or the value of that interest is to be deducted from the value of the property stolen. Tex Penal Code. Ann. § 31.08(d) (Vernon 2003).

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

Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Watson v. State
204 S.W.3d 404 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2006)
Jackson v. State
17 S.W.3d 664 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2000)
State v. Hall
829 S.W.2d 184 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1992)
Cain v. State
958 S.W.2d 404 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Gallagher v. State
690 S.W.2d 587 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1985)
Johnson v. State
23 S.W.3d 1 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Zuniga v. State
144 S.W.3d 477 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2004)
Clewis v. State
922 S.W.2d 126 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1996)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
234 S.W.3d 723, 2007 Tex. App. LEXIS 6474, 2007 WL 2325496, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/durham-v-state-texapp-2007.