Edmondson v. State

972 S.W.2d 899, 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 4010, 1998 WL 377875
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 2, 1998
DocketNo. 11-95-00342-CR
StatusPublished

This text of 972 S.W.2d 899 (Edmondson 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
Edmondson v. State, 972 S.W.2d 899, 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 4010, 1998 WL 377875 (Tex. Ct. App. 1998).

Opinion

OPINION

ARNOT, Chief Justice.

The jury convicted Levy Lee Edmondson, Jr. of the capital murder1 of Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Troy M. Ho-gue and assessed his punishment at confinement for life.2 We affirm.

In his first point of error, appellant challenges the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence. Specifically, appellant contends that the evidence presented by the State’s witnesses established that the gun seized as the murder weapon could not have been fired in the configuration in which it was seized from appellant and that the bullets in the gun could not have caused the wound to Trooper Hogue’s head. In the second point, appellant contends that the trial court erred in refusing to charge the jury on the lesser included offenses of manslaughter and criminally negligent homicide.

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); Clewis v. State, 922 S.W.2d 126 (Tex.Cr.App.1996); Geesa v. State, 820 S.W.2d 154 (Tex.Cr.App.1991). In deciding whether the evidence is factually sufficient to support the conviction, we review all of the evidence to determine if the verdict is so against the great weight of the evidence as to be clearly wrong and unjust. Clewis v. State, supra.

Jonathan Albert Simpson testified that appellant came to his house in Sand Springs about 3:30 p.m. on December 30, 1994. Simpson had known appellant since they had been in the sixth grade. The two juveniles got into appellant’s car and drove around “like [they] always did.” One of the first things appellant did was show Simpson his gun. The gun was an antique Webley pistol. Appellant kept the gun on the floorboard. Simpson testified that appellant was sober when he picked up Simpson and that appellant was drinking MD 20/20 wine. Appellant told Simpson that he had stolen the wine from a 7-Eleven store. Simpson drank some “to see what it tasted like.”

Simpson testified that they drove and talked from the time they left Simpson’s house until around 8:00 p.m. when appellant drove Simpson home. During this time, they went to the mall twice, to Radio Shack, to a 7-Eleven, to shoot appellant’s gun, and to Francisco “Frank” Cervantes’ house. Simpson said that, whenever they went into the mall or the 7-Eleven, appellant would put the gun inside his boot. Simpson said that they went by Frank’s house about 4:00 or 4:30 p.m. Appellant showed Frank both the [901]*901gun and the wine. Simpson could not hear everything that appellant and Frank said.

After that, they went to a 7-Eleven where appellant stole some more wine. They continued to drive around. Appellant parked the car, and they shot the gun from the car. Simpson fired the gun once, and appellant fired the gun two or three times. The gun “shot hard,” and appellant told Simpson to use both hands when he shot. Simpson saw appellant reload the gun by breaking the gun open. Appellant took out the empty shells and placed new bullets in the gun. Simpson stated that the cylinder of the gun was full before they fired it and that appellant “completely” reloaded the gun with bullets from the glove compartment of appellant’s car. Simpson stated that appellant was “pretty much done” with the first bottle of wine by the time they fired the gun.

They went back to the mall and to Radio Shack. Simpson said that appellant was “pretty much drunk by then.” Appellant was “swerving all over the road and talking all kinds of stuff.” He was driving between 20 and 25 miles per hour down the service road of the highway. Simpson asked to drive “several times.” Appellant “would straighten up” when Simpson reminded him that he was weaving, but appellant would not increase his speed. Simpson stated that he finally “got fed up” and told appellant to take him home. Appellant got onto the highway, increased his speed to about 45 miles per hour, and took Simpson home. Simpson stated that appellant dropped him off at 5 or 10 minutes before 8:00 p.m.

Frank Cervantes testified that appellant was driving a gray four-door car when he came to Frank’s house. Frank thought appellant came by about 7:00 or 7:30 p.m. However, Frank also stated that it could have been earlier in the evening. Frank could not tell if anyone was in the car with appellant. Frank’s brother, Roy Cervantes, talked with appellant first. Roy then came into the house and told Frank that appellant wanted to talk to him. When appellant first asked Frank to go with him, Frank told appellant, “No.” Frank testified that appellant was “chugging” a bottle of Thunderbird wine. Appellant then asked Frank if Frank wanted to “go do some heroin or some PCP.” Frank told appellant that “[he didn’t] do that.” Appellant asked Frank if he smoked “weed,” and Frank answered that he did. Appellant responded by stating, “Oh, all right” and “Let’s go to Coahoma and shoot somebody.” When Frank said that appellant probably did not even have a gun, appellant put his gun “right there in his lap.” Frank wanted to know who they would shoot. Appellant said, “Anybody we see.” Frank did not go with appellant.

Kenneth Francis Young testified that, while he was driving east on Interstate 20, he saw a car in his rearview mirror as he approached Coahoma. The car was coming toward him at a “high rate of speed.” Young was concerned that the car would rear-end his vehicle. Young slowed down, and the car passed him on the shoulder. The car exited, and Young saw sparks come from underneath the car when it hit something. Another vehicle had to swerve to keep from being hit by the car. The car came up the embankment from the service road onto the highway. Young “floored” his vehicle to avoid being hit. The car stopped when it became “hung up on the guardrail.”

Frank Burton Morphis was working at his video store located on the Interstate 20 service road in Sand Springs. Morphis had gone outside to service the Coke machine when he heard a noise. He turned and saw a vehicle going down a deep drainage ditch. The light-colored ear went slowly up the embankment and “hung” on the guardrail. The car appeared to be “halfway or so” over the guardrail. Morphis saw some sparks come from underneath the car. It appeared to him that the driver was accelerating in an effort to get off of the guardrail. Morphis went back inside his store to wait on a customer. He saw the flashing lights of a law enforcement vehicle. From inside his store, Morphis heard two distinct bangs.

Ryan Keith Trent was traveling on Interstate 20 with his wife, their daughter, his wife’s cousin, and the cousin’s girlfriend. Trent saw “taillights come over” the guardrail. When they realized that a car was hung on the guardrail, Wesley Boren (Trent’s wife’s cousin) stopped. Appellant stepped [902]*902out of the car. Appellant told Trent and Boren that he was drunk, said that he was not hurt, and asked if they could help him get his car off of the guardrail. Boren left to use the phone. Appellant told Trent that he must have fallen asleep and asked several times if Trent could give him a ride home.

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Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Geesa v. State
820 S.W.2d 154 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Skinner v. State
956 S.W.2d 532 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Rousseau v. State
855 S.W.2d 666 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1993)
Wolfe v. State
917 S.W.2d 270 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1996)
Royster v. State
622 S.W.2d 442 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1981)
Lafoon v. State
543 S.W.2d 617 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1976)
Barnes v. State
876 S.W.2d 316 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1994)
Clewis v. State
922 S.W.2d 126 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1996)

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Bluebook (online)
972 S.W.2d 899, 1998 Tex. App. LEXIS 4010, 1998 WL 377875, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/edmondson-v-state-texapp-1998.