Freeman v. State

630 S.W.2d 868
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 2, 1982
Docket01-81-0235-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 630 S.W.2d 868 (Freeman 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
Freeman v. State, 630 S.W.2d 868 (Tex. Ct. App. 1982).

Opinion

STILLEY, Justice.

The appellant was convicted of attempted murder in a trial before the court, who thereafter sentenced the appellant to forty years imprisonment upon his plea of “true” to one prior felony conviction alleged in the indictment for enhancement.

By his first ground of error, the appellant argues that the evidence offered at trial was insufficient to establish the corpus de-lecti of the offense charged. Appellant acknowledges that in his written statement to police, he stated that he shot Roy Grant with a pistol. However, appellant argues that aside from his statement, no probative evidence was introduced corroborating the confession.

Appellant’s statement to the police, in relevant parts, is as follows:

“My name is Dozie Freeman Jr., I am 29 years having been born on November 24, 1951.
On January 5, 1981 around 9:00 p.m. Roy Grant, Rita and me were sitting in my room drinking: Roy and me got into an argument about records and old tools, belonging to Roy. Roy told me that I did not take care of them and I told him that I don’t use his tools and I would give the records back to him. He told me that I gave the records to Shelia which I did not do.
One thing lead to another and (sic) end up in my mother’s room. I reached up *870 under a pillow that was in a chair and got the pistol. I shot at him the first time. I missed him the first time, the second time I shot at him he broke and ran. I kept on firing the pistol until he fell to the floor. After I shot Roy I told my mother to call for an ambulance and my mother told me to leave the house until everything is over with. I told my mother that I wasn’t going to leave. There isn’t really no reason why I did not tell the officers, at the time, about the shooting. I did what mother told me to do and stayed out of the house.
I can read and write and after reading the above statement I find it true and correct to the best of my knowledge.”

At trial, the only testimony presented was that of two police officers, who both testified for the State.

Paul Stavinoha, a patrolman for the Houston Police Department, testified that on January 5,1981, he went to 2411 McKee Street in Houston in response to a “shooting-ambulance call.” He observed a person whom he learned to be Roy Grant inside the residence at that address. He observed two shots in the back, one in the wrist, and one in the stomach. Appellant was not present at the time. He did not observe any weapons on or near the wounded person. Over a hearsay objection that was not ruled on by the trial court, the officer testified that in response to his inquiry, the wounded person stated that Dozie Freeman had shot him. Other witnesses told him that a pistol was used.

R. 0. Olive, a homicide detective for the Houston Police Department, testified that on January 11, 1981, he talked to appellant on the telephone and asked him to come to the office to make a written statement. On January 14, 1981, appellant came to his office and made a written statement, after being advised of his rights. The statement was admitted without objection.

The independent evidence necessary to corroborate an accused’s extrajudicial confession is evidence establishing the corpus delecti of the charged offense. However, proof of the corpus delecti need not be established solely by independent evidence. The rule has been stated as follows:

[PJroof of the corpus delecti may not be made by an extrajudicial confession alone, but proof of the corpus delecti need not be made independent of an extrajudicial confession. If there is some evidence corroborating the confession, the confession may be used to aid in establishment of the corpus delecti. (cited cases omitted.)

Self v. State, 513 S.W.2d 832, 835 (Tex.Cr.App.1974). Thus, in the instant case, if some probative evidence was admitted at trial that corroborates the appellant’s confession, the confession may properly be used to establish the corpus delecti of attempted murder.

The Texas criminal attempt statute, Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 15.01(a) (Vernon Supp. 1980-1981), provides that “[a] person commits an offense if, with specific intent to commit an offense, he does an act amounting to more than mere preparation that tends but fails to effect the commission of the offense intended.” The corpus delecti, then, of attempted murder would be the performance of an act with intent to cause the death of some person.

The evidence offered at trial that corroborates appellant’s confession includes:

(1) Officer Stavinoha going to 2411 McKee street in Houston;
(2) the officer observing a wounded man at that address;
(3) the wounded man appeared to be “shot” several times; and
(4) the wounded man was named Roy Grant.

The evidence offered at trial, independent of the appellant’s confession, thus establishes the “act”, namely, the shooting. In addition, the independent evidence establishes the identity of the victim to be Roy Grant. The appellant argues in his brief, and during oral submission, that no independent probative (non-hearsay) evidence was introduced to identify the victim as Roy Grant. Appellant directs our attention to the only testimony offered at trial identifying the victim:

*871 “Q. (By the State) Did you learn the name of the complaining witness to be Roy Grant?
“A. (By Officer Stavinoha) Yes, Sir.”

Appellant characterizes this evidence as clearly hearsay and not probative of the victim’s identity. While it is true that hearsay evidence is no evidence of the fact to be proved, Lumpkin v. State, 524 S.W.2d 302 (Tex.Cr.App.1975), there is no showing by appellant that Officer Stavinoha did not have personal knowledge of the victim’s identity.

Officer Stavinoha’s statement identifying the victim is silent regarding the origin of that knowledge. Had there been an objection to Officer Stavinoha’s identification of the victim, or if the matter had been pursued on cross-examination, the character of the officer’s knowledge may have been determined.

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Related

State v. Smith
801 P.2d 975 (Washington Supreme Court, 1990)
Hernandez v. State
750 S.W.2d 902 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1988)
Rivera v. State
716 S.W.2d 68 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1986)
Keimig v. State
669 S.W.2d 121 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1984)

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Bluebook (online)
630 S.W.2d 868, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/freeman-v-state-texapp-1982.