Gareth Reece Goode v. the State of Texas

• Court: Court of Appeals of Texas
• Decided: July 2, 2025
• Docket: 06-24-00173-CR
• Status: Published

Opinion

In the Court of Appeals Sixth Appellate District of Texas at Texarkana

No. 06-24-00173-CR

GARETH REECE GOODE, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 198th Judicial District Court Bandera County, Texas Trial Court No. CR-XX-XXXXXXX

Before Stevens, C.J., van Cleef and Rambin, JJ. Memorandum Opinion by Justice Rambin MEMORANDUM OPINION

A Bandera County jury convicted Gareth Reece Goode of sexual assault of a child and

assessed a sentence of twenty years’ imprisonment. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.011

(Supp.). On appeal,1 Goode argues that (1) the trial court violated his due process rights by

denying his motion for continuance, (2) the trial court erred by admitting an audio recording

between Goode and his ex-wife, (3) his due process rights were violated when the State

misstated the charge as aggravated sexual assault during voir dire, (4) the trial court erred by

instructing the jury that the State was not required to prove the exact date that the offenses

occurred, (5) his due process rights were violated when the State used an incomplete illustration

of a gun to explain the burden of proof, and (6) the trial court erred by overruling objections to

the State’s closing argument.2

We addressed Goode’s arguments in detail in our companion cause number 06-24-00172-

CR. For the same reasons stated therein, we find that the trial court did not abuse its discretion

in this cause either by denying Goode’s motion for a continuance or by admitting the audio

recording, and we conclude that the State’s reference to aggravated sexual assault in the

consolidated trial was proper since Goode was also charged with that offense. We also find that

there was no jury-charge error, the trial court properly overruled Goode’s objections to the

1 Originally appealed to the Fourth Court of Appeals, this case was transferred to this Court by the Texas Supreme Court pursuant to its docket equalization efforts. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 73.001 (Supp.). We follow the precedent of the Fourth Court of Appeals in deciding the issues presented. See TEX. R. APP. P. 41.3. 2 In his companion cause number 06-24-00172-CR, Goode appeals two convictions for indecency with a child by contact. 2 State’s illustrations used to explain the burden of proof, and Goode was unharmed by any alleged

error preserved during jury argument. As a result, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Jeff Rambin Justice

Date Submitted: June 10, 2025 Date Decided: July 2, 2025

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