Garza v. State

794 S.W.2d 497, 1990 WL 88664
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided November 21, 1990·No. 13-88-599·Published·Cited by 28 cases

Opinion

OPINION

KEYS, Justice.

A jury found appellant guilty of aggravated robbery and assessed punishment at 18 years in prison. We reform the judgment of the trial court to delete the restitution finding and affirm as reformed.

In his first five points of error, appellant contends that the trial court’s judgment, which set the amount of restitution at $4,500, is not supported by the evidence. The State concedes that the record is “clearly devoid of evidence to provide the required factual basis for the trial court’s determination of the amount of restitution.” Since the State concedes error, we sustain appellant’s points of error and reform the trial court’s judgment to delete that portion of the judgment setting the amount of restitution. See Botello v. State, 693 S.W.2d 528, 530 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1985, pet. ref’d).

In points of error six and seven, appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. In point six, he specifically contends that in light of his alibi defense and supporting evidence, the jury’s guilty verdict is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. In point seven, he contends that the evidence is insufficient to show that the knife used in the robbery was a deadly weapon. We summarize the evidence introduced before addressing each particular point.

Cynthia Molina testified that she had just gotten into her car and was closing her car door at the mall in McAllen when a man appeared and grabbed the door. Molina identified appellant as that man. The two struggled over the door, and appellant eventually was able to pull it open. Appellant had a knife out and he put it at her ribs. The victim described the knife as follows:

It had a — Well, it was a long silver blade, long, and it was a — it had a silver handle. It was just a long blade, a dagger type ... I don’t know whether it was a switchblade or what.
* * * * * *
*499 Well, it [the knife] was about this long, six or eight inches.

Appellant told her to give him all her money and said that he would kill her if she did not do as he said. Appellant made Molina move over, and he got into the car and began driving. He then made Molina take off her rings and watch. He said he was going to kill her, and he kept the knife pointed at Molina’s side. As they left the mall, appellant stopped and allowed Molina to leave the car. Appellant left in Molina’s car, and she ran back to the mall for help.

Officer Miguel Alcantar testified that when Molina’s car was recovered the police tried but were unable to lift fingerprints from the steering wheel because the vehicle had a “fancy” steering wheel cover. Police also were unable to get any prints off the ignition or rear view mirror. The police did lift one print from the back left window but could not identify it. It did not belong to appellant.

Appellant’s witness Anabel Maris testified that she was with appellant, her brother-in-law, at the time Molina was robbed. Appellant testified that he spent the day of the robbery with his brother and that they were picking up Maris at her job at the time of the robbery. Appellant denied committing the robbery or being at the mall.

Appellant contends that the jury’s verdict is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. In Meraz v. State, 785 S.W.2d 146, 154 (Tex.Crim.App.1990), the Court of Criminal Appeals held that the Texas Courts of Appeals have the constitutional authority to determine if a jury finding on a defendant’s affirmative defense is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. The Court “expressed] no opinion of the role of the court of appeals in reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence relative to the proof of the elements of the offense.” Meraz, 785 S.W.2d at 156. Assuming a “great weight and preponderance review” is permissible in a criminal case, we find that the jury’s verdict is not against the great weight and preponderance. Although the evidence conflicts, the jury obviously chose to believe the victim’s identification of her assailant. The victim was attacked in mid-afternoon and had ample opportunity to view the assailant. The mere fact that appellant denied committing the crime, offered an alibi, and supported his alibi with the testimony of another witness does not mean that the jury’s verdict is against the great weight and preponderance of the evidence. Appellant’s sixth point of error is overruled.

In point seven, appellant contends that the evidence fails to establish that appellant’s knife was a deadly weapon. The knife used to threaten the victim was not recovered. Therefore, only the victim’s above testimony about the knife was before the jury for it to consider.

A knife is not a deadly weapon per se. Blain v. State, 647 S.W.2d 293, 294 (Tex.Crim.App.1983). To determine if the evidence is sufficient to support a jury’s finding that a knife was a deadly weapon, an appellate court reviews evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict to determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found that the knife was capable of inflicting death or serious bodily injury by the manner of its use and intended use. See Williams v. State, 732 S.W.2d 777, 780 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1987, no pet.).

This Court and the Court of Criminal Appeals have written extensively on what evidence supports a jury finding that a knife is a deadly weapon. See Tisdale v. State, 686 S.W.2d 110, 113-115 (Tex.Crim.App.1984); Sweeten v. State, 686 S.W.2d 680, 683-685 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1985, no pet.); see also Zimmerman v. State, 754 S.W.2d 402, 404-405 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1988, pet. ref’d).

In this case, appellant held a lengthy knife to the victim’s ribs and threatened her with death. A rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that the knife, in its manner of use and intended use, was capable of causing death and serious bodily injury. Appellant’s seventh point of error is overruled.

*500 In points of error eight through ten, appellant argues that the trial court’s charge included, over his objection, an over-broad definition of “intent” and “knowingly.” The trial court submitted the following instructions to the jury:

4.
A person acts intentionally, or with intent, with respect to the nature of his conduct or to a result of his conduct when it is his conscious objective or desire to engage in the conduct or cause the result.
5.

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Garza v. State, 794 S.W.2d 497, 1990 WL 88664 (Tex. Ct. App. 1990).

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