Gillermo Fernando Sanchez v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 15, 2016
Docket05-15-00098-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Gillermo Fernando Sanchez v. State (Gillermo Fernando Sanchez 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
Gillermo Fernando Sanchez v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

Modified and Affirmed. Opinion Filed July 15, 2016.

In The Court of Appeals Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-15-00098-CR

GILLERMO FERNANDO SANCHEZ, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 416th Judicial District Court Collin County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 416-81054-2013

MEMORANDUM OPINION Before Justices Francis, Evans, and Stoddart Opinion by Justice Stoddart

A jury convicted Gillermo Fernando Sanchez of criminal mischief by tampering with an

electric metering device without effective consent of the owner and causing pecuniary loss of

less than $20,000. The trial court assessed punishment at 180 days in jail, suspended the

sentence, placed Sanchez on community supervision for three years, and ordered restitution in

the amount of $2,153.29. Sanchez argues on appeal that the evidence is insufficient to support

his conviction, the restitution order is not supported by the record, and the jury charge failed to

include an instruction on the proper use of a statutory presumption. The State raises a cross-

point that the judgment should be modified to reflect the trial court’s pronouncement of two

years of community supervision and the name of Sanchez’s trial attorney. We modify the trial

court’s judgment and affirm as modified. BACKGROUND

On December 30, 2012, Sanchez’s neighbor saw a man standing on the trunk of a car,

which was parked next to a utility pole. Afraid the man might be electrocuted, the neighbor

reported it to police. Officer Bryan Kile responded to the report and spoke with Sanchez.

Sanchez said the power was out at his home and he was removing a piece from the utility pole to

fix it. Kile collected the piece from the pole, took photographs, and contacted the director of

security at Oncor. A few days later, Kile again spoke with Sanchez. After being advised of his

Miranda rights, Sanchez denied attempting to steal electricity, but said he had been a lineman for

TXU for thirty years and knew how to accomplish what he was trying to do.

Jonathan Nichols, a revenue security employee of Oncor, went to Sanchez’s house on

December 31, 2012. Nichols took pictures of the meter and electrical connections at the house.

He saw that both the inner and outer seals on the meter had been removed. Nichols testified that

removing those seals is tampering and customers do not have consent from Oncor to take that

action. Nichols also noticed several wires running from the meter base. Although the wires

should have been located inside the conduit, they ran to an open breaker box on the patio wall,

indicating possible tampering. To alleviate the unsafe condition created by the stray wiring,

Nichols disconnected the electricity at the pole. In response, Sanchez told Nichols he was a

former TXU employee and would climb the pole and reconnect the power after Nichols left.

Nichols testified that a lineman would have the knowledge and ability to remove a meter and

divert electricity.

On the patio, Nichols found additional items, including a breaker and a broken part of the

meter base called a lug. He explained that a lug is part of the meter base that the meter plugs into

to make a connection allowing electricity to flow from the utility wires through the meter and

into the house. Lugs are designed to last for the life of the meter and a broken lug indicates the

meter has been removed repeatedly from the base. Lugs do not break due to normal repair

–2– operations. A burned lug indicates either the spring steel has lost elasticity over time or that a

foreign object was placed into the meter. This creates a poor connection and causes the parts to

heat up.

The two lugs in the meter at Sanchez’s house were not from the same meter, indicating

one or both had been replaced. A lug is only replaced if it is broken or burned. While there are

reasons other than tampering that can cause a burned lug, Nichols was able to exclude those

reasons in this case. He testified that replacing a lug inside the meter base without consent

constitutes tampering. Only Oncor employees have permission to replace a lug or repair a meter.

Data obtained from Sanchez’s meter indicated it was removed from December 24,

through December 26, 2012, as well as parts of December 29 and December 30. Nichols

explained that during those times no power would flow into Sanchez’s house unless a jumper or

other conductor were installed in the meter base to complete the electrical connection.

Additional data obtained from the meter showed a total of 48 power outages between

October 2012 and December 31, 2012. However, Oncor’s records did not reflect a

corresponding number of service calls to Sanchez’s house during that time period.

Kenneth Scott Stanley, a measurement supervisor for revenue and security at Oncor,

assisted with the investigation. He explained that a significant reduction in average monthly

electrical usage is an indication of tampering. By examining historical data for Sanchez’s house,

Stanley found a large reduction in usage began to occur in February, 2005. He concluded that is

when the tampering began.

To determine Oncor’s monetary loss, Stanley analyzed Sanchez’s average monthly usage

from January 2004 through January 2005. From that data, he estimated the amount of electricity

Sanchez was using before the tampering was 1,000 kWh per month. Sanchez’s reported usage

after February 2005 was less than the monthly average before the tampering. The difference

between the monthly average and the reported usage represents Oncor’s loss. Oncor also

–3– incurred fees of $419.75 for meter costs, locking devices, labor and transportation. Stanley

testified that Oncor’s monetary loss was less than $20,000. While some of the records in

evidence list Sanchez’s wife on the account, others indicate Sanchez called several times over

the years to report power outages, request repairs, complain that meter readings were wrong, and

to request billing adjustments.

Diane Hallmark, a paralegal in Oncor’s legal department, testified that Oncor is regulated

by the Public Utility Commission and owns the meters, poles, and equipment necessary to supply

electricity to the public. She testified that Oncor suffers monetary damage when a person

tampers with a meter and receives electricity without paying for it. She confirmed that a

customer is never given permission to divert the power supply or tamper with the Oncor’s

equipment.

At trial, Sanchez testified that on December 30, 2012, he observed fire and smoke

coming from the meter attached to his home. He turned the power off in the utility room then

went outside and pulled the meter off the base. He saw that a lug was burned. Sanchez did not

call TXU or Oncor about the meter or the fire. Nor did he call the fire department. Rather, he

admitted removing a lug from a meter on nearby property to replace the burned lug in his own

meter. Sanchez denied stealing electricity and denied breaking into his meter, but admitted he

knew how to tamper with a meter. Sanchez lived at the property for several years with his wife

and grandson. He had several gas appliances in the home, but admitted on cross-examination

that the appliances were installed before 2004 and would not explain the substantial change in

electricity usage in 2005.

ANALYSIS

A. Sufficiency of the Evidence

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)
Santana v. State
59 S.W.3d 187 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Clayton v. State
235 S.W.3d 772 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Robertson v. State
888 S.W.2d 493 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1994)
State v. Hardy
963 S.W.2d 516 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1998)
Cartwright v. State
605 S.W.2d 287 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1980)
Williams v. State
596 S.W.2d 862 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1980)
Asberry v. State
813 S.W.2d 526 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Cook v. State
858 S.W.2d 467 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1993)
Castillo v. State
79 S.W.3d 817 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Taylor v. State
131 S.W.3d 497 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2004)
Campbell v. State
5 S.W.3d 693 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Almanza v. State
686 S.W.2d 157 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1985)
Boykin v. State
818 S.W.2d 782 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Howlett v. State
994 S.W.2d 663 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Hollander, Joe Shawn
414 S.W.3d 746 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Burt, Lemuel Carl
445 S.W.3d 752 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2014)
Acosta, Victor Manuel
429 S.W.3d 621 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2014)
Hanna v. State
426 S.W.3d 87 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2014)
Joe Shawn Hollander v. State of Texas
406 S.W.3d 567 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2012)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
Gillermo Fernando Sanchez v. State, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/gillermo-fernando-sanchez-v-state-texapp-2016.