Holliman v. State

879 S.W.2d 85, 1994 Tex. App. LEXIS 929, 1994 WL 141227
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 21, 1994
DocketA14-92-01261-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by17 cases

This text of 879 S.W.2d 85 (Holliman 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
Holliman v. State, 879 S.W.2d 85, 1994 Tex. App. LEXIS 929, 1994 WL 141227 (Tex. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION

ELLIS, Justice.

Appellant, Abe Holliman, appeals his judgment of conviction for delivery of a controlled substance, namely cocaine, by aggregate weight of less than 28 grams, including adulterants and dilutants. See Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. §§ 481.102(3)(D) and 481.-112(a), (b) (Vernon 1992). The jury rejected his plea of not guilty and the court, after finding the two enhancement paragraphs of the indictment to be true, assessed punishment at forty-five (45) years confinement in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. We reverse and remand.

Officers Garvey and Torres of the Harris County Sheriffs Department were working undercover in the Galena Park area to locate drug dealers and purchase narcotics from them. On September 25, 1990, the officers noticed appellant standing in front of a residence at the intersection of Bolden and Midway. Officer Torres, who was driving, pulled over to the curb and asked appellant if he had a “20,” meaning $20 worth of cocaine. Appellant instructed Torres to drive around the block. When the officers returned, appellant reached into the car and handed Torres a white, rock-like substance in exchange for Torres’ twenty dollar bill. The substance was later identified as 0.14 grams of cocaine with a purity of 74%.

After purchasing the cocaine, the officers drove away as opposed to arresting appellant, in order to avoid revealing their undercover status. They travelled to the Jacinto City Police Department where they contacted the dispatcher at the Galena Park Police Department. Torres gave the dispatcher a description of appellant and requested that the dispatcher have an officer go to the Bol-den-Midway intersection to attempt to identify appellant.

Officer Villarreal of the Galena Park Police Department drove to the Bolden-Midway intersection where he found an individual, appellant, who fit the description he had received. Villarreal obtained identification information from appellant and gave that information to Officers Garvey and Torres. Garvey and Torres then obtained a picture of appellant from the Harris County Identification Department. Appellant was later arrested and charged. At trial, both Garvey and Torres made in-court identifications of appellant.

During trial, appellant’s mother, Ebbie Moore, testified on behalf of appellant. She stated that on September 21, 1990, four days prior to the offense, appellant had been severely beaten by a “bunch of guys” who tried to take his belt and shoes. In describing appellant’s injuries, Moore stated that his face had been beaten so badly that his left eye was swollen completely shut and protruding, making them fear that he might lose it. Moreover, she testified that appellant’s rib cage was purple. She also testified that she did not take appellant to the hospital to treat these injuries.

In addition, Moore testified that she has burglar bars on all the windows and doors of her house. She stated that on September 25, *87 1990, the date of the offense, she locked the door before she left for work at 7:35 a.m. Since appellant did not have a key to the house, Moore testified that he could not have been outside the house on the date and time of the offense. The trial court denied appellant’s request for a jury charge on the defensive theory of alibi.

Appellant asserts four points of error. First, the trial court erred in denying appellant’s request for a jury instruction on the defensive theory of alibi after the evidence fairly raised the issue. Second and third, the trial court erred in overruling appellant’s objections to the prosecutor’s arguments outside the record. Fourth, the trial court erred in overruling appellant’s objection to the prosecutor’s comment on appellant’s failure to testify.

In his first point of error, appellant complains that the jury should have been instructed on the defensive theory of alibi. However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has held that, if the alleged defensive theory merely negates an element of the offense, then no affirmative charge must be given. Sanders v. State, 707 S.W.2d 78, 81 (Tex.Crim.App.1986) (and cases cited therein). In an earlier case, the Court of Criminal Appeals discussed the alibi defense:

The literal meaning of “alibi” is “elsewhere.” As used in criminal law the term indicates a line of proof by which the defendant attempts to show that he could not have committed the crime of which he is accused because he was elsewhere at the time. In asserting alibi, the defendant simply denies the possibility of having committed the crime, whereas all statutory affirmative defenses generally apply to justify his admitted participation in the act itself. The general rule is that the defendant does not have the burden of proving his alibi, the rationale being that alibi evidence tends to disprove one essential factor in the prosecution’s case—namely the presence of the accused at the place and time of the alleged crime.

Miller v. State, 660 S.W.2d 95, 96 (Tex.Crim.App.1983) (emphasis added) (citations omitted).

Therefore, since alibi is one of those defensive theories that merely negates an element of the offense, id., no affirmative charge must be given. Sanders, 707 S.W.2d at 81; see also Villarreal v. State, 821 S.W.2d 682, 684-86 (Tex.App.—San Antonio 1991, no pet.). Although the broad language in Sand ers—that all defenses include confession and avoidance—has been disavowed, Willis v. State, 790 S.W.2d 307, 314 (Tex.Crim.App.1990), it is established that where the non-penal code defensive theory merely negates an essential element of the -State’s case, as opposed to justifying or excusing the culpable conduct, the denial of a jury instruction thereon is not error. Villarreal, 821 S.W.2d at 685-86; see also Segura v. State, 850 S.W.2d 681, 687 (Tex.App.—Corpus Christi 1993, pet. ref'd); Colson v. State, 848 S.W.2d 328, 332 (Tex.App.—Amarillo 1993, pet. ref'd); Mills v. State, 802 S.W.2d 400, 405 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1991, pet. ref'd); Drapkin v. State, 781 S.W.2d 710, 712 (Tex.App.—Texarkana 1989, pet. ref'd). Appellant’s first point of error is overruled.

In his second and third points of error, appellant contends thát the trial court erred in overruling his objections to statements made by the prosecutor during final argument. Specifically, appellant complains of the following statements concerning Moore’s testimony that appellant had been beaten in an attempt to rob him:

I would submit to you that if Mr.

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Bluebook (online)
879 S.W.2d 85, 1994 Tex. App. LEXIS 929, 1994 WL 141227, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/holliman-v-state-texapp-1994.