In re Interest of A.R.C.

551 S.W.3d 221
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 6, 2018
DocketNo. 08-17-00220-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 551 S.W.3d 221 (In re Interest of A.R.C.) 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
In re Interest of A.R.C., 551 S.W.3d 221 (Tex. Ct. App. 2018).

Opinion

ATTORNEY AD LITEM: Vanessa Goss, Ivan Goss, 3817 Loma Dante, El Paso, TX 79938.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT: Hon. Mark G. Briggs, Briggs & Associates, P. C., 3609 Montana Ave., El Paso, TX 79903.

ATTORNEY FOR APPELLEE: Hon. Mark T. Zuniga, Department of Family and Protective Services, 2401 Ridgepoint Drive, Bldg. H-2, Austin, TX 78754.

REAL PARTY IN INTEREST: Hon. Pedro Martin, 10213 Donway Pl., El Paso, TX 79925-6935.

ATTORNEY AD LITEM: Hon. Enrique Martin, 4026 N. Mesa St., Ste. G, El Paso, TX 79902.

Before McClure, C.J., Rodriguez, and Palafox, JJ.

OPINION

ANN CRAWFORD McCLURE, Chief Justice

This appeal is from a judgment terminating the parental rights of A.C. to her children, A.R.C., M.A.C., and H.M.C.1 Finding the evidence legally and factually sufficient to support the best interest finding, we affirm.

FACTUAL SUMMARY

M.C. (Father) and A.C. (Mother) are the biological parents of seven-year-old A.R.C., six-year-old M.A.C., and four-year-old H.M.C. The oldest child was born in 2010 and the youngest child was born in February 2013.

Mother grew up in an abusive home and she has a history of assaultive behavior. In April 2009, Mother was a juvenile and living with her mother, L.C., and stepfather. Mother ran away from home because she claimed L.C. was abusive and had struck her with a closed fist numerous times. Mother showed the investigating police officer a bruise on her forearm received when she tried to block a punch from L.C. L.C., on the other hand, claimed that her daughter had punched her. Mother and L.C. also accused one another of using drugs. Approximately five months after this incident, Mother ran away again, *224and L.C. reported to police that when she located Mother and attempted to make her return home, Mother assaulted her by striking her head with a closed fist and pulling her hair.

In July 2013, Mother reported to Father that she was drunk and asked him to pick up one of the children so that she could continue to "party." When Father arrived, he attempted to take the child and leave, but Mother refused to give him the child and struck him on the head. Father declined to prosecute the case against Mother. Mother claimed that she did not call Father, and that he instead became jealous upon seeing her walking with another man, and he assaulted her. The investigating officer determined that Mother's reported injuries were inconsistent with her account of the incident and she could not provide details about the assault. The prosecuting attorney declined to prosecute the case against Father due to a lack of credible evidence.

In October 2013, Mother and L.C. became involved in an argument over money, and Mother threatened to take her children and leave. L.C. told Mother that CPS had placed the children with her and Mother did not have a car or place to go, so Mother could not take the children. A third party attempted to intervene and Mother struck her on the face and scratched her. Mother then went into the kitchen where she retrieved a knife and threatened to kill herself, but L.C. was able to take the knife away from Mother. The third party declined to prosecute an assault case against Mother.

On December 26, 2013, a police officer conducted a traffic stop of a vehicle and smelled a strong odor of marihuana coming from the vehicle. An officer conducted a pat down search of the vehicle's occupants, including Mother, and discovered that Mother had a baggie of marihuana hidden in the waistband of her pants. Mother pled guilty and served five days in jail. The children stayed with L.C. while Mother was in jail.

In February 2014, a loss prevention officer stopped Mother at a Wal-Mart store after she attempted to steal several items. Mother became aggressive and threatened Wal-Mart personnel with a knife, but the loss prevention officer was able to disarm Mother. As she was taken into custody, Mother attempted to strike the loss prevention officers by elbowing them in the face. Mother was charged with robbery, but she pled guilty to the lesser-included offense of theft and was assessed a sentence of sixty days in jail. The children stayed with L.C. during Mother's incarceration. Following her release from jail on the theft charge, Mother was charged with committing unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and credit card abuse in June 2014. These charges were dismissed in 2015 based on Mother's participation in a federal drug treatment program.

In October 2014, Mother was stopped at the Ysleta Port of Entry pedestrian inspection lane after appearing to be disoriented. Mother and her companion stated they were U.S. citizens but they did not have any identification or documentation to present for entry into the United States. Mother denied having any weapons or contraband, but during the pat down search, a U.S. Customs and Borden Protection officer discovered an object in Mother's shorts. Mother initially claimed it was a tampon, but she began to cry and admitted she had hidden drugs in her genital area. Mother admitted that she had used methamphetamine three days earlier. Mother was arrested and charged with the federal offense of importing 180 grams of crystal methamphetamine into the United States. Mother remained confined for approximately eighteen months before being given *225pre-trial release. The children had stayed with L.C. during Mother's confinement, but Mother and the children could not stay with L.C. as a condition of her pre-trial release due to L.C.'s known drug usage. Mother was arrested in June 2016 for violating this condition of pre-trial release. The Department investigated reports of neglectful supervision of the children by L.C. during June and August 2016. The children were removed from L.C.'s home in June 2016 but they returned to the home again in August 2016. The Department received a report in August 2016 that L.C. and her boyfriend were smoking marihuana in the home and not supervising the children. When the caseworker saw the children on August 28, 2016, they were unclean, their hair had not been combed, and they were barefooted.

Mother entered a plea of guilty to the federal drug offense on August 30, 2016 and was sentenced to serve forty-one months in the Federal Department of Corrections. At the time of trial in October 2017, she remained incarcerated under that sentence and is scheduled to be released in September 2018. The amended petition sought termination of Mother's parental rights under Section 161.001(b)(1)(D), (E), and (Q). See TEX.FAM.CODE ANN. § 161.001(b)(1)(D), (E), and (Q) (West Supp. 2017). Following the final hearing, the trial court entered judgment terminating Mother's parental rights based on findings that Mother (1) knowingly placed or knowingly allowed the children to remain in conditions or surroundings which endangered the physical or emotional well-being of the children, pursuant to § 161.001(b)(l)(D) ; (2) engaged in conduct or knowingly placed the children with persons who engaged in conduct which endangers the physical or emotional well-being of the children, pursuant to § 161.001(b)(1)(E), and (3) knowingly engaged in criminal conduct that has resulted in Mother's conviction of an offense and confinement or imprisonment and inability to care for the children for not less than two years from the date of filing the petition, pursuant to § 161.001(b)(1)(Q). Mother filed notice of appeal.

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551 S.W.3d 221, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-interest-of-arc-texapp-2018.