Ishmael v. State

688 S.W.2d 252, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6410
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 10, 1985
Docket2-84-144-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 688 S.W.2d 252 (Ishmael 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
Ishmael v. State, 688 S.W.2d 252, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6410 (Tex. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

FENDER, Chief Justice.

This is an appeal from a conviction for the offense of involuntary manslaughter where, upon a showing of two prior felony convictions, appellant was assessed a life term by a jury. Appellant raises twelve grounds of error.

We affirm.

In his first ground of error, appellant claims the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict.

Appellant was convicted upon circumstantial evidence. In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence in a circumstantial evidence case, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and consider whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Houston v. State, 663 S.W.2d 455, 456 (Tex.Crim.App.1984); Wilson v. State, 654 S.W.2d 465, 471 (Tex.Crim.App.1983) (opinion on rehearing). A conviction cannot be sustained if the evidence leaves any reasonable doubt as to the guilt of the accused. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 317-18, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1974). Thus, it follows that a conviction based on circumstantial evidence cannot be sustained if the circumstances do not exclude every other reasonable hypothesis except that of the guilt of the defendant. Johnson v. State, 673 S.W.2d 190, 195 (Tex.Crim.App.1984); Wilson, 654 S.W.2d at 471; Williams v. State, 631 S.W.2d 171, 173 (Tex.Crim.App.1982).

In order to address this ground of error, a review of the evidence is necessary.

On the afternoon of May 6, 1983, appellant and one Ranee Miller were imbibing at the “Nude Connection” (a dancing club). They appeared to be intoxicated and enjoyed harassing the dancers. Gary Feem-ster, the bartender, asked them to behave, but they again bothered the dancers. Feemster asked them to behave a second time and they complied. Gary Feemster’s brother, Joe, appeared for work and was apparently informed of the situation. Eventually, Joe Feemster had to ask appellant and his companion to leave the establishment, and escorted them outside.

Gary Feemster left the club and, while walking to his car, he saw appellant in a car. Appellant told Gary he was going to return and “blow his f_ head off.” Joe Feemster came outside and appellant said to him, “I’m going to kill you.”

About half an hour later, Tina Williams, an occupant of the “Nude Connection” building, was hit by a metallic slug which was fired through the side door while the door was closed. She died as a result. Three metal fragments were found in her body.

A police officer testified that he found numerous metal or lead fragments at the scene of the crime and he opined that the slug could have caused the deceased’s death. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner confirmed that it was the cause of death. The police officer further testified that a shotgun could have been used in the commission of the crime.

Larry Gene Burdette testified that he was at the home of Ranee Miller at about dusk on the night Tina Williams was killed. He saw Ranee and appellant drive up in a *257 car from which appellant exited with a shotgun in his hands. Appellant then stated that he had been thrown out of a bar by the collar, that nobody could do that to him, and that he had gotten a gun, returned to the bar, and shot the man who threw him out. Appellant gave Burdette the gun and told him to dispose of it. Burdette further testified that Ranee Miller appeared frightened and stated the gun had discharged in the car.

We hold that the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict of involuntary manslaughter. The State has proved the case beyond a reasonable doubt and to a moral certainty, and we hold that the circumstances excluded every other reasonable hypothesis except the appellant’s guilt. The appellant’s first ground of error is overruled.

In his second ground of error, the appellant complains that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict in that the prosecution used allegedly perjured testimony to show that the grand jury was diligent in trying to ascertain the identity of the person who the appellant intended to kill.

The evidence presented at trial showed that the appellant had made threats to kill both the bar owner and manager after appellant had been thrown out of the bar. Approximately half an hour later, appellant allegedly returned to the bar and fired a shotgun slug through a closed door of the bar, killing Tina Williams.

The appellant was indicted for murder under TEX.PENAL CODE ANN. see. 19.-02(a)(2) (Vernon 1974) which reads:

(a) A person commits an offense if he:
(2) intends to cause serious bodily injury and commits an act clearly dangerous to human life that causes the death of an individual.

Id.

The indictment was quashed for reasons unrelated to this ground of error and the appellant was re-indicted by a different grand jury. The new indictment alleged that the appellant:

did then and there intentionally with the intent to cause serious bodily injury to a person or persons unknown to the grand jury commit an act clearly dangerous to human life, namely, knowing that persons were inside the Nude Connection nightclub ... he did fire a firearm through the closed door of the nightclub, which caused the death of Tina Williams. [Emphasis added.]

When the State alleges that an element or fact is unknown to the grand jury, it must show that the grand jury used due diligence in trying to ascertain the fact which is alleged to be unknown. Cunningham v. State, 484 S.W.2d 906, 911 (Tex.Crim.App.1972). However, where the facts as developed at trial suggest that an investigation by the grand jury could not have helped in ascertaining the unknown fact, there is a prima facie showing of due diligence. Id. In an attempt to show this at trial, Mrs. Brown, the foreperson of the grand jury which re-indicted appellant, testified that her grand jury could not determine who appellant had intended to kill because he had fired the shot through a closed door. She testified that during the re-indictment process, there was no mention of any threats by the appellant against the bar owner and manager. She also testified that her grand jury had heard the case previously.

While the jury was deliberating, the Assistant District Attorney came forth and informed the court that Mrs.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Otis Don Trotter v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2021
Grady Shawn Brown v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011
Rogelio Delacerda v. State
425 S.W.3d 367 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2011)
Stephen Ruffin v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007
Ruffin v. State
234 S.W.3d 224 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Christopher Xavier Franklin v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005
Rodriguez, Norma Herrera v. State
32 S.W.3d 921 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Robinson v. State
945 S.W.2d 336 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Anthony Quinn Robinson v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 1997
Manrique v. State
943 S.W.2d 115 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Coleman v. State
918 S.W.2d 39 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1996)
Susanne Lee Endres v. Mark Francis Endres
Court of Appeals of Texas, 1994
State v. Shelton
869 S.W.2d 513 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1993)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
688 S.W.2d 252, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6410, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/ishmael-v-state-texapp-1985.