Jeycool Penaperez v. the State of Texas

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided August 5, 2024·No. 05-22-00743-CR·Published

Opinion

AFFIRMED and Opinion Filed August 5, 2024

S In The

Court of Appeals

Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-22-00743-CR

JEYCOOL PENAPEREZ, Appellant V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 363rd Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. F21-34280-W

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Justices Partida-Kipness, Reichek, and Breedlove Opinion by Justice Reichek Following a jury trial, Jeycool Penaperez appeals his conviction for the

offense of murder. In three issues, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s rejection of his self-defense theory and contends the trial court erred in denying a jury instruction on the law of apparent danger. We also address unassigned error in an application paragraph in the charge. For reasons that follow, we affirm.

BACKGROUND

Appellant was charged with the capital murder of Yoni Jiminez. The indictment alleged that on or about June 27, 2021, while in the course of robbing or attempting to rob Jiminez, appellant intentionally caused Jiminez’s death by shooting him with a firearm. At trial, appellant did not contest that he shot Jiminez. During his opening statement, defense counsel asserted appellant and Jiminez had an intimate relationship and appellant shot Jiminez to protect himself from being sexually assaulted by Jiminez.

Evidence showed that Jiminez left his home in Irving at about 1:00 a.m. on June 26, 2021, to meet appellant at a gas station. Appellant and Jiminez left the gas station in Jiminez’s car, and Jiminez never returned home. At 7:00 a.m. on June 27, Jiminez’s family reported him missing to the Irving Police Department. At about the same time, Jiminez was found dead in a creek at Running Bear Park in Irving from two gunshot wounds, one to the head and one to the chest. The left front pocket of his pants was “pulled out like it had been rummaged through,” and he did not have any identification or property on him. Autopsy results indicated Jiminez had alcohol and methamphetamine in his system.

Before she knew Jiminez was dead, his sister Julissa looked for him at a park in Dallas on June 27. She testified that appellant was there too. Because appellant was the last person who saw Jiminez, Julissa called the Dallas Police Department out to the park. Appellant told Julissa he did not know where Jiminez was and indicated he was looking for him. Julissa asked to see appellant’s phone and left the

park with it. Her cousin turned it over to the Irving police. Julissa testified that her brother did not have a relationship with appellant.

Dallas Police Officer Ricardo Ramirez was called out to the Dallas park regarding a missing person. Ramirez spoke to appellant in Spanish. When Ramirez asked about Jiminez, appellant described him as his “boyfriend” and said he was out looking for him. Appellant first told the officer he was supposed to meet Jiminez at a gas station the previous night, but Jiminez never showed. He then changed his story and said they did meet, but had a disagreement because Jiminez smelled of alcohol. Jiminez left and appellant had not seen him since. Officer Ramirez also spoke to Julissa. She used the word “pareja,” which Ramirez said meant “couple,” to describe the relationship between appellant and Jiminez.

Irving Police Detective Kevin Burkleo was trained in cell phone mapping, which estimates a person’s location in relation to cell towers. He reviewed records from the cell phones of appellant, Jiminez, and Abraham Gonzalez, an acquaintance of appellant’s who lived near Running Bear Park, and used them to map their locations at the relevant times. The mapping showed Jiminez left his home at about 1:09 a.m. on July 26 and that he, appellant, and Gonzalez were all at a 7-Eleven on Singleton Boulevard a few minutes later. Then appellant and Jiminez moved away from the 7-Eleven and traveled together for about an hour, and Gonzalez left the 7- Eleven separately. At about 2:11 a.m., all three phones were in the area of Running Bear Park. At 5:30 a.m., all three phones were at Lake Lavon in Collin County.

Then appellant and Gonzalez travelled back to Irving, while Jiminez’s phone stayed at Lake Lavon until it shut off.

Irving Police Detective David Gorski was the primary investigator in this case. He became aware of charges made to Jiminez’s credit card between June 26 and 28. Police obtained surveillance videos associated with credit card charges at two Shell stations. The evidence showed Gonzalez went inside the gas stations to make purchases with Jiminez’s card. He bought beer, Cheetos, and other items at one Shell station at about 10:30 a.m. on June 26. On June 28, Gonzalez used Jiminez’s card at another Shell station. Cell phone evidence showed appellant was present at the locations where the card was used.

Police found Jiminez’s car on June 29 in a remote location near Lake Lavon about an hour north of Irving. The car was “deep off the roadway” down a long dirt road, and the inside had been burned. Gorski obtained arrest warrants for appellant and Gonzalez. They were arrested on those warrants in early August 2021 near New Orleans.

Gorski and a Spanish-speaking officer went to Louisiana to interview appellant. The interview was conducted in Spanish, and an English transcription of it was admitted into evidence, as was a video version with the certified translation added. Appellant told the officers he went to Louisiana because Jiminez’s family members wanted to kill him. Appellant said he had known Jiminez for about two

weeks before “the incident” occurred and that Jiminez was his boyfriend. Appellant met Jiminez through a “very bad friend,” Edwin Ocon.

During the interview, appellant gave five versions of what happened to Jiminez. Appellant first told the police that Ocon killed Jiminez and told Jiminez’s family that appellant killed him. Ocon threatened to kill appellant if he told anyone. After police told appellant they had his cell phone and that information from the phone showed he was at Running Bear Park where Jiminez was killed, appellant changed his story. He said Jiminez picked him up at the gas station and they went to the park together. Jiminez wanted to kiss appellant, but appellant refused because Jiminez smelled of alcohol. Appellant left, and Ocon called appellant later to tell him Ocon killed Jiminez.

When pressed for the truth, appellant said the truth was that Jiminez wanted to rape him by force in the park. Appellant told him no, and Jiminez threatened to kill him or have him killed. Appellant said Jiminez pulled out a gun. After a struggle, Jiminez shot himself in the head, saying “[I]f I’m not going to be yours . . . I’m not going to be anyone’s.” Jiminez fell toward the water. Appellant left and ran to Gonzalez’s house.

Gorski continued to ask appellant for the truth. The last two versions appellant gave police involved him shooting Jiminez. In the fourth version, appellant and Jiminez were at the park and Jiminez wanted sex. Appellant did not want to have sex because Jiminez was high on what appellant believed was cocaine. Jiminez had

a gun and “put it on” appellant. Appellant took the gun and shot Jiminez, who fell into the water. Appellant said he shot Jiminez in self-defense because Jiminez was going to kill him. He and Gonzalez dropped off Jiminez’s car at a lake, and appellant burned the car.

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Jeycool Penaperez v. the State of Texas, (Tex. Ct. App. 2024).

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