Joaquin Morales v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 11, 2021
Docket13-19-00507-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Joaquin Morales v. State (Joaquin Morales 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
Joaquin Morales v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2021).

Opinion

NUMBER 13-19-00507-CR

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI – EDINBURG

JOAQUIN MORALES, Appellant,

v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.

On appeal from the 111th District Court of Webb County, Texas.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Chief Justice Contreras and Justices Hinojosa and Silva Memorandum Opinion by Justice Silva

Appellant Joaquin Morales appeals his convictions of assault-family violence,

impeding breath or circulation, a third-degree felony, and assault causing bodily injury, a Class A misdemeanor. 1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.01(a)(1), (b)(2)(B). By two

issues, Morales argues (1) the evidence was legally insufficient to sustain either

conviction, and (2) the trial court abused its discretion when it denied his motion for

mistrial. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On October 16, 2018, Marco Camero, a Laredo Police Department (LPD) officer,

was dispatched to a residence between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. At trial, Camero stated he

spoke with the complaining witness, Christina Herrera, who indicated an assault had

occurred approximately twelve hours earlier around 5 a.m. Camero testified that Herrera

had visible “markings to her neck area and injuries on her face.” According to Camero,

Herrera also appeared “kind of scared” and “concerned.” Herrera claimed she had been

hit in the face with a “half empty beer can” and strangled outside in the porch area by

Morales, her live-in boyfriend. Camero said while there were no beer cans in the outdoor

area, he did observe several empty beer cans inside the residence.

The following day, LPD Investigator David Buenrostro interviewed Herrera.

Buenrostro opined that photographs taken of Herrera corroborated what she stated had

occurred. Photographs depicting Herrera with red markings on the left and right sides of

her neck, lacerations on her nose and above her left eye, and dried blood across her

forehead were admitted at trial.

On October 19, 2018, Buenrostro contacted Morales, and he agreed to provide a

statement to law enforcement. According to Buenrostro, Morales denied hitting or

1This case is before this Court on transfer from the Fourth Court of Appeals in San Antonio pursuant to a docket-equalization order issued by the Supreme Court of Texas. See TEX. GOV’T CODE ANN. § 73.001.

2 strangling Herrera, but he admitted to pouring a beer on her head “because [Herrera] had

poured a beer on him also.”

Morales’s full statement to police was read into the record:

On the morning of Oct[ober] 16th at around 5 a.m., [Herrera] and I started an argument due to her being drunk. She started complaining about me not helping out and making false accusations and started insulting me with lesser words. I let her know that if there was a problem with me staying there, I could grab my things and leave. As I made the move to get up, she got up and spilled the beer she was drinking over my head. As she did that, I too grabbed the beer, spilled it on her, and walked inside to get my phone, my pants, and my guitar. I kissed my sick daughter goodnight, and [I] started to walk away from the premises. As I was walking away, she proceeded to chase me. So, I started to walk away. I did not want any trouble on her because she has probation[,] and she shouldn’t be drinking. She immediately threatened me over text messages[,] saying she was gonna call the cops if I didn’t go back. I wasn’t drunk, and I had no motive to do such a thing to my daughter’s mom.

Text messages between Herrera and Morales with time stamps indicating they were sent

between 5:47 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. on October 16 were also read into the record.

[Herrera:] You gonna ditch everything just like that? I work tomorrow and your daughter is sick.

[A close-up photograph of Herrera showing a bloody forehead was sent between text messages.]

Reporting that to cops if you don’t answer[.]

[Morales:] [Y]ou shouldn’t be drinking[.] Good l[u]ck[.] Luck[.] If [I’]m going down for shit I didn’t do[,] I[’]m taking you down with me[.]

[Herrera:] Lol have fun on the run[.] Oh you didn[’]t hit me on the head? How did I bleed like this then? Tell me?

[Morales:] [Y]our stupid ass probably did that to yourself[.]

[Herrera:] Lmao you can never take the blame for something you did[.] I would never do this cause [I’]m the only one who looks after the l[o]ve of my life[.] Go to [h]ell.

3 [Morales:] [Y]eah[,] you tell yourself that[.]

[Herrera:] Ok then.

Herrera testified that she and Morales have a daughter together and dated for

about six years. Herrera stated that in the hours leading up to the assault, she and

Morales had been drinking outside. Herrera said the conversation escalated after she

asked Morales to “help [her] with the chores around the house or cleaning up a bit”

because he was living there with her rent-free while she was the sole financial provider.

Herrera said, “[Morales] got upset and he told me that he didn’t have to do any of that

because he said, ‘it’s not like we’re married or anything.’” Herrera testified that, “[o]ut of

impulse and frustration,” she “poured [her] open[] can of beer over his head.” Morales

then “proceeded to pour his beer over [her] head.” When Morales attempted to go inside

the home, Herrera told him he had to leave. “[Morales] turned around[,] and he pushed

me to the floor . . . . [T]hat’s—he mounted on top of me and he had put both of his hands

around my neck and he started to strangle me.”

Herrera testified that Morales strangled her for “about one minute,” she was unable

to “say anything because [she] couldn’t breathe,” and she felt pain in her neck and

pressure in her head. Herrera explained she was ultimately able to push Morales off of

her, and he returned inside the home while she sat outside, trying to catch her breath.

Herrera testified that as she was standing up, Morales came walking out of the house

holding an open beer can. Herrera said Morales struck her face with the beer can, and

she felt “a lot of pain” and a burning sensation. Herrera testified that she fell down to the

floor, and she watched him walk out to the driveway and turn the street corner.

4 The State questioned Herrera as to why she sent the text messages asking for him

to return, and the following exchange ensued:

[Herrera:] I felt scared, but I wanted to give him a chance to come back and to be with his daughter. He was also a big support system to me in that manner in that he would watch her while I would work.

[State:] Okay, and why did you want to give him a chance?

[Herrera:] [U]m, it’s—I’ve done it before. Like this has happened before, and I’ve done it and he’s—

[Defense counsel:] Objection, Your Honor, to the reference, Your Honor, and it’s a violation of his due-process rights, and I’m going to move for a mistrial.

THE COURT: All right. Mistrial is denied, and the jury is instructed to disregard that last answer. Answer only the question.

[Herrera:] Yes, ma’am.

....

[State:] Okay. Now, I want to ask you: what was the nature of you all’s relationship?

[Herrera:] [U]m, it was very toxic. We—we had a lot of altercations.

[Defense counsel:] I’m going to object, Your Honor. May we approach?

THE COURT: Yes.

[(]Whereupon the following bench conference was h[eld)]:

[Defense counsel:] Your Honor, it’s obvious like she’s already like given up, and she’s going into other incidents by the fact that she’s mentioning that he’s very toxic and things like that.

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