Jobe v. State

482 S.W.3d 300, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 571, 2016 WL 269221
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 21, 2016
DocketNo. 11-15-00220-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by5 cases

This text of 482 S.W.3d 300 (Jobe 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
Jobe v. State, 482 S.W.3d 300, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 571, 2016 WL 269221 (Tex. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

JOHN M. BAILEY, JUSTICE

Sean Blake Jobe filed a pre-indictment application for writ of habeas corpus and motion for reasonable bond. At the time [302]*302that Jobe filed the application, he had been arrested and charged with capital murder, and his bail, had been set at $1,000,000. The trial court held a hearing on Jobe’s application and, despite Jobe’s indigence, denied his request to reduce the amount of bail. The trial court ordered that bail remain at $1,000,000. Jobe appeals. We affirm.

On appeal, Jobe complains in a single issue that the trial court abused its discretion when it denied Jobe’s request to reduce the amount of the bond in this case. Jobe relies in part upon Article 17.15 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which implements'the constitutional right to bail, to support his contention. Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 17.15 (West 2015). Article 17.15 provides that the amount of bail:

[I]s to be regulated by the court, judge, magistrate or officer taking the bail; they are to be governed in the exercise of this discretion by the Constitution and by the following rulés:
1. The bail shall be sufficiently high to give reasonable assurance that the undertaking will be complied with.
2. The power to require bail is not to be so used as to make it an instrument of oppression.
3. The nature of the offense and the circumstances under which it was committed are to be considered.
4. The ability to make bail is to be regarded, and proof may ' be* taken upon this point.
5. The future safety of a victim of the alleged offense and the community shall be considered.

The ability to make bond is one of many factors to be considered; however, it does not control the amount of bail and will not automatically render an amount excessive. Ex parte Charlesworth, 600 S.W.2d 316, 317 (Tex.Crim.App. [Panel Op.] 1980); Ex parte Branch, 553 S.W.2d 380, 382 (Tex.Crim.App.1977). If the ability to make bond in a specified amount controlled, then the role of the trial court in setting bond would be eliminated, and the accused would be in the position to determine what his bail should be. Branch, 553 S.W.2d at 382.

In addition to the rules listed in Article 17.15, the following factors may also be considered: possible punishment, the accused’s work record, his ties to the community, the length of his residency in the community, his prior criminal record, his conformity with the conditions of any prior bail bond, his ability or inability to make a bail bond, and the existence of any outstanding bail bonds. Clemons v. State, 220 S.W.3d 176, 178 (Tex.App.-Eastland 2007, no pet.); see Charlesworth, 600 S.W.2d at 317; Ex parte Ivey, 594 S.W.2d 98 (Tex.Crim.App. [Panel Op.] 1980); Ex parte Vasquez, 558 S.W.2d 477, 479 (Tex.Crim.App.1977); Ex parte Hunt, 138 S.W.3d 503 (Tex.App.-Fort Worth 2004, pet. ref'd); Ex parte Simpson, 77 S.W.3d 894, 898 (Tex.App.-Tyler 2002, no pet.); DePena v. State, 56 S.W.3d 926, 927 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2001, no pet.); Brown v. State, 11 S.W.3d 501 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2000, no pet.); see also Ex parte Rubac, 611 S.W.2d 848, 849 (Tex.Crim.App. [Panel Op.] 1981). The primary purpose of a bail bond is to secure the accused’s presence in court. . Vasquez, 558 S.W.2d at 479. The accused has the burden to prove that bail is excessive. Id.

We review the trial court’s ruling on a request to reduce bail under an abuse of discretion standard. See Rubac, 611 S.W.2d at 850; see also Crim. Proc. art. 17.15 (giving trial court discretion to set amount of bail). As such, we will not disturb the trial court’s ruling if it was within the zone of reasonable disagree[303]*303ment. Montgomery v. State, 810 S.W.2d 372, 391 (Tex.Crim.App.1991).

The record from the hearing on Jobe’s application shows that he was indigent. Although Jobe did not testify at the hearing, his financial information sheet was admitted into evidence as an exhibit at the hearing. The only witness to testify at the hearing was Jobe’s father. He testified that Jobe was twenty-one years old át that time. Jobe had been raised by his father, a single parent, and had lived in Midland for the past fifteen years. Jobe had no criminal history or juvenile record. He had attended high school in Midland, but he did not graduate from high school. Before he was arrested, Jobe worked at Starbucks as a barista.

If Jobe had obtained a passport, his father was not aware of it. However, Jobe had no connection with any relative in another country. Jobe has a lot of family in Midland, and according to Jobe’s father, “family is everything to him.”

Jobe’s father testified that, if bond were set at an affordable amount, Jobe could reside with him. Jobe’s father had several guns, and he agreed to remove the ones that had not been taken by the police from his house. He also said that he would not have any problem with Jobe wearing an ankle monitor. According to Jobe’s father, Jobe has no car, no property, no stocks or bonds, no house, no wife, and no children. Jobe’s financial sheet likewise indicated that he had no assets and no money.

Jobe’s father did not testify concerning his own financial resources or the resources of any other family member, nor did he testify about any efforts that had been made with respect to securing bail for Jobe. Although no evidence was offered regarding what amount of bail Jobe or his family members could afford, Jobe’s attorney requested that bail be reduced to $100,000.

In addition to evidence related to Jobe’s indigence and ties to the community, evidence about the nature of the crime was also introduced at the hearing. The affidavit in support of Jobe’s arrest warrant was admitted as an exhibit. The affidavit ■indicated that, around 2:30 a.m. on July 17, 2015, emergency personnel responded to a “shooting/structure fire.” Aaron Mitchell Jarmon and a nineteen-year-old female had been shot and killed, and the structure in. which they lived .had been set on fire. The affidavit reflects that Jobe and cocon-spirator Ryan David Green sought out Jar-mon.-at the behest of Trace. Ryan Roland, the third ■coconspirator.

Witnesses at the scene reported that two males in dark clothing came to the front door of their résidence. One of the men wás armed with an assault-type rifle, and the other had á handgun. The men indicated that they were looking for “Aaron.” The witnesses informed the two men that Jarmon was in a shed adjacent’to the residence.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
482 S.W.3d 300, 2016 Tex. App. LEXIS 571, 2016 WL 269221, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/jobe-v-state-texapp-2016.