Joseph Urtado v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided February 16, 2011·No. 03-09-00646-CR·Published

Opinion

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN




NO. 03-09-00646-CR

Joseph Urtado, Appellant



v.



The State of Texas, Appellee



FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY, 403RD JUDICIAL DISTRICT

NO. D-1-DC-09-904068, HONORABLE BRENDA KENNEDY, JUDGE PRESIDING

O P I N I O N

Appellant Joseph Urtado appeals from his conviction of three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault. Punishment was assessed by a jury at 55 years' confinement on each of the first two counts of aggravated assault, 15 years' confinement on the third count of aggravated assault, one year's confinement on the first count of assault, and a $500 fine on the second count of assault, with all sentences to run concurrently. We affirm the judgments of conviction.



BACKGROUND

At the time of the incident giving rise to Urtado's arrest, Urtado was sharing a house with two roommates, Noah Jones and David Galvan. According to the testimony presented at trial, Urtado's girlfriend, Ana Trujillo, was also staying at the house, as was Jones's girlfriend, Raven Cazares.

In the early morning hours of March 18, 2009, Galvan and his girlfriend, Ashley Quiroga, returned to the house after celebrating Galvan's birthday at bars and clubs in downtown Austin. Quiroga testified that she had gone upstairs with Galvan and was helping him get into bed when she heard the sound of someone screaming on the first floor of the house. Quiroga exited the bedroom and observed Urtado dragging Trujillo up the stairs by her hair. Quiroga stated that when she attempted to intervene, Urtado became angry and punched her in the forehead, causing her to fly backwards and hit her head on the doorframe.

Galvan testified that after seeing Quiroga "fl[y] against the wall," he jumped out of bed and confronted Urtado. Urtado then pushed him and the two began wrestling. Galvan testified that at some point during the struggle, Urtado pulled out a knife and began to stab him. Quiroga's testimony is consistent with the statement, as she testified that she saw a knife in Urtado's hands during the initial struggle between Urtado and Galvan. The physician who treated Galvan after the incident testified that Galvan suffered lacerations on his arm, temple, cheekbone, rib cage, and back, as well as a life-threatening laceration on his neck that was fifteen centimeters long. Photographs of Galvan's wounds were also entered into evidence.

According to Quiroga, Jones eventually intervened and the struggle ended. When asked "Was there a break at this point?" Quiroga answered, "I think so." Quiroga also testified that Jones is trained as a nurse, and that he maneuvered Galvan "into the restroom to figure out where he was bleeding from and just try to take care of him in the restroom and get away from the whole situation." While Galvan was in the restroom with Jones, Quiroga called 9-1-1. A recording of the 9-1-1 call was entered into evidence. While Quiroga was on the phone with the dispatcher, Galvan emerged from the restroom and Urtado attacked him again. According to Quiroga, Urtado was "waving his knife everywhere, and then he cuts [Galvan] across the back with the knife." Quiroga further testified that Urtado stated, "I'm going to kill you all," while still holding the knife in his hand. Galvan also testified regarding this second incident, stating that Urtado tackled him to the ground and punched him repeatedly until Jones pulled Urtado away. Galvan initially testified that Urtado did not use the knife during the second attack, but then stated, "I'm actually not positive." He later explained, "I wasn't sure . . . how many times I was stabbed. I just know that I was stabbed."

Trujillo also testified at trial, stating that on the evening in question, she and Urtado had gone to several clubs and bars in downtown Austin before accepting a ride home from Jones and Cazares. Trujillo testified that in the car on the way home, Urtado "started poking [her] leg with a knife," then held the knife to her throat without speaking. When they returned to the house, Urtado asked her to accompany him upstairs to his bedroom, but she refused. Urtado then became angry and began dragging her up the stairs by the hair, hitting her as he did so. Trujillo further testified that Quiroga attempted to intervene and that Galvan came out and began arguing with Urtado, until Urtado pulled out a knife and stabbed Galvan "towards the head." After stabbing Galvan, Urtado came back and punched Trujillo in the face, saying, "Look what you made me do." Trujillo then fled the house by jumping out of a second-story window.

Jones also testified regarding the events of the evening, stating that he was downstairs putting groceries away when he heard Quiroga scream for help. Jones testified that he walked up in time to see Urtado pull Trujillo up the stairs, Quiroga fly across the room as if she had been pushed, and Urtado stab Galvan with the knife. Jones also testified that he attempted to treat Galvan's stab wounds in the restroom, but that after Galvan left the restroom, the two men "got into it again." Regarding this second incident, Jones stated, "I guess [Urtado] goes into trying to stab him again and [Galvan] keeps wiggling away, and he was pretty quick, but he did get a bunch of slices from him." With the help of another friend who was in the house at the time, Jones eventually pulled Urtado off of Galvan. Jones testified that Urtado then took a step backwards and fell down the stairs. After Urtado got up and left the house, Jones locked the door behind him.

Urtado testified on his own behalf at trial and presented a different version of the facts than the one testified to by Trujillo, Galvan, Quiroga, and Jones. Urtado testified that shortly after returning to the house from downtown, he became upset with Trujillo because she would not accompany him upstairs to his bedroom. Urtado denied punching Trujillo or pulling her by the hair, stating, "I did get upset and I grabbed her, but I grabbed her by her shoulder. . . . I started taking her up the stairs, pulling her up the stairs." Urtado testified that when he reached the top of the stairs, Galvan came out of his bedroom and "said something like don't be putting your hands on a female." According to Urtado, he and Galvan then cursed at each other until Galvan pushed Quiroga to the side, causing her to bump her head, and the two men began fighting. Urtado stated that this first fight was limited to fist-fighting, and that it ended when he "dropped" Galvan and went into his bedroom to look for Trujillo. At that point, Urtado discovered that Trujillo had jumped out of the second-story window.

Urtado explained that the second fight began when he exited his bedroom and Galvan came out of a bedroom, "charging" at him. Urtado stated that Galvan came out "running with the knife" and the two men began wrestling again, until the fight was broken up by Jones and another friend. Urtado then turned to go downstairs and leave the house, but Galvan hit him in the back of the head. The two began to fight again, ultimately rolling down the stairs together. At that point, Urtado pushed Galvan away and ran outside. He wa

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