Joshua David McIntosh v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided February 28, 2019·No. 02-17-00378-CR·Published

Opinion

In the

Court of Appeals Second Appellate District of Texas at Fort Worth

No. 02-17-00378-CR

JOSHUA DAVID MCINTOSH, Appellant V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS

On Appeal from the 396th District Court Tarrant County, Texas Trial Court No. 1479308D

Before Gabriel, Kerr, and Pittman, JJ.

Memorandum Opinion by Justice Gabriel

MEMORANDUM OPINION

A grand jury indicted appellant Joshua David McIntosh with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 46.04(a). While that is generally a third-degree felony carrying a maximum prison term of ten years, McIntosh’s indictment contained a paragraph alleging that at the time of his offense, he had a prior felony conviction in Illinois for aggravated battery. See id. §§ 12.34(a), 46.04(e). Consequently, as an alleged habitual felony offender, McIntosh’s potential punishment range increased to a maximum twenty-year prison term. See id. §§ 12.33(a), 12.42(a). A jury convicted him of the charged offense, and the trial court assessed his punishment at the maximum twenty-year term of confinement. McIntosh appeals in three issues. We affirm.

I. BACKGROUND

On December 5, 2016, McIntosh was involved in a single-vehicle accident: the car he had been driving left the roadway and struck a wooden electrical pole. Latonya Lockett, who was driving a school bus for the Fort Worth ISD, came upon the accident scene and stopped because the road was obstructed with debris. McIntosh ran to Lockett’s bus screaming for help. When he reached the door, Lockett cracked the door slightly to ask him if she needed to call 911. McIntosh attempted to step on the bus, which prompted Lockett to tell him that he was not allowed to get on the bus but that she would call 911 for him. McIntosh boarded the bus anyway. At the time, there was one student on the bus.

McIntosh was wearing a black hoodie, and Lockett noticed the butt of a gun in the hoodie’s pocket. Lockett called 911 to report the accident, but she did not report that McIntosh had a gun because she feared he might use it if he learned that she had seen it. From Lockett’s perspective, McIntosh was acting “[v]ery crazy, as if someone was after him,” yet Lockett did not see anyone who actually was after McIntosh. When some firefighters arrived, Lockett got their attention by sounding the bus’s horn, and she made a motion with her hand in an attempt to alert them that McIntosh had a gun.

James Chastain, a fireman with the Fort Worth Fire Department, approached the bus and started to board when Lockett asked him to get McIntosh off the bus. Chastain asked McIntosh to get off the bus, and McIntosh replied that he wanted the police to come, that he was not getting off the bus, and that nobody else was getting off the bus, either. McIntosh told Chastain that he was being followed and chased, though Chastain did not see anyone chasing McIntosh. Chastain attempted to place himself between McIntosh and Lockett and the student, but McIntosh became agitated and started putting his hands in his hoodie’s pocket. Chastain noticed that McIntosh had a gun in the pocket and that McIntosh was pointing the muzzle toward him. So in an effort to calm McIntosh down, Chastain backed up and stood at the door of the bus. With the assistance of other firefighters, Chastain was able to get the student off the bus.

About that time, Fort Worth police officer Matthew McCormick arrived having been dispatched for a call that an erratic male had boarded a school bus and was being hostile. Officer McCormick initially approached the school bus with his Taser drawn and saw that McIntosh had his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. Officer McCormick told McIntosh to show his hands, but McIntosh did not comply. Shortly after this happened, Lockett was able to exit the bus. Officer McCormick then noticed that McIntosh had a handgun in the hoodie’s pocket and that McIntosh was pointing the gun at him, which led Officer McCormick to draw his firearm. When backup arrived, Officer McCormick was able to disarm McIntosh, and although McIntosh struggled and tried to resist, the police officers were eventually able to remove him from the bus and arrest him.

After his arrest, the trial court appointed counsel to represent Mcintosh. But before trial, McIntosh requested to represent himself, a request the trial court granted. He was later convicted for the charged offense and sentenced to twenty years’ confinement.

II. THE TRIAL COURT DID NOT ABUSE ITS DISCRETION BY GRANTING MCINTOSH’S REQUEST TO REPRESENT HIMSELF

In his first issue, McIntosh argues the trial court reversibly erred by granting his request to represent himself or, alternatively, by not appointing standby counsel for him.

A. APPLICABLE LAW AND STANDARD OF REVIEW The Constitution guarantees a defendant the right to assistance of counsel in a criminal prosecution. Gideon v. Wainwright, 372 U.S. 335, 339–45 (1963); Lopez v. State, 343 S.W.3d 137, 142 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011). It also affords a defendant who validly waives his right to assistance of counsel the right to represent himself. Godinez v. Moran, 509 U.S. 389, 400, 402 (1993); Faretta v. California, 422 U.S. 806, 807 (1975); Collier v. State, 959 S.W.2d 621, 625 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). A waiver of counsel is valid if it was made competently, knowingly and intelligently, and voluntarily. Godinez, 509 U.S. at 400, 402; Faretta, 422 U.S. at 807; Collier, 959 S.W.2d at 625.

The competency that is required to waive the right to counsel is the competence to waive the right, not the competence to represent oneself. Godinez, 509 U.S. at 400. The decision to waive counsel and proceed pro se is made “knowingly and intelligently” if it is made with a full understanding of the right to counsel being abandoned, as well as the dangers and disadvantages of self- representation. Fletcher v. State, 474 S.W.3d 389, 395–96 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015, pet. ref’d) (citing Faretta, 422 U.S. at 835–36; Cudjo v. State, 345 S.W.3d 177, 184 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2011, pet. ref’d)). The decision is made “voluntarily” if it is uncoerced. Id. at 396 (citing Godinez, 509 U.S. at 401 n.12). As we have previously said,

A trial court need follow no formulaic questioning or particular script in ascertaining the knowing and voluntary nature of a defendant’s waiver of counsel. However, if such factors are not otherwise apparent from the

record, a trial court’s inquiry regarding the defendant’s waiver of counsel should center on his background, age, experience, and education. The defendant should be aware that there are technical rules of evidence and procedure, and he will not be granted any special consideration solely because he asserted his pro se rights.

Cofer v. State, No. 02-16-00101-CR, 2017 WL 3821885, at *2 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth Aug. 31, 2017, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication) (citations omitted). The trial court’s inquiry is not whether the defendant has the skill and experience necessary to represent himself effectively; rather, it is whether the defendant is aware of the disadvantages of self-representation and makes the choice to represent himself with “eyes open.” See Lathem v. State, 514 S.W.3d 796, 803–04 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2017, no pet.).

We review the trial court’s decision to allow for self-representation for an abuse of discretion. See Chadwick v. State, 309 S.W.3d 558, 561 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010); McCain v. State, No. 02-17-00210-CR, 2018 WL 3059964, at *5 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth June 21, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication).

B. MCINTOSH’S WAIVER OF COUNSEL WAS KNOWINGLY AND INTELLIGENTLY MADE

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