Juan Miguel Torres v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedOctober 22, 2009
Docket13-08-00085-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Juan Miguel Torres v. State (Juan Miguel Torres 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.

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Juan Miguel Torres v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2009).

Opinion

NUMBER 13-08-00085-CR

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG

JUAN MIGUEL TORRES, Appellant,

v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee.

On appeal from the 197th District Court of Willacy County, Texas.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Rodriguez and Garza Memorandum Opinion by Justice Garza

Appellant, Juan Miguel Torres, was charged by indictment with two counts of

aggravated assault, a second-degree felony. See TEX . PENAL CODE ANN . § 22.02(a)-(b)

(Vernon Supp. 2008). A jury convicted appellant of both counts, and appellant was

sentenced to two years’ incarceration in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department

of Criminal Justice (“TDCJ-ID”) for the first count and eight years’ incarceration for the

second count. The prison terms were ordered to run concurrently. On appeal, appellant argues that: (1) the evidence supporting his convictions is legally and factually insufficient;

and (2) the trial court erred in overruling his motion to suppress and abused its discretion

in admitting statements made by appellant to police. We affirm.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

The underlying offenses pertained to a fight that transpired on December 28, 2006.

On the evening in question, Samuel Garza, Irene Sanchez, Erin Rodriguez, Greg Lee

Ramirez, Rudy Loya, Eduardo Andrade, and Max Grimaldo were barbecuing at Loya’s

apartment in Raymondville, Texas. Grimaldo testified at trial that during the barbecue, he

received a call from appellant and his brother, Noe Torres, threatening to “fuck [him] up.”

Grimaldo did not think anything of the telephone call, and the barbecue continued. Later

that evening, the group, referred to at trial as “My Block,”1 left the apartment on foot to go

home.

A white Chevrolet Malibu occupied by several girls drove past the group as the My

Block members walked home. As the Malibu drove by, the girls shouted obscenities at the

group. Several My Block members shouted obscenities back at the girls in the Malibu, and

the My Block members subsequently cut through a field near the “Charter School” to avoid

any further confrontations. Shortly thereafter, the Malibu and another car, a brown

Cadillac, surrounded the group. The occupants got out of the cars and began walking

toward the My Block members, throwing rocks as they approached them.2 According to

1 Testim ony at trial established that the group called itself “My Block,” but group m em bers denied that “My Block” was a crim inal street gang.

2 Patrol Supervisor Marcelino Flores, then an investigator with the Raym ondville Police Departm ent, identified the occupants of the cars as Robert Vasquez, Gilbert Vasquez, Nina Guzm an, Martin Vera, Noe Torres, Guadalupe Ram irez, Rolando Mendoza, George Mendoza, and appellant. Later testim ony revealed that several others were present at the scene and involved in the fight, including David and Kenny Villa, Chris Guzm an, and an individual identified as “Casper.” Only the m ales in both groups participated in the fight. The fem ales in both groups watched the fight from afar. 2 Grimaldo, several of the rocks struck My Block members. Rodriguez testified that once

they stopped throwing rocks at the My Block members, the car occupants told one of their

members to get a pipe or some other weapon. Rodriguez noted that the My Block

members were severely outnumbered and that a fight ensued.3

Several witnesses stated that the fighting lasted five or six minutes, but the entire

confrontation lasted thirty to forty minutes. Garza testified that the car occupants started

the fight and that he was attacked by several people, including appellant. Garza noted that

he received cuts on his arm and a stab wound on the side of his body. Garza recalled that

appellant used a knife to cut his arm and that Noe stabbed him in the side of his body.4

Grimaldo testified that he was attacked by several different people, including Robert

Vasquez, Gilbert Vasquez, and Rolando Mendoza. Grimaldo further testified that Rolando

brought a knife to the fight and that Rolando used that knife to stab him in the side of his

body. As a result of their stab wounds and cuts, Garza and Grimaldo were hospitalized for

several days.

At trial, the State called most of the My Block members to testify about the fight. All

of the witnesses testified that Grimaldo and Garza were stabbed during the fight and that

the fight had occurred in a dimly lit field, which limited visibility. Only Grimaldo and Garza

recalled seeing knives being used by the car occupants. Furthermore, several of the

witnesses testified that they did not recall that any weapons were used during the fight and

that they believed the fight was solely a fist fight. Rodriguez, however, stated that she saw

one of the car occupants using a weapon “like a stick.” In any event, after Noe stabbed

3 Loya and several other My Block m em bers testified that they did not desire to fight appellant and his friends.

4 Investigator Flores testified that based on his law enforcem ent experience, a knife is a deadly weapon that can cause serious bodily injury. 3 Garza, the groups dispersed and the My Block members asked a local resident to call for

help. Police investigating the scene found pools of blood and a bloody shirt at the scene.

No weapons were found.

The following day, appellant voluntarily went to the Raymondville police station to

give a statement about what occurred that night. Appellant was interviewed on December

29, 2006, at 1:10 p.m.5 Prior to questioning appellant, police read appellant his Miranda

rights, and appellant initialed the document explaining the Miranda rights. See generally

Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966). During the interview, appellant admitted that he

had a knife that evening and that he brought the knife to the fight. Appellant also stated

that he could not read. Raymondville Police Department Patrol Supervisor Marcelino

Flores testified that he was aware that appellant could not read but that he was unaware

that appellant allegedly could not write. However, Flores noted that he asked appellant

whether he understood the Miranda rights that were read to him, and appellant told him

that he understood his rights and subsequently initialed the document explaining his rights.

Flores also testified that in the interview, appellant later denied using a weapon at the fight

and accused Rolando of bringing a knife to the fight. Appellant told Flores that “we gave

all of our stuff to Nina and we were expecting to have a clean fight.”

On September 13, 2007, appellant, among others, was indicted on two counts of

aggravated assault for the injuries sustained by Grimaldo and Garza during the fight. Both

counts provided that appellant and the others “intentionally, knowing[ly], or recklessly

cause[d] serious bodily injury to” Grimaldo and Garza by “a deadly weapon, to wit: a sharp

5 This interview was videotaped, and the videotape was adm itted into evidence at trial without objection.

4 instrument, during the commission of said assault . . . .”6

Appellant’s case was later severed from the cases of his co-defendants, and the trial

court, on October 18, 2007, conducted a hearing on appellant’s oral motion to suppress

all of the statements he made to police during his December 29, 2006 interview.

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