Keith O'Bryant Mosley v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 12, 2003
Docket07-02-00178-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Keith O'Bryant Mosley v. State (Keith O'Bryant Mosley 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
Keith O'Bryant Mosley v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2003).

Opinion

NO. 07-02-0178-CR

NO. 07-02-0179-CR



IN THE COURT OF APPEALS



FOR THE SEVENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS



AT AMARILLO



PANEL D



AUGUST 12, 2003



______________________________



KEITH O'BRYANT MOSLEY, APPELLANT



V.



THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE



_________________________________



FROM THE 9
TH DISTRICT COURT OF WALLER COUNTY;



NO. 10712 & 10713; HONORABLE WOODY R. DENSEN, JUDGE



_______________________________



Before QUINN and REAVIS and CAMPBELL, JJ.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

A jury convicted appellant Keith O'Bryant Mosley of two Delivery of a Controlled Substance offenses following his pleas of not guilty, and the trial court assessed as punishment concurrent twenty year sentences and $10,000 fines. In five issues appellant complains: (1) the State suppressed exculpatory evidence; (2) the complaining witnesses' in-court identification of him was tainted by an impermissibly suggestive pretrial identification procedure; (3) he was denied the right to confront and cross-examine witnesses; (4) the trial court erred in not conducting a hearing to determine the admissibility of scientific evidence; and (5) the evidence is legally insufficient to support the conviction. The State failed to file a brief responding to appellant's claims. Accordingly, we have treated that dereliction as a confession of error and conducted an independent examination of the merits of appellant's claims. Siverand v. State, 89 S.W.3d 216, 220 (Tex.App.--Corpus Christi 2002, no pet.). Based upon the following rationale, we reform the judgment of the trial court and, as reformed, affirm.

On October 26, 1999, undercover narcotics officers Lisa Gartman and Steve Duong each purchased a substance alleged to be dihydrocodeinone (1) from a man who had gold teeth and who was known to them as Bean Papa. In an effort to maintain their covers, the officers did not immediately arrest Bean Papa. Instead, Gartman and Duong transported the substances to the Department of Public Safety's (DPS) Crime Lab for testing, then began an investigation into Bean Papa's true identity. After discovering that Bean Papa's given name was Keith O'Bryant Mosley, the officers obtained a driver's license photograph of appellant from DPS. Upon viewing the photo, Gartman and Duong confirmed appellant was the individual from whom they purchased codeine on October 26, 1999. In June of 2001, the Waller County grand jury returned two sealed indictments against appellant for Delivery of a Controlled Substance. Appellant was ultimately arrested on August 6, 2001.

The two cases were consolidated in a single trial in February of 2002. Gartman and Duong testified they met appellant for the first time on the day of the offense. The officers explained they were introduced to appellant by an individual named Bailey, with whom they had been acquainted for approximately three weeks. On previous occasions, Gartman and Duong had purchased marihuana from Bailey but expressed an interest on October 26, 1999, in obtaining "liquid" or "syrup," street names for codeine. After Bailey introduced Gartman and Duong to him, the officers each purchased a quantity of "liquid" from appellant. The chemist who tested the substances agreed with the prosecutor's assertion that each was "a mixture, compound, material, or preparation that contain[ed] limited quantities of not more than 300 milligrams of dihydrocodeinone per 100 milliliters per dosage unit with one or more narcotic units in recognized therapeutic amounts." According to the chemist, one of the controlled substances weighed 58.18 grams, including adulterants and dilutants, while the other weighed 107.14 grams.

Appellant's sister Dominique Mosley testified appellant previously had only one gold tooth, but that she accompanied him when the "[o]ne was taken out, and the grill put on." Mosley further advised, "I know they call it a gold grill . . . the teeth are across the front . . . I'm thinking it's four [teeth]." Finally, Mosley acknowledged her brother went by the nickname Bean Papa.

Appellant was present during a portion of the court-tried punishment case, but absconded about half-way through the trial. Appellant was not present when the trial court sentenced him on February 14, 2002. Recognizing the illegality of a sentence pronounced against a criminal defendant in abstentia, the trial court conducted another sentencing hearing on June 20, 2002, at which appellant appeared in person and through his attorney. (2) The judgment in each case reflects the "Date Sentence Imposed" as February 14, 2002; however, the correct sentencing date is June 20, 2002.

Neither the State nor appellant has addressed the erroneous sentencing date reflected in the judgment. Indeed, the State has not so much as favored this Court with a letter waiving its opportunity to file a brief. Our authority to reform incorrect judgments, however, is not dependent upon the request of any party, nor does it turn on the question of whether a party has or has not objected in the trial court. Asberry v. State, 813, S.W.2d 526, 529-30 (Tex.App.-Dallas, 1991, pet. ref'd). Rather, an appellate court may act sua sponte and may have the duty to do so. Id. at 530. We, therefore, reform the judgments in cause numbers 10712 and 10713 to reflect the correct sentencing date of June 20, 2002. (3)

By appellant's first issue, he contends the State suppressed exculpatory evidence. Specifically, appellant complains the State "actively presented a false picture of the facts by failing to correct its own testimony. Additionally, appellant suggests the State failed to disclose a number of pieces of evidence which he characterizes as Brady (4) material. With each of appellant's contentions, we disagree.

With no reference to the record, appellant contends "[t]he DPS chemist repeatedly stated that the dihydrocodeinone was of a certain chemical compound, when, in fact, finally, on cross-examination admitted that he had not performed that test on the dihydrocodeinone in either instance." Appellant suggests the State was aware that the chemist had not performed "the test" but continued to present his testimony nonetheless. According to appellant, the chemist's testimony constituted the presentation of false testimony in violation of Granger v. State, 683 S.W.2d 387 (Tex.Cr.App. 1984). Apart from failing to make record references or present a cogent argument, appellant's assertion is in stark contrast to the record before us.

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Related

Brady v. Maryland
373 U.S. 83 (Supreme Court, 1963)
Simmons v. United States
390 U.S. 377 (Supreme Court, 1968)
Neil v. Biggers
409 U.S. 188 (Supreme Court, 1972)
Manson v. Brathwaite
432 U.S. 98 (Supreme Court, 1977)
Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
United States v. Bagley
473 U.S. 667 (Supreme Court, 1985)
Siverand v. State
89 S.W.3d 216 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Banks v. State
29 S.W.3d 642 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Simmons v. State
100 S.W.3d 484 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2003)
Loserth v. State
963 S.W.2d 770 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1998)
Dixon v. State
2 S.W.3d 263 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Johnson v. State
846 S.W.2d 373 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1993)
Geesa v. State
820 S.W.2d 154 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1991)
State v. DeLeon
971 S.W.2d 701 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1998)
Gutierrez v. State
85 S.W.3d 446 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Marable v. State
85 S.W.3d 287 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Paulson v. State
28 S.W.3d 570 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Granger v. State
683 S.W.2d 387 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1984)
Harvey v. State
3 S.W.3d 170 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Avila v. State
15 S.W.3d 568 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2000)

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Keith O'Bryant Mosley v. State, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/keith-obryant-mosley-v-state-texapp-2003.