Kenya Deshune McGuire v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided April 16, 2020·No. 14-18-00403-CR·Published

Opinion

Affirmed and Opinion filed April 16, 2020.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

NO. 14-18-00403-CR

KENYA DESHUNE MCGUIRE, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 178th District Court Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 1536476

OPINION

Appellant Kenya Deshune McGuire appeals his conviction for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 29.03(a)(2). In two issues, Appellant contends the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress Complainant’s pretrial identification and in-trial identification. We affirm.

BACKGROUND

Complainant lived with his parents and sister in a subdivision in Cypress,

Texas. Since his graduation from high school in 2009, Complainant sold marijuana for a living. He usually sold marijuana from his car to people he knew from high school; he did not sell to strangers.

In the late afternoon on September 23, 2016, Complainant was in his parents’

garage waiting for his acquaintance, Damien Washington, to arrive and purchase one pound of marijuana. Complainant met Washington about a year and a half before through a friend and had sold marijuana to him in the past. Complainant was in the garage with two friends when Washington arrived in a white Lexus sports utility vehicle. Washington got out of the car and started walking up the driveway. As Washington was walking, Complainant noticed the passenger door open and a man exiting the car and also walking up the driveway. Complainant did not immediately recognize the man but then remembered seeing him before at the neighborhood corner store.

Because Complainant and Washington agreed that Washington would come alone, Complainant allowed only Washington to enter the garage. Washington and Complainant went to the back of the garage where Complainant had placed the marijuana on top of a desk. While Washington inspected the marijuana, Washington’s companion entered the garage. Washington started negotiating the price for the marijuana and the companion walked up closer to look at the marijuana. The companion then reached around Washington, grabbed Washington’s pistol from his waistband, pointed the pistol at Complainant, and threatened to kill Complainant. Complainant recognized the pistol as the Smith & Wesson black and silver pistol he had seen in Washington’s car. When the companion pulled out Washington’s gun, Washington called the companion “Keny” and asked him “What are you doing?”

The companion continued to point the pistol at Complainant and instructed

Washington to “get the weed.” Washington grabbed the bag of marijuana from the desk and proceeded to look through all the desk drawers until he found another bag of marijuana. Washington then backed up and went to Complainant’s car; he took about $2,000 from Complainant’s glove compartment. Meanwhile, Complainant’s “sister hear[d] yelling”, opened the door from the house to the garage, and asked “What’s going on?” The companion pointed the gun at Complainant’s sister and she immediately slammed the door shut. The companion then continued to point the pistol at Complainant and threatened to kill him. After Washington took the money from Complainant’s car, he and the companion walked backwards out of the garage. The companion continued to point the pistol at Complainant until he and Washington drove away.

After Washington and the companion fled the scene, Complainant’s mother called 9-1-1 to report the robbery. Complainant told the operator he knew Washington, provided Washington’s full name, and described him as a 35-yearold , 220-pound, 6’2 tall man. Although Complainant did not know the other robber’s real name, he told the operator he believed the robber’s name was “Keyan” or “Kekan” and described the robber as a light-skinned, bald-headed man with a star tattoo on his neck. Thereafter, the police arrived at Complainant’s house, and he “told them what happened.”

Harris County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Salazar was assigned to investigate the robbery. He arrested Washington on January 4, 2017. Washington told Deputy Salazar that the name of the other robber is “Kenya McGuire.” Upon learning this information, Deputy Salazar created a photospread using a photo of Appellant and five other men of the same race and with similar features and hair. He also attempted to match Appellant’s neck tattoo.

Complainant was asked to come to the police station to review photospreads

on January 5, 2017. Deputy Salazar prepared two folders, each containing a black- and-white and an in-color photospread. The photospreads in folder 1 depicted the same individuals as contained in the photospreads in folder 2, except the individuals were arranged differently. Deputy Salazar provided Complainant with instructions for viewing the photospreads and placed the two folders on the desk. Complainant randomly picked folder 2 and viewed the black-and-white and the in- color photospreads contained therein. Within 10 to 15 seconds of viewing the photospread, Complainant identified Appellant as the individual who had pointed the pistol at him. Complainant circled Appellant’s photo and wrote next to it: “Pointed gun at me and sister.”

Appellant was indicted for aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon. A jury convicted Appellant of the charged offense and assessed his punishment at 45 years’ confinement and a $10,000 fine. Appellant filed a timely appeal.

ANALYSIS

Appellant argues in his first issue that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress Complainant’s pretrial identification of him because it was procured by an impermissibly suggestive procedure and “there is a substantial likelihood of misidentification in this case.” Appellant argues in his second issue that the trial court erroneously denied his motion to suppress Complainant’s in- court identification because it was unreliable.

I. Standard of Review

We review a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress evidence for abuse of discretion. State v. Ruiz, 577 S.W.3d 543, 545 (Tex. Crim. App. 2019). We afford almost total deference to a trial court’s determination of historical facts. Id. In a suppression hearing, the trial court is the sole trier of fact and judge of the

credibility of the witnesses and the weight to be given their testimony. Valtierra v. State, 310 S.W.3d 442, 447 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010); Aviles-Barroso v. State, 477 S.W.3d 363, 380 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2015, pet. ref’d). The trial court is entitled to believe or disbelieve all or part of a witness’s testimony, even if that testimony is uncontroverted, because the trial court has the opportunity to observe the witness’s demeanor and appearance. Valtierra, 310 S.W.3d at 447; Aviles-Barroso, 477 S.W.3d at 380.

If the trial court makes express findings of fact, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to its ruling and determine whether the evidence supports these factual findings. Valtierra, 310 S.W.3d at 447; State v. Smith, 335 S.W.3d 706, 714 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2011, pet. ref’d).

We review a trial court’s application of the law to the facts de novo. Ruiz, 577 S.W.3d at 545; Aviles-Barroso, 477 S.W.3d at 380; see also Valtierra, 310 S.W.3d at 447. We will sustain the trial court’s ruling if that ruling is reasonably supported by the record and is correct on any theory of law applicable to the case. Ruiz, 577 S.W.3d at 545; Adams v. State, 397 S.W.3d 760, 763 (Tex. App.— Houston [14th Dist.] 2013, no pet.).

II. Pretrial Identification

We begin by addressing Appellant’s contention that the trial court should not have admitted any evidence regarding Complainant’s pretrial identification of Appellant because it resulted from an unduly suggestive identification procedure.

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