Kevin Debnam v. the State of Texas

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided June 28, 2023·No. 04-22-00177-CR·Published

Opinion

Fourth Court of Appeals

San Antonio, Texas

MEMORANDUM OPINION

No. 04-22-00177-CR

Kevin DEBNAM,

Appellant

v.

The STATE of Texas,

Appellee

From the 187th Judicial District Court, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. 2019CR6484 Honorable Stephanie R. Boyd, Judge Presiding

Opinion by: Patricia O. Alvarez, Justice

Sitting: Patricia O. Alvarez, Justice Beth Watkins, Justice

Lori I. Valenzuela, Justice

Delivered and Filed: June 28, 2023 AFFIRMED This appeal concerns the admission of evidence against Appellant Kevin Debnam at his trial for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

BACKGROUND

One evening after dark, Michael Crews discovered Debnam burglarizing his car. Debnam was inside the car, which was parked in the Crews’ driveway. Michael pulled Debnam out of the car and began to fight him. While fighting him, Michael heard a loud bang. He realized the bang

came from Debnam’s gun. Michael continued fighting Debnam, keeping him close to prevent Debnam from aiming his gun at him. The gun went off again but did not strike Michael.

Jacqueline Crews, Michael’s wife, came out of the house to investigate the gunshot sounds.

She saw Michael fighting with Debnam. Michael yelled for Jacqueline to get his brother, Drew. Jacqueline went inside to find Drew. While inside, Jacqueline grabbed her phone to call 911.

When Drew stepped outside the house, he found Michael fighting with Debnam and joined in the fight. Then Michael heard Drew scream, “He stabbed me! He stabbed me!” The men scrambled to take Debnam’s knife, and Debnam bit Drew on the hand.

Michael’s neighbor, Michael Tovar, heard the gunshots. It took him a moment to figure out where the sound had originated, but once he collected his flashlight and used it to illuminate the Crews’ driveway, he saw that Debnam had a gun and that Michael was holding Debnam in a chokehold. Tovar approached the men and stepped on Debnam’s wrist to remove the gun from his hand. Michael either asked Tovar for his help or to call the police. Tovar took the gun to his house and placed it on his porch while he waited for the police. Michael and Drew held Debnam down until police arrived.

Debnam was charged with aggravated assault for shooting a deadly weapon at Michael.

At trial, a jury heard the witnesses testify on the altercation in the Crews’ driveway and watched a video of San Antonio Police Department’s Detective Michael Alvarez’s interview with Debnam about the assault. The jury convicted Debnam of the aggravated assault, as charged. The trial court sentenced Debnam to thirteen years in prison. Debnam now appeals the judgment, arguing that much of the evidence against him was erroneously admitted.

APPELLANT’S ISSUES

In this appeal, Debnam raises four issues. First, he argues that the trial court erroneously admitted a 911 call recording because the statements in the recording were testimonial and did not

properly qualify as excited utterances. Second, he argues that the trial court should not have admitted testimony regarding a stabbing that occurred during the aggravated assault, because the allegation amounted to an uncharged and therefore extraneous act under Texas Rule of Evidence 404(b). Third, he argues that the trial court should not have re-admitted or considered evidence of the stabbing in the punishment phase. Fourth, he argues that the trial court erroneously admitted and published a recording of his interrogation though he could be heard requesting an attorney.

In addressing Debnam’s issues on appeal, we will begin with Debnam’s constitutional claims.

INTERROGATION VIDEO EVIDENCE AT TRIAL A. Parties’ Arguments Debnam argues that he requested an attorney during his interrogation by Detective Alvarez, that this request could be heard in his interrogation video as it was being published to the jury, and that any statements following his request should not have been published to the jury. He argues that the continued publication of his interrogation after his request could be heard on the video violated his constitutional rights.

The State contends that 1) Debnam waived his argument by failing to identify at trial where his request for counsel occurs in the interrogation video, 2) he inadequately briefed his complaint by similarly failing to identify where in the interrogation video his request for counsel occurs, and 3) he failed to establish harm. B. Standard of Review In general, this court reviews a trial court’s evidentiary rulings for an abuse of discretion.

See Hernandez v. State, 825 S.W.2d 765, 770 (Tex. App.—El Paso 1992, no pet.). In reviewing a trial court’s decision to admit confession evidence obtained during a police interrogation, this court reviews de novo those questions not turning on credibility and demeanor. See Umana v. State,

447 S.W.3d 346, 351 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2014, pet. ref’d) (citing Guzman v. State, 955 S.W.2d 85, 89 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997)). C. Law Generally, a coerced confession 1 should not be admitted at trial.2 See Zuliani v. State, 903 S.W.2d 812, 820 (Tex. App.—Austin 1995, pet. ref’d). If a coerced confession is presented at trial, and the accused properly objects, 3 then the trial court can reasonably be expected to sustain the objection. See Herrera v. State, 241 S.W.3d 520, 538 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (Johnson, J., dissenting); accord Zuliani, 903 S.W.2d at 820. This may be true, even if the objection occurs after admission and during publication of the confession evidence. See Mendoza v. State, No. 08- 17-00230-CR, 2019 WL 6271271, at *4 (Tex. App.—El Paso Nov. 25, 2019, pet. ref’d) (mem. op., not designated for publication) (citing Lankston v. State, 827 S.W.2d 907, 909 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992)). D. Analysis Here, Debnam’s attorney objected to the continued publication of the State’s interrogation video at trial when he believed he heard Debnam request an attorney. See Mendoza, 2019 WL 6271271, at *4. The trial court excused the jury to review Debnam’s objection and the interrogation video. Outside the presence of the jury, the State re-played the portion of the video

1 A confession may be considered coerced, for example, if it is obtained through continued questioning after a suspect has requested an attorney. See Muniz v. State, 851 S.W.2d 238, 253 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993) (citing Smith v. Illinois, 469 U.S. 91, 98 (1984)). 2 This rule is not without exceptions, such as “door opening” by the accused. See Leday v. State, 983 S.W.2d 713, 716 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998); Lykins v. State, 784 S.W.2d 32, 36 (Tex. Crim. App. 1989) (citing Harris v. New York, 401 U.S. 222, 226 (1971)). 3 A proper objection depends on whether 1) the accused objects as soon as the basis for his objection becomes apparent and 2) the accused states his objection with sufficient specificity (or the grounds for the objection are contextually apparent). See TEX. R. EVID. 103(a)(1); Mendoza v. State, No. 08-17-00230-CR, 2019 WL 6271271, at *4 (Tex. App.—El Paso Nov. 25, 2019, pet. ref’d) (mem. op., not designated for publication) (citing London v. State, 490 S.W.3d 503, 507 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016)).

that elicited Debnam’s objection. 4 See Lankston, 827 S.W.2d at 909. The State argued, and the trial court agreed, that no request for counsel could be heard. Debnam’s attorney maintained his objection that a request for counsel could be heard. The trial court overruled Debnam’s objection.

In reviewing the interrogation video de novo, we agree that a request for counsel could not be heard in the recording. We conclude that the trial court did not err in overruling Debnam’s objection. See Umana, 447 S.W.3d at 351. Accordingly, we do not reach the State’s argument concerning harm. See Zuliani, 903 S.W.2d at 823.

Debnam’s fourth issue concerning the interrogation video evidence is overruled. We now move on to Debnam’s first issue, the admission of 911 call evidence.

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