Lookingbill v. State

855 S.W.2d 66, 1993 WL 132592
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 3, 1993
Docket13-91-007-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 855 S.W.2d 66 (Lookingbill 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
Lookingbill v. State, 855 S.W.2d 66, 1993 WL 132592 (Tex. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

OPINION

FEDERICO G. HINOJOSA, Jr., Justice.

A jury found appellant guilty of attempted capital murder, and the trial court found enhancement allegations to be true and assessed appellant’s punishment at 75 years’ confinement. By twenty points of error, appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and complains that the trial court 1) discussed the enhancement allegations before the venire during voir dire, 2) admitted evidence of an extraneous offense, 3) permitted an unqualified witness to testify, 4) disqualified a competent juror, 5) allowed improper final argument, 6) commented on the weight of the evidence, and 7) admitted statements taken in violation of law. We affirm the trial court’s judgment.

Appellant murdered his grandmother and attempted to murder his grandfather shortly before midnight on December 4, 1989. Appellant, who lived with the victims, entered their home looking for money and hit both grandparents on the head with a metal bar, giving them serious injuries. He took money, telephoned the operator, requested E.M.S. and police assistance, and ran to a neighbor’s home, yelling that his grandparents had been beaten. Sergeant Alaniz was the first officer to arrive at the scene, followed by Officer Avila in a second vehicle. Investigator Garcia and Lieutenant Soto arrived shortly thereafter. Sergeant Alaniz first checked the victims and then radioed for medical assistance. Appellant told the officers that he had just arrived at the house by motorcycle and found that his grandparents had been beaten. The police officers noticed blood on appellant’s boots and jacket sleeves. Officer Avila further determined that the motorcycle and the car on the premises had colder engines than would be expected of vehicles driven as recently as appellant stated. While outside, Sergeant Alaniz heard a noise in the tool shed and saw appellant coming from it. A short time later, the officers found appellant’s blood splattered jacket in a closet.

While medical personnel were administering care to the victims, appellant began hovering over them, so Laura Neubauer, a fire department volunteer escorted appellant outside to comfort him and to prevent him from interfering with the medics. Since appellant was the primary witness and a relative of the victims, Officer Avila took him to the station to gain information. Ms. Neubauer rode to the police station with appellant and remained with him in the front room of the police station for what “could have been thirty minutes or whatever.”

Lieutenant Soto returned to the station and noticed the splattered blood on appellant’s clothing. Soto asked appellant for the clothing and then told Alaniz to read appellant the Miranda warnings. Soto then returned to the crime scene to obtain other clothes for appellant to wear. Sergeant Alaniz gave appellant the Miranda warnings, which appellant initialed, even *70 though he was not under arrest and was free to leave. Soto returned with appellant’s other clothes, and appellant changed in the booking room. The officers found over $500 in appellant’s pockets. Appellant stayed at the police station throughout the night. Appellant was never under any form of restraint, usually sat alone in the lobby, and shared the officers’ breakfasts.

At approximately 9:00 a.m., and after appellant received new Miranda warnings, appellant signed a written statement that he had gone to the house and had discovered that his grandparents had been beaten. Shortly thereafter, Investigator Garcia and Investigator Lopez informed Chief Lizcano that the suspected murder weapon had been found- in the same tool shed from which Sergeant Alaniz had seen appellant exiting. Chief Lizcano then told the investigators to arrest appellant. Appellant received the Miranda warnings for a third time, confessed to beating his grandparents with a pipe, and signed a statement to that effect. Appellant’s grandmother died ten days later from brain injuries. A grand jury indicted appellant for the capital murder of his grandmother and the attempted capital murder of his grandfather, and the trial court granted the State’s motion to consolidate the cases for trial.

By his first, second, and fifth points of error, appellant complains that the State and the trial court discussed the enhancement allegations before the venire during voir dire. This assertion is incorrect. The original statement of facts inadvertently omitted to note that the discussions occurred outside the presence of the jury. The parties have agreed that the discussions took place during a bench conference and the record has been corrected to reflect this agreement. We overrule appellant’s first, second and fifth points of error.

By his third point of error, appellant complains that the trial court erred by admitting evidence that he had previously committed theft against the victims. The 'State contends that appellant failed to preserve error because he did not move to strike the evidence.

When the relevancy of evidence depends upon the fulfillment of a condition of fact, the court shall admit it upon, or subject to, the introduction of evidence sufficient to support a finding of the fulfillment of the condition. Tex.R.Crim.Evid. 104(b). The party objecting to the evidence, not the trial court, has the duty to notice whether the conditions of admissibility are subsequently met. If the trial court admits evidence subject to its being “connected up,” then the party objecting on relevancy grounds must re-urge that objection after all proof of relevancy is offered, must ask the trial court to strike the evidence, and must request the trial court to instruct the jury to disregard the evidence. Fuller v. State, 829 S.W.2d 191, 198-99 (Tex.Crim.App.1992). If the party objecting to the evidence does not re-urge the objection and move to strike the evidence, then the party forfeits the objection on appeal. Id. at 199.

The State requested the jury be excused and presented evidence that appellant stole a watch from the victims, gave it to a friend, and subsequently asked for its return to avoid the filing of criminal charges. The State offered the evidence to show the relationship between the murder victim’s and the accused, to show appellant’s state of mind, and to show appellant’s motive for the killing. Appellant objected, stating:

I’m not going to disagree with the case law she is citing. However, I think she is somewhat premature. At this time, there is no evidence of any motive involved. As far as any killing, perhaps once some aspect of that deal is presented it might be- timely. At this point, I would say that there is no motive for anything other than that this individual wanted a watch back allegedly from a man that knowingly had a stolen watch apparently. And our concern is that is fine and dandy, but that has nothing to do with motive of any kind at all. It has not established any motive, has nothing to do with any motive at this point for a killing. But further it doesn’t establish the intent or frame of mind at the time of any killing. It has not been linked up. *71 We would simply say it was premature. They can bring it in later, that’s fine. We would simply say it is premature at this time.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
855 S.W.2d 66, 1993 WL 132592, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/lookingbill-v-state-texapp-1993.