Luis Alfredo Juarez v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided July 11, 2014·No. 05-13-00488-CR·Published

Opinion

Affirmed as Modified and Affirmed; Opinion Filed July 11, 2014.

S In The

Court of Appeals

Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-13-00488-CR

No. 05-13-00489-CR

No. 05-13-00490-CR

No. 05-13-00505-CR

LUIS ALFREDO JUAREZ, Appellant V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the Criminal District Court No. 2 Dallas County, Texas

Trial Court Cause Nos. F-1035332-I, F-1135928-I, F-1135929-I, & F-1135930-I

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Justices Lang, Myers, and Brown Opinion by Justice Brown

Luis Alfredo Juarez appeals his convictions for the offenses of possession of heroin,

delivery of heroin, possession of heroin with intent to deliver, and engaging in organized criminal activity. Appellant raises twelve points of error on appeal. In the possession with intent to deliver case, he complains about a drug-free zone finding made by the jury. In the organized crime case, appellant contends the trial court erred in ordering his sentence to run consecutively to the possession with intent to deliver sentence. In the delivery case, he contends he received ineffective assistance of counsel and contends the judgment should be reformed. Finally, in all four cases, he contends there is no evidence to support the court costs assessed by the trial court.

We modify the judgment in the delivery case to reflect the correct degree of offense committed. As modified, we affirm that judgment. We affirm the other three judgments.

BACKGROUND

Appellant was charged by indictment with possession of heroin in an amount of one gram or more, but less than four grams, alleged to have occurred on or about October 3, 2010. While appellant was on bond for that offense, he was charged with delivery of heroin in an amount of less than one gram; possession with intent to deliver heroin in an amount of four grams or more but less than 200 grams; and engaging in organized criminal activity, all alleged to have occurred on or about December 2, 2011. The indictments in the delivery case and the possession with intent to deliver case alleged the offenses were committed “in, on, or within 1,000 feet of any real property that is owned, rented, or leased to a school or school board, to-wit: JACKIE MAE TOWNSELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL,” in Irving, Texas.

At a jury trial in February 2013, appellant pleaded not guilty to two of the four offenses with which he was charged, possession with intent to deliver and engaging in organized criminal activity. Irving Police Investigator Grant Williams testified that on two occasions prior to December 2, 2011, he had purchased heroin from appellant’s co-defendant, Miguel Balderas, at an apartment complex at 3102 West Northgate. Both times, Williams had called Balderas to arrange the purchase. Balderas instructed Williams to park his car in a certain location at Balderas’s apartment complex and call him when he arrived. Balderas then left his apartment, walked over to Williams, and delivered the heroin in exchange for money.

On December 2, 2011, Williams arranged to buy 6.2 grams of heroin for $360 from Balderas. That was more heroin than Williams had purchased from Balderas in the past, enough for about 31 uses. Balderas instructed Williams to come to his apartment. When Williams knocked on the door, another co-defendant, Aldo Belmont, answered and invited him in.

Appellant came out from a bedroom and sat down at a table in the dining area. Belmont brought appellant a digital scale. From his pants pocket, appellant pulled out a plastic baggie containing black tar heroin, which is a sticky, solid mass. Using a razor blade to cut the heroin, appellant weighed out 6.2 grams of the substance and handed it to Williams. Williams put the heroin in a bag, handed Balderas the money, and left the apartment. The laboratory analysis performed later showed the heroin delivered to Williams actually weighed 6.1 grams.

Based on his two previous buys at Balderas’s apartment, Investigator Williams had already obtained a search warrant for the location. Shortly after Williams left the apartment on December 2, a SWAT team secured the location and a narcotics team executed the search warrant. The officers found appellant, Balderas, and Belmont in the bedroom closet. Williams went back in to collect and document evidence. Williams had recorded the serial numbers of the bills he gave Balderas for the heroin. Forty dollars of that money was found in Balderas’s pocket, and the remaining $320 was found in appellant’s wallet. Also in appellant’s wallet, police found a dollar bill folded up that contained cheese heroin, which Williams described as heroin mixed with Tylenol PM. In the closet where appellant and the others were hiding, police found the black tar heroin left over after appellant cut off the portion to sell to Williams. It weighed 11.3 grams.

State’s Exhibit 23 was a map showing the location of the apartment and Jackie Mae Townsell Elementary School. Investigator Williams testified that the apartment was about 370 feet from the school. Appellant stipulated that if Tony Smith, a Geographical Information Systems technician with the Dallas County Public Works Department, had been called as a witness he would have identified Jackie Mae Townsell Elementary school as real property owned by a school board, the Irving Independent School District. Appellant further stipulated that the “location of the offense, 3102 W. Northgate Drive #1032 in Irving, Texas is within 1000

feet of the real property owned by the school Jackie Mae Townsell Elementary School.” His written stipulation was admitted into evidence as State’s Exhibit 27. In two separate exhibits, appellant also stipulated that the substance at issue was heroin and that it weighed 6.1 grams and 11.3 grams respectively.

During closing arguments, defense counsel indicated that appellant had not wanted a jury trial. The case was before the jury because the State had exercised its right to a jury trial. Counsel did not argue that the jury should find appellant not guilty. He told the jury the trial was a way for appellant to get in front of the judge for sentencing. The jury found appellant guilty of possession with intent to deliver and found that he committed the offense in a drug-free zone, i.e., within 1,000 feet of Jackie Mae Townsell Elementary School. The jury also found appellant guilty of engaging in organized criminal activity.

At a sentencing hearing a month later, before the court heard any punishment evidence, the court took up the two other charges pending against appellant, namely possession of heroin in October 2010 and delivery of heroin in December 2011. The court stated that it appeared from the paperwork appellant and his lawyer had submitted that appellant wanted to waive a jury and plead guilty as charged. After the trial court admonished appellant, appellant proceeded to plead guilty to those two offenses. The court told appellant it was going to hear any evidence appellant wanted it to consider in those two cases, in addition to the two tried before the jury. The State did not present any witnesses. Appellant and his mother testified on appellant’s behalf. At the conclusion of the evidence, the trial court assessed punishment at five years’ confinement in both guilty plea cases. For the two cases in which the jury found appellant guilty, the trial court assessed punishment at ten years’ confinement. These appeals followed.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Luis Alfredo Juarez v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2014).

Luis Alfredo Juarez v. State (Luis Alfredo Juarez v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Strickland v. Washington
466 U.S. 668 (Supreme Court, 1984)
Asberry v. State
813 S.W.2d 526 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Ex Parte Wilson
171 S.W.3d 925 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005)
Ex Parte Pena
71 S.W.3d 336 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Young v. State
14 S.W.3d 748 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2000)
Ross v. State
487 S.W.2d 744 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1972)
Barrios v. State
283 S.W.3d 348 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2009)
Taylor v. State
332 S.W.3d 483 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2011)
Garza v. State
213 S.W.3d 338 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Andrews v. State
159 S.W.3d 98 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2005)
Thompson v. State
9 S.W.3d 808 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Flores v. State
48 S.W.3d 397 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Adames, Juan Eligio Garcia
353 S.W.3d 854 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2011)
Turner, Albert James
422 S.W.3d 676 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Knight, Ex Parte Nancy Gail
401 S.W.3d 60 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Johnson, Manley Dewayne
423 S.W.3d 385 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2014)
Franklin, Sugar Ray v. State
402 S.W.3d 894 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2013)
Ex parte Chaddock
369 S.W.3d 880 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2012)