Martinez v. State

644 S.W.2d 104, 1982 Tex. App. LEXIS 5436
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided November 24, 1982·No. 04-81-00078-CR·Published·Cited by 17 cases

Opinion

OPINION

BASKIN, Justice.

This is an appeal from a conviction for burglary of a habitation. The jury found appellant guilty as charged and answered “true” to the enhancement paragraph of the indictment. Punishment was assessed at nineteen (19) years’ confinement in the Texas Department of Corrections. Appellant now presents eighteen (18) grounds of error. We affirm.

In his first ground of error, appellant attacks the sufficiency of the evidence to support the instant conviction. Specifically, appellant maintains that there is no evidence to indicate that the items found in appellant’s car at the time of arrest were the items stolen from the complainant’s *107 home. When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged in criminal appeals, we must view the evidence in the light most favorable to the jury verdict. If there is any evidence which, if believed, shows the guilt of the accused, the verdict will be sustained. Fernandez v. State, 564 S.W.2d 771 (Tex.Cr.App.1978); Banks v. State, 510 S.W.2d 592 (Tex.Cr.App.1974). In a circumstantial evidence case, however, the conviction cannot be sustained unless the circumstances exclude every other reasonable hypothesis except the guilt of the accused. Proof amounting only to strong suspicion will not suffice. Nathan v. State, 611 S.W.2d 69 (Tex.Cr.App.1981); Flores v. State, 551 S.W.2d 364 (Tex.Cr.App.1977); Dixon v. State, 541 S.W.2d 437 (Tex.Cr.App.1976). It is not necessary that every fact point directly and independently to appellant’s guilt. It is enough if the conclusion is warranted by the combined and cumulative force of all the incriminating circumstances. Nathan v. State, supra; Flores v. State, supra; Stogsdill v. State, 552 S.W.2d 481 (Tex.Cr.App.1977). The circumstances need not exclude every hypothesis that the act may have been committed by another, but the hypothesis must be a reasonable one consistent with the circumstances and facts proved and not in disharmony with the evidence. Flores v. State, supra, at 367. Mere presence in the vicinity of a crime, coupled with flight, is not enough to sustain a conviction. Nathan v. State, supra; Moore v. State, 532 S.W.2d 333 (Tex.Cr.App.1976); Ysasaga v. State, 444 S.W.2d 305 (Tex.Cr.App.1969). Finally, in determining the sufficiency of incriminating circumstances, each case must be dealt with on its own facts. Flores v. State, supra; Moore v. State, supra.

With these rules in mind, we now turn to an examination of appellant’s contention. The record reflects that on October 24, 1977, the home of complainant, Judy Dyer House, was broken into and several items, including an IBM Selectric typewriter and a Toastmaster table top oven, were discovered to be missing. Witnesses Rose Polk and Patsy Lawson both testified that they observed a green and white Mercury automobile parked in front of complainant’s home on the day of the burglary. Both witnesses also noticed a Mexican-American male, about 5'6", on the property. Polk further testified that while she was observing this occurrence she heard someone in the vehicle honk the horn and subsequently drive off down the street. Polk stated that the car later returned and she observed the Mexican-American male running from the back of the house, carrying a white sheet or blanket covering some merchandise and also holding an unidentified portable object in his left hand. The witness recalled that the man possessed a distinctive limp. Polk later stated in court that the limp she had seen was similar to the limp exhibited by appellant when he entered the courtroom. She also stated that from the rear, appellant looked like the man she had seen in front of Dyer’s house. Lawson also testified that she wrote down the license of the vehicle, EDK 621, and gave it to the police the following day.

Officer Ralph Gilbert Serrano testified that he examined complainant’s home and reported that the northern bedroom window was broken. His report additionally contained a list of the missing items, including the typewriter and the oven. Officer Ronald Charles Ullevig testified that on October 25, 1977, while acting as a cover officer and following instructions from fellow Officer Lubbock, he pursued a green and white Mercury leaving 675 Steves Avenue. The officers had gone there to investigate a complaint regarding the sale of stolen property at that location. Lubbock was the first officer to answer the complaint. Ulle-vig turned on his flashing lights and his siren as the vehicle attempted to elude him for several miles. The driver of the Mercury ran a red light and several stop signs at speeds approaching 65 miles per hour. Ul-levig finally forced the Mercury off the road and placed the driver under arrest for attempting to elude a police officer. The license plate of the vehicle matched the license number witness Dawson had seen, although Ullevig was unaware of this connection at the time of his pursuit.

*108 Ullevig also testified that the driver of the vehicle had a distinctive limp and, in fact, had an artificial leg. Ullevig later identified appellant as the driver of the vehicle. After three fellow officers arrived, Ullevig looked into the back seat of the car and found an AM-FM clock radio. The car was inventoried pursuant to standard departmental policy and Ullevig opened the trunk, 1 discovering an IBM Selectric typewriter and a Toastmaster table top oven inside. Ullevig turned the property over to Lubbock and further stated that the same property was placed in the property room at the police station.

Detective Charles Edwards testified that he checked for and found fingerprints on the objects discovered in the trunk of the car. Officer Cruz Morua testified that a left thumb print lifted from the oven top matched the left thumb print of the appellant. Finally, the complainant identified both the IBM typewriter and the Toastmaster table top oven as two of the objects taken from her home on the day of the burglary. House also testified that the objects were taken without her consent.

Evidence that a home has been burglarized, together with an accused’s unexplained possession of recently stolen property from that home, is sufficient to sustain a conviction for burglary. Hardage v. State, 552 S.W.2d 837 (Tex.Cr.App.1977). We conclude that under the facts of the instant case, there was ample evidence from which the jury could conclude that the items identified by House at the police station were identical to the property taken from her home the day of the burglary. See Nichols v. State, 479 S.W.2d 277 (Tex.Cr.App.1972). Appellant’s unexplained pos session of recently stolen property coupled with the fingerprint evidence and identification testimony of the witnesses at trial leads us to conclude that the evidence excluded any reasonable hypothesis but the guilt of appellant. Nathan v. State, supra; Flores v. State, supra.

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Martinez v. State, 644 S.W.2d 104, 1982 Tex. App. LEXIS 5436 (Tex. Ct. App. 1982).

644 S.W.2d 104 (Martinez v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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