Michael Prentiss Prechtl v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided November 5, 2015·No. 05-14-01068-CR·Published

Opinion

Affirmed as Modified; Opinion Filed November 5, 2015.

In The

Court of Appeals

Fifth District of Texas at Dallas No. 05-14-01068-CR

No. 05-14-01069-CR

No. 05-14-01070-CR

MICHAEL PRENTISS PRECHTL, Appellant V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the Criminal District Court No. 6 Dallas County, Texas

Trial Court Cause Nos. F-1135251-X, F-1135252-X, and F-1410028-X

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Before Justices Lang, Evans, and Whitehill Opinion by Justice Lang

Michael Prentiss Prechtl appeals the trial court’s: (1) judgment of conviction for the

offense of assault involving family violence;1 and (2) judgments adjudicating his guilt for the offenses of (a) possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine in an amount of four grams or more, but less than two hundred grams,2 and (b) possession of oxycodone in an amount less than one gram.3 The jury found Prechtl guilty of assault involving family violence and the trial court assessed his punishment at ten years of imprisonment. Also, the trial court adjudicated Prechtl guilty of the offense of possession with the intent to deliver methamphetamine and assessed his

1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.01(b)(2)(B) (West Supp. 2014).

2 See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 481.112(a), (d) (West 2010).

3 See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 481.115(a)–(b) (West 2010).

punishment at twenty-five years of imprisonment. Further, the trial court adjudicated Prechtl guilty of the offense of possession of oxycodone and assessed his punishment at six months of confinement.

In two separate briefs, Prechtl raises a total of two issues arguing: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for assault involving family violence; and (2) the trial court abused its discretion when it granted the State’s motion to proceed with adjudication of guilt and adjudicated him guilty of the offenses of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and possession of oxycodone.

We conclude the evidence was sufficient to support Prechtl’s conviction for assault involving family violence. Also, we conclude the trial court did not err when it adjudicated Prechtl guilty of the offenses of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine and possession of oxycodone. Further, we modify the judgments adjudicating Prechtl’s guilt to reflect the correct statutes for the offenses. The trial court’s judgments are affirmed as modified.

I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND In January 2012, Prechtl was indicted for the offenses of possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine in an amount of four grams or more, but less than two hundred grams and possession of oxycodone in an amount less than one gram. Prechtl waived a jury trial and pleaded guilty to both offenses. Pursuant to plea agreements, on January 2, 2013, the trial court: (1) deferred adjudication of Prechtl’s guilt in the possession with intent to deliver methamphetamine case and ordered that he be placed on seven years of community supervision; and (2) deferred adjudication of Prechtl’s guilt in the possession of oxycodone case and ordered that he be placed on community supervision for five years.

Eternity Allcock met Pretchl in January 2014 and immediately began living with him.

During the three months they lived together, Allcock and Prechtl “pass[ed] the time” by having

sex, using drugs, and taking “a lot of pictures.” Also, Allcock claimed that, during this time, Prechtl kept the door locked and she was not free to leave, unless Prechtl or one of his friends accompanied her.

On March 16, 2014, Allcock went shopping with a friend. While they were out, Allcock’s friend told Allcock that she “needed to get out.” Also, the friend stated that she was not taking Allcock back to Prechtl. However, Allcock wanted to go back to the hotel room where she stayed with Prechtl to get her “stuff.” Allcock’s friend refused to accompany her back to the hotel room because she was scared, so Allcock “had two black guys take [her] back.” One of those men was a good friend of Prechtl.

At the hotel, Prechtl told the men who accompanied Allcock to leave and they did. As a result, Allcock was alone in the hotel room with Prechtl who was angry with her. Also, Allcock told a hotel employee that she was staying with Prechtl. Between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. that night, Prechtl’s probation officer met with Prechtl in the hotel room. The probation officer observed a woman standing quietly to the side, but she did not appear to be threatened or in danger.

According to Allocock, “all that day and then all night” Prechtl hit her, including breaking her cellular telephone over her head, and strangled her. Allcock stated Prechtl strangled her multiple times and that she sometimes lost consciousness. When she regained consciousness, Allcock found burn marks on her face and legs. Also, Allocock stated she was high on methamphetamine the entire time and admitted it sometimes affects her memory.

The next morning, Prechtl told Allocock to put on a turtleneck and sweatpants to cover up the marks and bruises on her body. Then, he instructed her to go to the hotel lobby and “tell them that [Allcock’s] dad was coming [t]o pay [for the room].” Instead, Allcock asked the hotel office to call 9-1-1. The hotel employee observed that Allcock was scared and crying. Allcock

told the 9-1-1 dispatcher that a her boyfriend had choked her until she passed out. The police arrived shortly afterward and arrested Prechtl.

Prechtl was indicted for the offense of assault involving family violence. A trial was held on July 15–16, 2014. The jury found Prechtl guilty and the trial court assessed his punishment at ten years of imprisonment. Also, on July 16, 2014, the trial court conducted a hearing on the State’s motions to proceed with an adjudication of guilt, alleging Prechtl violated several conditions of his community supervision. Pursuant to plea agreements on the State’s motions, Prechtl pleaded true to all of the State’s alleged violations except for the allegation that he committed the offense of assault involving family violence. The trial court took judicial notice of the entire contents of its files in each of Prechtl’s three cases and acknowledged that it heard the testimony in Prechtl’s assault involving family violence case. The trial court granted the State’s motions, finding Prechtl violated the conditions of his community supervision as alleged in the State’s motions to proceed with an adjudication of guilt. The trial court adjudicated Prechtl guilty for the offense of possession with the intent to deliver methamphetamine and assessed his punishment at twenty-five years of imprisonment. Further, the trial court adjudicated Prechtl guilty for the offense of possession of oxycodone and assessed his punishment at six months of confinement. II. SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE FOR ASSAULT INVOLVING FAMILY VIOLENCE In his sole issue in the assault involving family violence case, Prechtl argues the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for assault involving family violence. Prechtl claims the evidence supporting his conviction came from the complainant who admitted she was using methamphetamine at the time. He contends the complainant was “unbelievable” and her testimony was contrary to the testimony of the police officers and hotel employee. The State

responds that a rational trier of fact could have found all of the elements of the offense of assault involving family violence were proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

A. Standard of Review

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