Peters v. State

652 S.W.2d 460, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4106
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 10, 1983
DocketNo. 01-82-0205-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 652 S.W.2d 460 (Peters 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
Peters v. State, 652 S.W.2d 460, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4106 (Tex. Ct. App. 1983).

Opinion

OPINION

WARREN, Justice.

A jury found appellant guilty of aggravated assault; the court assessed his punishment at 10 years probation. Appellant raises three grounds of error.

In his first ground of error, appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. The indictment alleges that appellant:

intentionally and knowingly and recklessly cause[d] bodily injury to Pamela Denise Lipsey, hereafter styled complainant, by shooting the complainant in the leg with a firearm, having pointed said loaded firearm, a deadly weapon, at the complainant while the safety mechanism was disengaged, (emphasis added)

Appellant contends there is no proof he pointed a firearm at the complainant while the safety mechanism was disengaged, as alleged in the indictment, resulting in a fatal variance.

Tex.Penal Code art. 22.02 (Vernon 1966) states:

(a) A person commits an offense if he commits assault as defined in Section 22.-01 of this code and he:
(4) uses a deadly weapon.

§ 22.01(a)(1) defines assault as “intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causpng] bodily injury to another ...”

The crux of appellant’s argument is that the language emphasized in the indictment went further than was necessary, and described or explained an essential element of the offense, and therefore, must be substantially proven as alleged; i.e., that appellant pointed a firearm at complainant while the safety was disengaged describes the use of a deadly weapon, which is the only means of aggravated assault alleged. It is well established that where a person, place or thing necessary to be mentioned in the indictment is described with unnecessary particularity, all circumstances must be proven, Smith v. State, 107 Tex.Cr.R. 511, 298 S.W. 286 (Tex.Cr.App.1927), and cannot be rejected as surplusage, for they are thus made essential to the identity. Maples v. State, 124 Tex.Cr.R. 478, 63 S.W.2d 855 (Tex.Cr.App.1933). Thus, if the pleader makes unnecessary allegations descriptive of the identity of the offense charged, it is incumbent upon the State to establish such allegations by evidence. McClure v. State, 163 Tex.Cr.R. 650, 296 S.W.2d 263 (Tex.Cr.App.1956). See Burrell v. State, 526 S.W.2d 799 (Tex.Cr.App.1975); and Windham v. State, 627 S.W.2d 505 (Tex.App. — Eastland 1982, pet. granted, 638 S.W.2d 486).

Our review of the evidence must be in the light most favorable to the verdict. The verdict will be sustained if there is evidence which, if believed, shows the guilt [462]*462of the accused. Banks v. State, 510 S.W.2d 592 (Tex.Cr.App.1974); Valore v. State, 545 S.W.2d 477 (Tex.Cr.App.1977).

The complainant was sixteen years old at the time of the offense, and lived with her mother and stepfather, next door to appellant. The day before the offense, she had been to a party at appellant’s house while his parents were out of town. The next day, she went over to his house to retrieve her wallet and other items she had left at appellant’s house. Appellant would not get them for her, so she had to enter the house and get them herself. There were six teenaged boys in appellant’s living room at the time complainant came to the house. She found her wallet in appellant’s sister’s bedroom and walked into the parent’s bedroom, where appellant and two of the boys were. All three were holding rifles. The two other boys had their rifles pointing toward the ceiling, but appellant’s rifle was pointed toward complainant. Complainant, having apparently forgotten she found her wallet earlier, told appellant she was looking for her wallet, and he laughed and told her she needed a “bigger hole.” Simultaneously, he shot her in the upper left thigh, and she fell to the floor. Appellant left the room to telephone for help. Shortly, complainant’s parents arrived, and her mother was with her in the bedroom. When appellant reentered the bedroom, he stepped on complainant’s leg below the wound. Her mother asked him to leave her alone, to which he replied, “Shut up, bitch.” Complainant then told her mother to tell her father to “kick his ass.” Appellant was seated on the edge of the bed when the incident occurred. His right hand was near the trigger, but complainant could not tell if his finger was actually on it.

Complainant testified on cross-examination that she did not know if the rifle held by appellant moved any after she walked into the room. The reference appellant made to her need for a “bigger hole,” concerned her vagina; he had used this expression to her on several occasions. She saw the rifle flash as she turned to leave the room; the position of the gun never changed after she entered the room.

Officer D.W. Curry, called by the State, testified on cross-examination that he investigated the crime scene shortly after the incident, and talked to appellant, who told him, “I fired the rifle and hit Pam.” He never told Curry that it was an accident.

Officer C.E. Anderson, called by the State, was a firearms expert with the Houston Police Department. He performed a trigger-pull test on appellant’s rifle, to determine the amount of pressure required on the trigger to cause the firing pin to release. He found that it took 5½-6¾ pounds of pressure, which is a normal amount for a .233 caliber semi-automatic rifle. Anderson performed tests to see if the rifle would fire accidentally, and it would not. It would not fire with the safety engaged, no matter how hard he pulled the trigger. His opinion was that the trigger had to be pulled for the rifle to fire.

Appellant called Ron Freshour as a firearms expert, who testified that every gun can malfunction. However, when he examined appellant’s rifle at the police station, it did not malfunction.

Appellant testified that his parents own a gun store, and were hunting in Madisonville at the time of the incident. He worked at the gun store the day of the incident, until 2 p.m., and then carried home the three rifles that were present in the bedroom. He cleaned the rifle in question that day, including the trigger mechanism. He could not recall whether his finger was on the trigger when complainant walked into the bedroom. He did not know whether there was a bullet in the gun at the time of the shooting. It was pointed at her when she walked in, so he picked it up to move it away from her and it went off.

He testified on cross-examination that it was a coincidence that the bullet hit near complainant’s vagina. However, the rifle discharge was simultaneous with his statement to her about her need for a “bigger hole.”

Appellant tells us that this evidence does not show he “aimed or moved the gun [463]*463m complainant’s direction.

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

Related

Gabriel Silva v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2014
Timothy Michael Schoenbauer v. State
85 S.W.3d 400 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2002)
Leal v. State
975 S.W.2d 636 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1998)
Cooper v. State
707 S.W.2d 686 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1986)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
652 S.W.2d 460, 1983 Tex. App. LEXIS 4106, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/peters-v-state-texapp-1983.