Price v. State

911 S.W.2d 129, 1995 WL 611830
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 7, 1996
Docket13-93-400-CR, 13-93-401-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 911 S.W.2d 129 (Price 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
Price v. State, 911 S.W.2d 129, 1995 WL 611830 (Tex. Ct. App. 1996).

Opinion

OPINION

SEERDEN, Chief Justice.

A jury convicted appellant, Preston “Teeny” Price, of unlawful delivery of cocaine on two counts. The trial court sentenced appellant to fifty years in prison and a $5000 fine for each count. By two points of error, appellant raises sufficiency of the evidence and due process complaints. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Undercover officers, James McBride and Barbara Ann Bowman, were assigned to a drug task force job in Yoakum, Texas. On August 14, 1992, Officers McBride and Bowman drove to a local bar in Yoakum. There, a woman, Leticia Massey, approached Officer McBride and told him that, if he was interested in buying cocaine, she could direct him to an individual from whom he could make a purchase. Officer McBride indicated that he was interested, and Massey then led him inside the bar and introduced him to appellant. After negotiating a deal, appellant sold Officer McBride several rocks of cocaine. Officer McBride then asked appellant how he could contact him for future deals. In response, appellant wrote his name, “Teeny,” and his telephone number on a piece of paper and handed it to McBride. McBride then left the bar.

Five days later, on August 19,1992, Officer McBride called appellant to arrange another purchase. Appellant told Officer McBride that he would be able to get some cocaine for him that evening and arranged for Officer McBride to meet him at the same bar. That evening, Officers McBride and Bowman drove to the bar and found appellant and another man, Carl Wayne Enoch, sitting outside on the doorstep. Appellant informed Officer McBride that he did not have the cocaine, but that Enoch had some cocaine to sell. Appellant then introduced McBride to Enoch. After the introduction, Enoch went inside the bar. Appellant told Officer McBride that, if he wanted to buy some cocaine, he should go inside and wait for Enoch at the pool table. Officer McBride did so and found Enoch waiting at the pool table. After negotiating a deal, Enoch sold Officer McBride four rocks of cocaine. During the transaction, appellant remained outside of the bar, engaging in small talk with Officer Bowman.

Appellant was subsequently charged and indicted with two counts of unlawful delivery of cocaine: one count for the August 14,1992 delivery 1 and one count for the August 19, 1992 delivery. 2 Although both counts were tried together, the trial court charged the jury separately for each offense. For the August 14, 1992 offense, the court charged the jury with determining whether appellant actually delivered cocaine to McBride. For *131 the August 19, 1992 offense, the court charged the jury with determining whether appellant was a party to the delivery of cocaine by Enoch to Officer McBride. The jury found appellant guilty on both counts, and appellant now appeals his conviction.

By point of error one, appellant contends the evidence was insufficient to establish that he was a party to the August 19, 1992 delivery of cocaine. In resolving a sufficiency of the evidence point, we must determine whether, after viewing all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Moreno v. State, 755 S.W.2d 866, 867 (Tex.Crim.App. 1988) (citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L.Ed.2d 660 (1979)). We apply this standard in both direct and circumstantial evidence cases. Houston v. State, 663 S.W.2d 455, 456 (Tex. Crim.App.1984). Further, we measure the sufficiency of the evidence against the jury charge. Jones v. State, 815 S.W.2d 667, 668 (Tex.Crim.App.1991) (citing Garrett v. State, 749 S.W.2d 784, 802-03 (Tex.Crim.App. 1986)).

Section 7.01(a) of the Texas Penal Code makes a person criminally responsible for an offense as a party if the offense was committed by his own conduct or by the conduct of someone for which he is criminally responsible. Garza v. State, 573 S.W.2d 536, 537 (Tex.Crim.App.1978); Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 7.01(a) (Vernon 1994). Section 7.02(a)(2) of the Texas Penal Code provides that a person is criminally responsible for an offense committed by another if he acts with intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense by soliciting, encouraging, directing, aiding, or attempting to aid the other person to commit the offense. Garza, 573 S.W.2d at 537; TexPenal Code Ann. § 7.02(a)(2) (Vernon 1994).

To prove that a defendant is criminally responsible as a party, the State must show that the defendant knew he was assisting the commission of the offense. Amaya v. State, 733 S.W.2d 168, 174 (Tex.Crim.App.1986). Participation in a criminal offense may be inferred from the circumstances before, during, and after the commission of the offense. Beardsley v. State, 738 S.W.2d 681, 684 (Tex.Crim.App.1987). Further, although a defendant’s mere presence at the scene of the offense is not indicative of guilt, it is a circumstance that may be used in conjunction with other facts to show his participation as a party. Harris v. State, 645 S.W.2d 447, 457 (Tex.Crim.App.1983).

In the present case, the application paragraph of the charge tracks the language found in TexPenal Code Ann. § 7.02(a)(2) and authorizes the jury to convict appellant if it found beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant knew Enoch intended to deliver cocaine to Officer McBride and that appellant intended to assist Enoch in such delivery by soliciting, encouraging, directing, aiding, or attempting to aid Enoch in doing so.

Officer McBride’s testimony at trial provided sufficient evidence to establish that appellant encouraged, directed, and aided Enoch in selling the cocaine to Officer McBride. Officer McBride testified that appellant sold him several rocks of cocaine on August 14, 1992. At that same time, appellant gave him a note with his name and telephone number on it for future purchases. When McBride telephoned appellant on August 19, 1992 to arrange another purchase, appellant told him that he could get some cocaine for him that evening. Later, appellant told McBride that Enoch had cocaine for sale. Appellant then instructed McBride to meet Enoch inside the bar at the pool table if he wanted to buy the cocaine. Following appellant’s instructions, McBride found Enoch waiting at the pool table, ready and willing to sell cocaine.

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