Reece v. State

878 S.W.2d 320, 1994 Tex. App. LEXIS 1343, 1994 WL 245479
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 9, 1994
Docket01-93-00074-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by120 cases

This text of 878 S.W.2d 320 (Reece 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
Reece v. State, 878 S.W.2d 320, 1994 Tex. App. LEXIS 1343, 1994 WL 245479 (Tex. Ct. App. 1994).

Opinion

OPINION

DUGGAN, Justice.

The jury found appellant, Gary Hawkins Reece, guilty of possession with intent to deliver less than 28 grams of cocaine. The trial court found one enhancement paragraph of the indictment to be true and assessed punishment at 45-years confinement. In six points of error, appellant contends that the trial court erred: (1) by failing to instruct the jury on probable cause for an arrest and search; (2) by excluding testimony regarding the warrantless arrest by Houston Police Department officers Rick Thomas and A.D. Brown; and (3) by allowing Officer Brown’s opinion testimony about the reason appellant was in the parking lot. Appellant further argues that: (4) the evidence was insufficient to prove his possession of cocaine with intent to deliver; and (5) the State withheld certain exculpatory information from appellant. We reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand for a new trial.

At approximately 8:30 p.m., on August 27, 1991, Houston police officers A.D. Brown and Rick Thomas were on routine patrol. Officer Brown testified that he saw appellant drinking from a beer can in a convenience store parking lot that had signs warning that consuming alcohol on the premises was a misdemeanor offense. Officer Brown testified that he approached appellant, advised him of the violation, and arrested him. Brown then searched appellant and a black pouch that was strapped around his waist. Inside the pouch, Brown testified that he found a baggie containing marihuana, 12 individual baggies of what appeared to be crack cocaine, and $222.57 in small bills. 1 A subsequent chemical analysis of the substance from the 12 individual baggies revealed 1.4 grams of pure cocaine.

In his first point of error, appellant contends the trial court erred in failing to give the jury an instruction under Tex.Code CRiM. P.Ann. art. 38.23 (Vernon Supp.1994), which provides that:

No evidence obtained by an Officer or other person in violation of any provisions of the Constitution or laws of the State of Texas or of the Constitution or laws of the United States of America, shall be admitted in evidence against the accused on the trial of any criminal case.
In any case where the legal evidence raises an issue hereunder, the jury shall be instructed that if it believes, or has a reasonable doubt, that the evidence was obtained in violation of the provisions of this Article, then and in such event, the jury shall disregard any such evidence so obtained.

Appellant argues that because there was conflicting evidence about whether he was consuming alcohol, he was entitled to a jury instruction on probable cause.

If Officer Brown saw appellant consuming an alcoholic beverage on the premises of a retailer licensed with an off-premises permit, then he had authority to arrest him. Tex. Alco.Bev.Code Ann. §§ 101.02 & 101.72(a) (Vernon Supp.1993). If appellant was lawfully arrested, then Brown had the right incident to the arrest to search the pouch appellant was carrying. Rogers v. State, 774 S.W.2d 247, 264 (Tex.Crim.App.) cert. denied 493 U.S. 984, 110 S.Ct. 519, 107 L.Ed.2d 520 (1989).

A defendant has the right to a jury instruction whenever a fact issue is raised concerning the legality of the State’s means of acquiring evidence. Stone v. State, 703 S.W.2d 652, 655 (Tex.Crim.App.1986); Wash *323 ington v. State, 663 S.W.2d 506, 508 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1988, pet. refd). The State does not dispute that a fact issue was raised; it only asserts that the testimony upon which appellant relied in his objection at trial did not raise a fact issue. The State argues that appellant waived complaints relating to all remaining testimony showing a fact issue.

When the trial court asked for objections to the charge, counsel made his initial request:

I have — I request a charge on — under 38.23, the proper probable cause charge, Your Honor. I do not see it in the instruction at all, Your Honor.
I’m entitled to present that fact issue to the jury irregardless [sic] whether the court has made a decision there was probable cause or not.
They are entitled to hear it as a fact issue regarding the reasonable doubt of the evidence that was presented by the Officers, Your Honor, and, Your Honor, and to see whether the Officer had probable cause to arrest him.
So, we would request an instruction under 33 — I’m sorry — 38.23(a); and we ask for that, Your Honor.

The next day, at the conclusion of the evidence, appellant’s counsel made his second request:

At this moment, again I renew my request for instruction under 38.22(a); and I cite the Court to two cases — one being Adams v. State, 634 S.W.2d 785; and is the second footnote where the Court cites Brewster v. Texas at 606 S.W.2d 325. The Court said, regarding Adams, the Officer who engaged the defendant in conversation testified that he was intent [sic] to issue a warning ticket to appellant with the implication that he would be free to leave. Discovery of the — a search intervened, and we think the restraint became custody when the search led to a search of marijuana bags.
I would submit Mr. Igwe impeached the testimony of Officer Brown as to whether Officer Brown actually arrested Mr. Reece for drinking on premises. Mr. Brown stated he had arrested him for drinking on the premises; but, in fact, Officer Thomas stated only thing he heard Officer Brown tell Gary was that Gary was arrested for possession of narcotics.
Mr. Igwe stated attorneys called on the phone told them he was going to warn him that it was against the law to drink on the premises. That’s an indication he was going to release after warning him he didn’t know how the black bag got opened and that discovery of the drugs was found on the bag, Your Honor.
That’s an issue. That’s a fact question that he can go to the jury under 38.23(a). We’re entitled to an instruction on that point; and we would request an instruction on that point, Your Honor.

The court overruled each request. The State contends that because Mr. Igwe (appellant’s probation officer) was not at the scene of the arrest, his testimony failed to raise a fact issue on probable cause of the arrest. We agree that Igwe’s testimony did not create a fact issue.

However, for appellate review purposes, we find that appellant sufficiently raised the issue before the court. First, appellant’s initial request did not refer to particular testimony. Second, in considering whether an appellant’s objection was specific enough to preserve complaints on appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeals, in Miniel v.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
878 S.W.2d 320, 1994 Tex. App. LEXIS 1343, 1994 WL 245479, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/reece-v-state-texapp-1994.