Reggie Edward Carroll v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 26, 2014
Docket01-13-00430-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Reggie Edward Carroll v. State (Reggie Edward Carroll 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
Reggie Edward Carroll v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2014).

Opinion

Opinion issued August 26, 2014

In The

Court of Appeals For The

First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-13-00430-CR ——————————— REGGIE EDWARD CARROLL, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 351st District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 1355069

MEMORANDUM OPINION

A jury found appellant, Reggie Edward Carroll, guilty of the offense of

robbery. 1 After appellant pleaded true to the allegations in two enhancement

1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 29.02(a) (Vernon 2011). paragraphs that he had twice been previously convicted of felony offenses, the jury

assessed his punishment at confinement for 60 years. In two issues, appellant

contends that the evidence is legally insufficient to support his conviction and the

trial court erred in allowing the State to impeach his testimony with his prior

convictions.

We affirm.

Background

The complainant, Maria Gonzales, testified that on July 20, 2012, she took

her two daughters to rent a movie from the “Redbox” self-service kiosk located

outside the CVS Pharmacy store at the intersection of Buffalo Speedway and Main

Street. She drove a black Toyota 4Runner (“SUV”), parked it in front of the

Redbox, turned it off, and exited it with her daughters. The complainant left her

keys in the SUV, as well as her purse and cellular telephone.

The complainant, who was focused on the Redbox, then heard someone turn

on her SUV. When she turned to look, she saw appellant in her SUV. She ran to

the SUV and screamed at appellant not to take it. The complainant and appellant

engaged in a struggle, as he tried to knock her away. When she grabbed

appellant’s arm, which was on the steering wheel, he shifted the gear and

accelerated the SUV to back away. The complainant then felt the SUV move

backwards. Appellant made a “movement in order to get rid” of her; he pushed her

2 away, and the SUV moved again. Appellant then “hit” the complainant “with the

[SUV] door” and “pushed” her “with the truck, like . . . with the door itself,” which

“impacted” the complainant and “pushed [her] onto the pavement.” In other

words, she was “pushed to the ground by the [SUV].” Appellant maintained eye

contact with the complainant throughout the entire struggle.

When the complainant fell on the pavement she felt “[q]uite bad” and feared

that appellant would run over her with the SUV. However, appellant put the SUV

in reverse instead and left the parking lot. Later that same day, police officers

located the complainant’s SUV. She then went to the scene and identified

appellant as the man who had taken her SUV.

In regard to her injuries, resulting from being pushed by the SUV to the

ground, the complainant, at trial, still had marks on her arms and legs from the

robbery. Her knees were scratched when they hit the ground “very, very bad[ly].”

The complainant was unable to move well for approximately two weeks after the

robbery, her whole body was in pain, and her knees were swollen.

The complainant’s daughter, Nicole Castanda, who was present during the

robbery, testified that after she, the complainant, and her sister exited the SUV and

began looking for a movie, she heard someone turn on the complainant’s SUV.

The complainant ran towards the SUV, opened the driver’s side door, and tried to

3 pull out the person in the car. At this time, the SUV was backing up quickly, and

the complainant fell “[h]ard” to the ground in the parking lot.

Houston Police Department (“HPD”) Officer R. Flores testified that on July

20, 2012, he was dispatched to an auto theft from the CVS Pharmacy. When

Flores arrived, he spoke to the complainant, who was near the Redbox with her

daughters, and he noted that she had scrapes on her body. After Flores took the

complainant’s statement and the statement of an independent witness, he put out an

all-points bulletin for the complainant’s SUV.

HPD Officer R. Gilchrest testified that on July 20, 2012, he was dispatched

to the intersection of Gray Street and Main Street based on the complainant’s

electronic tracking of her stolen SUV. Near the intersection, Gilchrest located a

black Toyota 4Runner in the parking lot of a McDonald’s restaurant. He saw

appellant walking away from the SUV, followed appellant, and saw him drop a set

of keys near a newspaper bin. Gilchrest then detained appellant and tested one of

the keys to see if it started the SUV, which it did. Subsequently, the complainant

arrived at the scene, identified her SUV, and identified appellant as the person who

had taken her SUV. And appellant admitted to stealing the SUV.

Appellant testified that he had intended to steal the complainant’s SUV, and

he admitted that he had no right to take it. However, he explained that he did not

attempt to hit the complainant with the SUV and did not intend to hurt her. And,

4 when appellant put the SUV in reverse, he turned his head, so he did not see the

complainant fall.

On cross-examination, the State questioned appellant about his prior

convictions: (1) on September 22, 2011, in cause number 1318155, in the 230th

District Court of Harris County, Texas, appellant was convicted of the felony

offense of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle; (2) on March 27, 2007, in cause

number 1106563, in the 248th District Court of Harris County, Texas, appellant

was convicted of the felony offense of burglary of a habitation; (3) on February 19,

2007, in cause number 1435174, in the Harris County Criminal Court at Law No.

4, appellant was convicted of the misdemeanor offense of theft; (4) on July 17,

2006, in cause number 1066491, in the 182nd District Court of Harris County,

Texas, appellant was convicted of the felony offense of unauthorized use of a

motor vehicle; (5) on March 17, 2004, in cause number 0980862, in the 179th

District Court of Harris County, Texas, appellant was convicted of the felony

offense of robbery; and (6) on March 25, 2002, in cause number 1107125, in the

Harris County Criminal Court at Law No. 7, appellant was convicted of the

misdemeanor offense of prostitution.

Appellant also admitted that after he had gotten into the complainant’s SUV,

he saw her running towards him and heard her screaming at him not to take her

SUV. He admitted that there was a struggle between himself and the complainant

5 over the SUV. Further, appellant admitted that he knew that the complainant was

right beside the SUV when he started to back it away and drive off without

stopping or slowing down. Instead, appellant pressed his foot down on the gas

pedal.

Sufficiency of the Evidence

In his first issue, appellant argues that the evidence is legally insufficient to

support his conviction because the State failed to prove that he intentionally or

knowingly caused bodily injury to the complainant.

We review the legal sufficiency of the evidence by considering all of the

evidence “in the light most favorable to the prosecution” to determine whether any

“rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a

reasonable doubt.” Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318–19, 99 S. Ct. 2781,

2788–89 (1979). Our role is that of a due process safeguard, ensuring only the

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