Rodriguez v. State

691 S.W.2d 77, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6929
Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided May 2, 1985·No. 01-84-0201-CR·Published·Cited by 7 cases

Opinion

OPINION

COHEN, Justice.

A jury convicted the appellant of robbery, and the court assessed punishment at twelve years confinement.

In his first ground of error, the appellant contends that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he was a party to the offense.

The evidence revealed that on September 22, 1983, the complainant and two of his friends left a lounge and were walking down the street when a car with four passengers, including the appellant, pulled alongside them and stopped. One unidentified man got out of the car with a gun and shot the complainant as he started to run away. The complainant kept running and the man fired again. Another unidentified man who had gotten out of the car hit the complainant with a bat several times and demanded money. When the complainant handed over his money, the man with the bat fled. One of the complainant’s companions was shot and killed during the incident.

The appellant’s confession, introduced by the State, stated:

Last night Johnny Ray Miles and I walked to Felix Martinez’ house. Felix lives on Coronado Street with his wife and mother-in-law. We got there around 9:00 p.m. When we arrived, Felix was not in so we visited with Henry, Anthony and Earnie who are Felix’s brothers-in-law. Shortly after we arrived at the house Felix arrived in his car.
We were at the house approximately thirty minutes drinking beer. We then drove around for a while or until we saw the three Mexican guys. The three guys were walking on Freeman Street. I know that they were on Freeman Street because I used to live on the street. After seeing the Mexican boys, Johnny said, ‘Let’s get them krokers.’ I understood that we were to jump them and rob them. Anthony and Johnny got out of the car on Freeman Street. Felix and I stayed in the car, which was on Freeman *79 Street, and near Anthony and Johnny and the three Mexican guys.
Johnny had a pistol pointed at the guys. All of the guys started running. I then saw Anthony and Johnny started shooting at the guys. Two of the guys ran toward Felix and me. I threw a baseball bat at one of them. The bat missed and Felix then picked it up and threw it at the same guy. I think Felix did hit the guy with the bat. I heard three shots fired.
I know that Anthony had the .25 caliber pistol and it only had one bullet. I know this because Anthony showed me the automatic pistol with the bullet prior to shooting the guys. Johnny was carrying a .22 caliber revolver, black steel with a long barrel.

A defendant is guilty as a party when he is physically present at the commission of the offense and encourages the commission of the offense either by words or other agreement. Porter v. State, 634 S.W.2d 846, 849 (Tex.Crim.App.1982). In this case, the appellant argues that, although present, he did not encourage the commission of the offense by any means.

The appellant cites several cases in which convictions were reversed for insufficient evidence of guilt as a party. However, all of those cases present much less evidence than the proof in this case. In Strelec v. State, 662 S.W.2d 617 (Tex.App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1983, pet. ref d), the defendant was only in the vicinity of the burglary and denied any knowledge of the burglary. In Ortiz v. State, 577 S.W.2d 246 (Tex.Crim.App.1979), the defendant left a lounge with someone who shot a man in the parking lot. The defendant was standing 25 feet away at the time of the shooting and drove away with the assailant in his truck. There was no evidence of “bad blood” between the defendant and the victim. In Urtado v. State, 605 S.W.2d 907 (Tex.Crim.App.1980), both the defendant and the actual perpetrator testified that the defendant had no knowledge of the offense and that he had arrived at the scene only after the attempted burglary. In Porter v. State, supra, the defendant was simply present at the scene and gave a false name. There was no evidence in any of these cases that the defendant anticipated and encouraged commission of the offense. In every case, the courts held that presence at or near the scene was insufficient to sustain a conviction.

In this case, the evidence goes beyond mere presence. The appellant’s confession demonstrates that he knew an armed robbery was about to occur and that he agreed to participate in the robbery. He stated, “I understood that we were to jump them and rob them ... I know [sic] that Anthony had the .25 caliber pistol and it only had one bullet. I know this because Anthony showed me the automatic pistol with the bullet prior to shooting the guys.”

This evidence is sufficient to prove that the appellant was a party to the offense.

We further note that the appellant testified during the punishment stage of the trial and gave testimony that could be construed, when viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, as an admission of guilt. The testimony, all on direct examination, was as follows:

Q: Now, have you thought over about this crime that you committed?
A: Yes sir_
Q: Well, how do you feel about it? Do you feel sorry for what you did?
A: Yes sir....
Q: You violated the law?
A: Yes sir....
Q: Now, would you be willing to pay, if the court would allow you, the damages and the pain that you have made these victims suffer? These people that were hurt? You heard them come up and testify?
A: Yes sir....
Q: And you were in some way stronger than those two victims. Are you sorry for what you did to them?
A: .Yes sir....
Q: Are you willing to make it up to them?
A: Yes sir....
*80 Q: Are you willing to, if this court sees fit, to contribute, to make up to the victims of crime for what you did?
A: Yes sir....
Q: You are truly sorry for what you have done?
A: Yes sir....

The State did not cross-examine.

A challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence is waived by testimony at the punishment stage admitting the crime. Gordon v. State, 651 S.W.2d 793 (Tex.Crim.App.1983); Brown v. State, 617 S.W.2d 234 (Tex.Crim.App.1981).

The first ground of error is overruled.

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

Rodriguez v. State, 691 S.W.2d 77, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6929 (Tex. Ct. App. 1985).

691 S.W.2d 77 (Rodriguez v. State) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

James Haught v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2021
Vaughn v. State
888 S.W.2d 62 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1994)
Mata v. State
867 S.W.2d 798 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1993)
Caro v. State
771 S.W.2d 610 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1989)
Stone v. State
751 S.W.2d 579 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1988)
Sanders v. State
715 S.W.2d 771 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1986)