Rogers v. State

828 S.W.2d 221, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 1174, 1992 WL 57186
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 23, 1992
DocketNo. 05-91-00207-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by1 cases

This text of 828 S.W.2d 221 (Rogers 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
Rogers v. State, 828 S.W.2d 221, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 1174, 1992 WL 57186 (Tex. Ct. App. 1992).

Opinion

[222]*222OPINION

KAPLAN, Justice.

A jury convicted Ronald Wayne Rogers of burglary of a vehicle. The jury assessed punishment, enhanced by two prior convictions, at seventy years’ confinement. Appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to establish his guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. We disagree and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Katherine Wright testified that on the evening of December 9, 1990, she stopped at a Texaco station to buy gasoline. Wright kept a watchful eye on her Jeep while she was inside the station. She had left her purse on the passenger seat, and the door was unlocked. The area was lighted by an overhang that extended from the main building to the outer pumps.

While Wright was paying for her gasoline, she noticed a black male near her Jeep. The man wore a white shirt. Wright testified that the man made eye contact with her and appeared to smile at her. The man then got into the passenger side of an older-model white car. The car was parked next to her Jeep but facing the opposite direction. Wright noted that the driver of the white car turned onto a service road alongside the service station.

Wright finished paying for the gasoline and returned to her Jeep. She immediately realized that her purse was not on the passenger seat. She checked the floorboard in the front and back seats, but she could not find her purse. Wright then began chasing the white car on foot.

Two police officers had stopped the driver of the white car for a traffic violation just a few hundred yards from the service station. The only other person in the car, appellant, was seated in the front passenger seat. Wright told one of the officers that she thought that one of the occupants of the white car had taken her purse from her Jeep. She described the purse to the officer. Wright then returned to the service station to get her Jeep.-

When Wright returned to where the police officers had stopped the white car, she saw her purse on the hood of the vehicle. One of the officers testified that he found the purse on the front passenger floorboard at appellant’s feet. The officer asked Wright if she could identify the man who stole her purse. Wright asked the officer if both men were wearing white shirts. Only the appellant was wearing a white shirt.

Wright testified that she did not give appellant or anyone else effective consent to enter her Jeep.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

In his sole point of error, appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for burglary of a vehicle. Appellant points out that nobody saw him actually enter Wright’s car. Nobody saw him in exclusive possession of the purse. Nobody testified that he acted as a look-out while someone else took the purse. Appellant argues that the driver of the car could have committed the burglary without his knowledge. Thus, appellant contends that the evidence does not exclude every reasonable hypothesis other than his guilt. We disagree.

1. Standard of Review

In determining the sufficiency of the evidence, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict. We determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Turner v. State, 805 S.W.2d 423, 427 (Tex.Crim. App.), cert. denied, — U.S.-, 112 S.Ct. 202, 116 L.Ed.2d 162 (1991). This standard of review is the same for both direct and circumstantial evidence cases. Garrett v. State, 682 S.W.2d 301, 304 (Tex.Crim.App.1984), cert. denied, 471 U.S. 1009, 105 S.Ct. 1876, 85 L.Ed.2d 168 (1985). In circumstantial evidence cases, however, a finding of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt is not a rational finding if the evidence supports a reasonable inference other than the guilt of [223]*223the accused.1 Carlsen v. State, 654 S.W.2d 444, 449 (Tex.Crim.App.198B) (op. on reh’g); Kirven v. State, 751 S.W.2d 212, 215 (Tex.App.—Dallas 1988, no pet.). The State is not required to prove to a moral certainty that the circumstances presented actually exclude every hypothesis that the criminal act may have been committed by another person. The State must only exclude every reasonable hypothesis raised by the evidence that would tend to exculpate the accused. Brandley v. State, 691 S.W.2d 699, 703 (Tex.Crim.App.1983). Each fact need not point directly and independently to the guilt of the accused. The cumulative effect of all the incriminating facts may be sufficient to support the conviction. Livingston v. State, 739 S.W.2d 311, 330 (Tex.Crim.App.1987), cert. denied, 487 U.S. 1210, 108 S.Ct. 2858, 101 L.Ed.2d 895 (1988).

2. Elements of the Offense

In this case, the court instructed the jury on the elements of burglary of a vehicle. A person commits an offense if, without the effective consent of the owner, he breaks into or enters a vehicle or any part of a vehicle with intent to commit any felony or theft. Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 30.04(a) (Vernon 1989). The court also instructed the jury on the law of parties. A person is criminally responsible as a party to an offense if the offense is committed by his own conduct, by the conduct of another for which he is criminally responsible, or by both. Tex.Penal Code Ann. § 7.01(a) (Vernon 1974). Circumstantial and direct evidence are equally probative for proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Hankins v. State, 646 S.W.2d 191, 199 (Tex.Crim.App.1983).

3. Application of the Law to the Facts

We find that a rational trier of fact could have found beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant, either acting alone or with another as a party, committed the offense with which he was charged. Among the facts that the jury could have considered to determine appellant’s guilt are: (1) the burglary occurred while Wright was at the service station; (2) Wright testified that she saw only one person near her Jeep at the gas station — a black man wearing a white shirt; (3) Wright testified that the black male in the white shirt left the gas station in a late-model white car; (4) two police officers stopped the same late-model white car as it left the gas station; (5) appellant was one of two people in the white car; (6) the other person in the car was not wearing a white shirt; and (7) an officer testified that Wright’s purse was on the front passenger floorboard at appellant’s feet. We hold that the cumulative effect of all these incriminating facts is sufficient to exclude every reasonable hypothesis other than appellant’s guilt and to support his conviction.

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828 S.W.2d 221, 1992 Tex. App. LEXIS 1174, 1992 WL 57186, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/rogers-v-state-texapp-1992.