Ronald Lamont Guyton v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas·Decided February 6, 2009·No. 10-07-00070-CR·Published

Opinion

IN THE TENTH COURT OF APPEALS

No. 10-07-00070-CR

RONALD LAMONT GUYTON, Appellant v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

From the 85th District Court Brazos County, Texas Trial Court No. 0603643-CRF85

OPINION ON PETITION FOR DISCRETIONARY REVIEW

A jury convicted Ronald Guyton of three counts of possession of cocaine with

intent to deliver and assessed his punishment at fifty years’ confinement for count one,

two years’ confinement for count two, and fifty years’ confinement for count three.

Guyton’s appellate counsel contends in his sole point that Guyton received ineffective

assistance of trial counsel. Guyton contends in a pro se supplemental brief that: (1) the

evidence is legally and factually insufficient to prove possession with intent to deliver;

(2) the trial court erred when it failed to inquire into a conflict of interest between himself and his attorney; and (3) the State failed to give him timely notice of its intent to

use prior convictions for enhancement purposes.

On original submission, this Court reversed the judgment due to factual

insufficiency. See Guyton v. State, No. 10-07-00070-CR, 2008 Tex. App. LEXIS 8371 (Tex.

App.—Waco Nov. 5, 2008). As authorized by Rule of Appellate Procedure 50, we issue

this modified opinion within sixty days after the State filed its petition for discretionary

review. TEX. R. APP. P. 50. On reconsideration of the issues presented, we will affirm

the judgment and withdraw our prior opinion and judgment. Id.

Background

On the evening of April 26, 2006, Officers Steve Spillars and Paul Mahoney

attempted to stop a white Pontiac that was allegedly operating with a defective

headlight.1 The Pontiac did not immediately pull over but continued to travel east on

Highway 21 in Bryan until it turned onto Waco Street. Spillars testified that, as the

Pontiac began to stop, he got out of the patrol car because he saw the back door of the

Pontiac opening. Guyton, who was wearing a black baseball cap, ran from the back

door of the Pontiac and was chased by Spillars. During the chase, Spillars saw Guyton

throw a small object from his right hand.

When Guyton was arrested, he initially falsely identified himself as Christopher

Brice Daniels. Mahoney then ran Guyton’s fingerprints through the FBI and DPS

databases under the name Christopher Daniels. However, when Mahoney took Guyton

1 Christi French, the Pontiac’s driver, testified at trial that the headlights on the Pontiac were working properly.

Guyton v. State Page 2 the fingerprint cards to sign, he signed his name as Ronald Guyton. Subsequent

investigation confirmed Guyton’s identity. When the officers searched Guyton, he was

not carrying any contraband, and he did not appear to be under the influence of

narcotics.

Spillars searched the area and located a black baseball cap, a food-coloring bottle,

and two plastic sandwich bags that had been tied together. The contents of the

sandwich bags and the food-coloring bottle were later tested and weighed, and forensic

scientist Joel Budge testified that the bags contained .40 grams of cocaine and 3.57

grams of ecstasy. The food-coloring bottle contained 5.15 grams of PCP.

Officer Spillars testified that possession of less than a gram of cocaine would

usually be charged as simple possession. He also testified that Guyton was initially

charged with simple possession and not possession with intent to deliver.

Detective Robert Wilson, College Station Police Department, testified that street-

level drug dealers normally carry enough drugs for only a few sales. Furthermore, a

street-level drug dealer normally would not document his drug sales on a narcotics

ledger, as they typically operate on a hand-to-hand basis. Street-level dealers carry a

low amount of product in order to be able to quickly eat, drop, or destroy evidence if

stopped by law enforcement. He also testified to the perceived effects of each of the

individual drugs Guyton possessed and stated that a typical drug user would not

collectively consume cocaine, ecstasy, and PCP because the drugs would counteract the

effects of each other. In his opinion, the drugs possessed by Guyton were for sale and

not personal use.

Guyton v. State Page 3 After a jury convicted Guyton on all three counts of possession with intent to

deliver, he filed a motion for new trial claiming that he did not receive effective

assistance of counsel or adequate notice of a new indictment.2 A hearing was held, the

trial court denied the motion, and this appeal followed.

Pro Se Pleadings

As an initial matter, we must address Guyton’s status as a pro se litigant before

this Court. Both Guyton and his appointed appellate counsel have filed briefs in this

matter. A criminal appellant has no right to hybrid representation. Ex parte Taylor, 36

S.W.3d 883, 887 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001); Meyer v. State, 27 S. W.3d 644, 648 (Tex. App.—

Waco 2000, pet. ref'd). Generally, when an appellant has counsel and counsel has filed

a brief, the appellant has no right to file a pro se brief. However, the prohibition on

hybrid representation is not absolute. See e. g., Warren v. State, 98 S.W.3d 739, 741 (Tex.

App.—Waco 2003, pet. ref’d). We may consider a pro se brief if the interests of justice

require us to do so. We have reviewed Guyton’s pro se supplemental brief and find that

the interests of justice require that we address his issues. See Williams v. State, 946

S.W.2d 886, 892 (Tex. App.—Waco 1997, no pet.) (appellate court may consider pro se

issue in the interest of justice even though appellant has no right to hybrid

representation).

2 Guyton was originally charged by indictment on July 13, 2006. He was then reindicted on December 14, 2006. The only change in the new indictment was the addition of an enhancement paragraph alleging a prior conviction for possession of a controlled substance. The effect of the enhancement paragraph was to enhance the minimum range of punishment on count one to 15 years to 99 years. Count three was enhanced to a first degree punishment range, and there was no effect of the punishment range on count two.

Guyton v. State Page 4 Intent to Deliver

In his first pro se issue, Guyton challenges the legal and factual sufficiency of the

evidence to support a finding of intent to deliver.

In reviewing a claim of legal insufficiency, we view all of the evidence in a light

most favorable to the verdict and determine whether any rational trier of fact could

have found the essential element beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443

U.S. 307, 319, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979); Sells v. State, 121 S.W.3d 748,

753-54 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003); Witt v. State, 237 S.W.3d 394, 396-97 (Tex. App.—Waco

2007, pet. ref’d).

In a factual insufficiency review, we ask whether a neutral review of all the

evidence, though legally sufficient, demonstrates either that the proof of guilt is so

weak or that conflicting evidence is so strong as to render the factfinder's verdict clearly

wrong and manifestly unjust. Watson v. State, 204 S.W.3d 404, 414-15 (Tex. Crim. App.

2006); Witt, 237 S.W.3d at 397.

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