Russell v. State

665 S.W.2d 771, 1983 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1111
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 6, 1983
Docket66410
StatusPublished
Cited by254 cases

This text of 665 S.W.2d 771 (Russell v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Russell v. State, 665 S.W.2d 771, 1983 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1111 (Tex. 1983).

Opinions

OPINION

ONION, Presiding Judge.

This appeal is taken from a conviction for capital murder. Punishment was assessed at death by the court in accordance with [773]*773the jury’s affirmative answers to the two special issues submitted pursuant to Article 37.071(b)(1) and (2), Y.A.C.C.P.

Appellant advances sixteen grounds of error. This is a circumstantial evidence case. Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence at the guilt stage of the trial, to support the verdict, or to show that the murder was committed in the course of committing robbery. He also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the jury’s affirmative findings to special issues one and two at the penalty stage of the trial. In other grounds of error appellant contends the court erred in failing to quash the indictment as it did not name the victim of the robbery, that the court erred in admitting a blood sample taken from him by virtue of a search warrant, that the court erred in admitting an extraneous offense and prejudicial opinion testimony, that the court erred in refusing a special requested charge on “deliberate” at the penalty stage of the trial, and also erred in submitting special issues no. 2 as it is unconstitutionally vague.

We shall initially examine the evidence. The deceased, Hubert Otha Tobey, was an employee of the Federal Aviation Administration at the Abilene Municipal Airport. His working hours on Sunday, December 2, 1979 were from 4 p.m. until midnight. Rodney Tobey, deceased’s son, testified his father left home about 3:40 p.m. on that date to go to work. He was wearing a brown suede jacket, dark pants and Dan Post boots. The deceased was driving his wife’s 1974 Lincoln Continental Mark IV automobile bearing Texas license plates MXM 997. The car had a defective tail light. He was to fill the automobile with gas after work. His wife’s white Levi jacket was in the automobile. Rodney Tobey testified his father owned a pocket knife with two sharp blades and carried a wallet and a money clip.

Joe Boyle, air traffic control specialist with the .Federal Aviation Administration, relieved the deceased at the airport on December 2, 1979. He arrived at the airport about 20 minutes to midnight, was briefed by the deceased on operational conditions. According to Boyle the deceased left the F.A.A. facility at approximately 11:45 p.m.

The deceased had been issued three Save a $ club gasoline credit cards, nos. 13,181, 13,182 and 13,183, for use at unmanned self-service gas stations. Insertion of a card would activate the gas pump and then information concerning the transaction would be relayed via telephone wires to a computer which would record the details, including the date, time, place, amount of gasoline purchased and the number of the credit card.

Donald Manley, computer programmer for Western Marketing Company, testified from computer printouts concerning the transactions of December 2, 1979. The printouts reflected that at 11:56 p.m. someone using card no. 13,181 issued to H.O. Tobey inserted the card at a pump at the station on South Seventh and Treadway Streets in Abilene. The system was activated, but no gas was pumped. At 11:59 p.m. the same card was used at the same pump to complete a transaction, reflecting that 20 gallons of gas were pumped.

Abilene police officer, Bernard Kastner, testified that while on patrol at 12:50 a.m. on December 3, 1979 he stopped at the Minute Stop Grocery at East Highway 80 and Washington Boulevard. There he observed a silver or grey Lincoln Continental with Texas license no. MXM 997. Standing on the left side of the car was a white male with curly brown hair. Kastner identified appellant as being of the same height and build of the person he observed by the car. He saw a black male, muscular build and acne facial marks, come out of the store and get into the ear. The Continental then proceeded west on Highway 80.

James Miller, Abilene police officer, and his partner, David Gage, stopped at the Minute Stop about 12:50 a.m. on December 3. Miller saw Kastner’s vehicle and a silver Continental. One man was in the driver’s seat of the Continental and a black male came out of the store in a hurry, get in the car, and it proceeded west on Highway 80. Officer Gage described the driver [774]*774of the Continental as a white male. He saw a black male come out of the store at a fast pace and get into the passenger’s side of the car.

Both Gage and Miller noticed one of the tail lights on the Continental was not working. Gage stated a photograph of the To-bey Continental looked like the one he saw at the Minute Stop.

Between 9 and 9:30 a.m. on December 3 John Woods went to 526 Thomas Street in Abilene to pick up his stepdaughter’s husband for work. Upon arrival, he saw a padlock on the door, and then observed a lot of blood and brain matter. Woods went to get a friend and to call the police.

Abilene police officer, Jay Barbian, responded to the call and went to 526 Thomas Street. Barbian found the partially nude body of the deceased at the location. Investigation uncovered a large piece of concrete with fresh blood on it. A bloody white Levi jacket was found as well as a brown suede jacket.

Dr. Jarrett Williams, a pathologist, conducted the autopsy on the deceased’s body. He related Tobey had received a severe blow to his head, crushing his skull, which could have been from the bloody piece of concrete found at the scene. A large portion of the brain was missing. There were numerous knife wounds, one being to the juglar vein, which could have caused death.

Appellant was identified as one of two men entering the Big Tex Pawn Shop in Midland on December 3, 1979 between 9:30 and 10:30 a.m. John Dungan, the operator, also stated appellant was accompanied by a black male. They attempted to pawn a television set. When Dungan requested identification, the black male went to a silver Lincoln or Mercury, and then appellant presented Dungan with a driver’s license with the name Tobey or Tomey on it. The license photo did not resemble appellant and appellant gave Dungan a different birth date than that on the driver’s license. Dungan refused to accept the television set. When the two men left, Dungan took the license number of the car which he believed to be MXM 997.

Midland police officer, Ronnie Wilson, testified he saw a Lincoln bearing license plate number MXM 997 at the B & B Trading Post in Midland about 10 a.m. on December 3, 1979. Two men, one white, approximately appellant’s size, and a black male, were unloading a television set from the car and taking it into the trading post.

Michael Wicker was hitchhiking from Plains, Texas to Hobbs, New Mexico, on the afternoon of December 3, 1979. About 10 miles out of Hobbs he was picked up by a white male and a black male in a silver Lincoln. He identified appellant as the driver and William Battee, Jr., as the black male passenger. Battee told Wicker they got the car from appellant’s “old lady,” and when Wicker noticed blood in the car Bat-tee explained appellant had been punched in the nose when he had taken the car keys. After arriving in Hobbs, they went to a Mimi Mall to get something to eat. Appellant, who was apparently drunk, and Bat-tee began “grabbing” women in the mall, causing a disturbance. Wicker paid for their food and left. Appellant and Battee followed. Officers were near the Continental and all three men were arrested.

Hobbs police officer, Richard Baum, testified at approximately 2 p.m.

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

Related

Julie Michelle Stastny v. the State of Texas
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2023
Jose Belmares v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2020
Bobby Ray Turner v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2018
Alfredo Suarez, Jr. v. State
Court of Appeals of Texas, 2017
Batiste v. State
217 S.W.3d 74 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2006)
Nicholson v. State
162 S.W.3d 389 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2005)
Guevara v. State
152 S.W.3d 45 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2004)
1986 Dodge 150 Pickup Vin 1B7FD14T1GS006316 v. State
129 S.W.3d 180 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2004)
Resendiz v. State
112 S.W.3d 541 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2003)
Gutierrez v. State
71 S.W.3d 372 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 2001)
Oles v. State
993 S.W.2d 103 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1999)
Turro v. State
950 S.W.2d 390 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Howlett v. State
946 S.W.2d 870 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Dodgen v. State
924 S.W.2d 216 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1996)
Harris v. State
913 S.W.2d 706 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1995)
Wilson v. State
899 S.W.2d 36 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1995)
Brown v. State
878 S.W.2d 695 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1994)
Kapuscinski v. State
878 S.W.2d 248 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1994)
Lee v. State
866 S.W.2d 298 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1994)
Barnes v. State
876 S.W.2d 316 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1994)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
665 S.W.2d 771, 1983 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 1111, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/russell-v-state-texcrimapp-1983.