Selvage v. State

680 S.W.2d 17, 1984 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 700
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Texas
DecidedJuly 11, 1984
Docket67620
StatusPublished
Cited by64 cases

This text of 680 S.W.2d 17 (Selvage 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
Selvage v. State, 680 S.W.2d 17, 1984 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 700 (Tex. 1984).

Opinion

OPINION

W.C. DAVIS, Judge.

This is an appeal from a conviction for capital murder. Punishment was assessed at death.

The record reveals that on July 30, 1979, at approximately 6:15 p.m., Brenda Joseph entered Ventura’s Jewelry Store in Houston. Several minutes later, appellant and *19 Wilbur Kelly 1 entered the store; both carried shoulder bags. Also present in the store at that time were: Stephen Ventura, the store owner; the victim, Harris County Deputy Sheriff Albert, Garza; 2 and Char-lye Jo Ivy and Ken Roberts, employees of Ventura.

Ventura testified that when appellant, Kelly, and Joseph entered the store, he was uncomfortable because they had been in the store earlier that day and were not regular customers. Ventura further stated that he informed Garza of his apprehension. Ventura then waited on the men while Ivy helped the woman. Garza, apparently in an effort to ensure that the three would cause no trouble, removed his coat and approached the counter in order to display his Deputy Sheriffs badge and his service pistol. Garza then escorted appellant to another section of the display counter in order to wait on him.

Subsequently, Kelly asked Ventura to fill out a layaway order on a ring. To complete this transaction, Ventura and Kelly moved to the section of the counter where appellant and Garza were standing. When Ventura bent over to obtain a layaway sales ticket, he heard a gunshot and Garza fell against him; Ventura did not see who fired the shot. As Ventura retreated to his office to obtain his revolver, he heard more gunshots; he then came out of his office, observed appellant bending over a broken jewelry case and removing the contents, and fired his revolver as he ran to the display section of the store.

Ken Roberts obtained a shotgun from inside the jewelry store, and he and Ventu-ra pursued appellant and Kelly to the parking lot, where a shootout ensued between the four men. Ventura and Roberts testified that appellant and Kelly fired at them during their pursuit. 3 Ventura and Roberts returned to the store where they found that Deputy Garza had been shot in the neck. Neither Roberts nor Ivy saw who shot Garza.

In his first ground of error, appellant contends that the charge to the jury at the guilt phase of the trial was fundamentally defective in that it authorized a conviction with respect to count one of the indictment upon a theory not alleged in the indictment.

Count one of the indictment alleged the offense of capital murder pursuant to V.T. C.A. Penal Code Sec. 19.03(a)(2), and stated in pertinent part that:

... John Henry Selvage, hereafter styled the Defendant, heretofore on or about July 30, 1979, did then and there unlawfully while in the course of committing and attempting to commit Robbery of Stephen Ventura, intentionally cause the death of Albert Garza, hereafter styled the complainant, by shooting the complainant with a gun. (Emphasis added)

The trial court’s charge to the jury applied the law to the facts of the case as follows:

Therefore, if you find from the evidence beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant, John Henry Selvage, on or about July 30, 1979, in Harris County, Texas, acting alone or as a party as that term has been defined, while in the course of committing or attempting to commit robbery, intentionally caused the death of Albert Garza by shooting him with a gun, you will find the defendant guilty of capital murder.

Appellant argues that he was charged with committing and attempting to commit the robbery of Stephen Ventura; therefore, the charge was fundamentally defective as it failed to name the victim of the robbery or attempted robbery. Appellant made no objection to the charge; neither *20 did he request a different or supplemental charge.

In Sattiewhite v. State, 600 S.W.2d 277 (Tex.Cr.App.1980) (Opinion on Rehearing), this Court held that a charge on aggravated robbery that did “not include certain details of the underlying offense of theft alleged in the indictment and proved by the State ... is not enough to render it fatally defective. Trostle v. State, 588 S.W.2d 925, 930-931 (Tex.Cr.App.1980); Frank v. State, 558 S.W.2d 12, 15-16 (Tex.Cr.App.1977).” Id at 285. This Court further stated that:

[i]f not otherwise faulty, a charge of the court that requires the jury to find each essential element of the offense charged and comports with the legal theory presented by the State through evidence that proves every factual allegation made in the charging instrument is not fundamentally defective, for the accused has been apprised of everything that due process and due course of law mandate. Id at 285.

Applying the reasoning in Sattiewhite v. State, supra, we first recognize that the essential elements of capital murder as charged in the instant case, pursuant to Sec. 1903(a)(2), supra, are:

1. a person,
2. intentionally,
3. caused the death of an individual,
4. in the course of committing or attempting to commit aggravated robbery.

' In the instant case, the indictment alleged and the evidence presented by the State showed that appellant engaged in conduct which constituted each and every essential element of the offense of capital murder under Sec. 19.03(a)(2), supra. 4 Further, the charge of the court in applying the law to the facts required the jury to find each essential element of capital murder under Sec. 19.03(a)(2), supra, in order to convict.

We additionally point out that a charge must be viewed as a whole to determine whether fundamental error exists. See White v. State, 610 S.W.2d 504, 507 (Tex.Cr.App.1981). Review should not be limited to parts of a charge standing alone. Jackson v. State, 591 S.W.2d 820, 824-25 (Tex.Cr.App.1979). In the instant case the second paragraph following the application portion of the charge stated:

You are further instructed that the mere presence of the defendant, John Henry Selvage, at the scene of the alleged robbery of Stephen Ventura, if you have so found, would not constitute him a party to the offense.

The ground of error is overruled.

Appellant next contends that the court’s charge to the jury was fundamentally defective for failing to apply the law of parties to the facts of the case.

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Bluebook (online)
680 S.W.2d 17, 1984 Tex. Crim. App. LEXIS 700, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/selvage-v-state-texcrimapp-1984.