Skyler Cannon v. the State of Texas

Texas Court of Appeals, 7th District (Amarillo)·Decided July 15, 2026·No. 07-25-00213-CR·Published

Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo

No. 07-25-00213-CR

SKYLER CANNON, APPELLANT

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE

On Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 2 Lubbock County, Texas Trial Court No. CC-2024-CR-1842, Honorable Tom Brummett, Presiding

July 15, 2026 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before DOSS and YARBROUGH and PRATT, JJ.

Appellant, Skyler Cannon, appeals from her jury conviction for criminal trespass of

a habitation. 1 In one issue, she contends the evidence is legally insufficient to prove she

intentionally and knowingly remained in the habitation of another without effective consent

after receiving notice to depart. We affirm.

1 See TEX. PENAL CODE § 30.05. BACKGROUND

On January 7, 2024, Appellant was a guest at an Extended Stay America hotel in

Lubbock. The charging information alleged that she remained in the habitation of Lorenzo

Martinez III, the hotel’s assistant general manager, without effective consent after

receiving notice to depart.

Two calls to 911 shaped the day’s events. Hotel management placed the first call

at 12:44 p.m.; Lubbock police officers Lloyd Rampy and Everett Stamps arrived at 1:04

p.m. According to Officer Stamps, the officers acted as mediators between Appellant and

hotel management. The resolution reached was that Appellant would have thirty minutes

to gather her belongings and leave. The officers’ call sheet reflected that additional time

might be needed because Appellant had a large quantity of belongings. The first officers

cleared the scene at 2:01 p.m.

Hotel management called for police again approximately thirty minutes later after

Appellant remained on the premises. Officers Justin Rindlisbacher and Geoffrey Sharp

responded at 4:18 p.m. They knocked on Appellant’s door for approximately twenty

minutes, heard music playing inside, knocked during breaks in the music, and received

no response. Hotel management then provided a master key. When the officers entered,

Appellant was still in the room, and items remained throughout the kitchenette and living

area. Officer Sharp arrested Appellant for criminal trespass.

Roshan Bhakta, the hotel’s general manager, testified that Martinez was the

assistant general manager and had authority over the property. Martinez himself did not

testify.

2 Appellant testified in her own defense. She acknowledged that Martinez told her

she could not renew her stay and that she understood she needed to leave. She

contended that Martinez had entered her room while she was undressed and in bed, that

the exchange left her upset, that the elevator was not working, and that she had the

belongings one might expect in a studio apartment. Appellant testified that she believed

the first officers understood she would need more than thirty minutes and that she was

packing when the second officers arrived. On cross-examination, Appellant admitted

telling officers that she did not have to answer and that they could “knock the door down.”

The jury found Appellant guilty. The trial court assessed punishment at two days

of confinement, with credit for time served.

ANALYSIS

In her sole issue, Appellant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support her

criminal trespass conviction. Appellant contends the State failed to prove beyond a

reasonable doubt that Appellant intentionally remained at the hotel without consent to do

so. We disagree.

Our sufficiency determination is directed by the familiar standard of Jackson v.

Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318–19 (1979). We view all the evidence in the light most

favorable to the verdict to determine whether any rational factfinder could have found the

essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson, 443 U.S. at 318–

19; Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9, 13 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007). This standard gives full

play to the trier of fact’s responsibility of resolving conflicts in testimony, weighing

evidence, and drawing reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts. Hooper,

3 214 S.W.3d at 13 (citing Jackson, 443 U.S. at 318–19). The trier of fact is the sole judge

of the credibility of witnesses and the weight, if any, given to their testimony. Brooks v.

State, 323 S.W.3d 893, 899 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (plurality op.). Where the record

supports conflicting inferences, we presume the jury resolved them in favor of the verdict

and defer to that resolution. Clayton v. State, 235 S.W.3d 772, 778 (Tex. Crim. App.

2007). Sufficiency of the evidence is measured against the elements as defined by a

hypothetically correct jury charge. Malik v. State, 953 S.W.2d 234, 240 (Tex. Crim. App.

1997).

A person commits criminal trespass if the person enters or remains on the property

of another without effective consent and either had notice that entry was forbidden or

received notice to depart and failed to do so. TEX. PENAL CODE § 30.05(a); Martin v. State,

No. 07-11-00102-CR, 2012 Tex. App. LEXIS 2587, at *3 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Mar. 30,

2012, no pet.). The offense is a Class A misdemeanor when committed in a habitation.

TEX. PENAL CODE § 30.05(d)(3)(A).

Appellant does not dispute that the events occurred on the date alleged or that she

was still in the hotel room when Officers Rindlisbacher and Sharp entered. She contends

that the record shows she had been given time to pack and was in the process of leaving

when she was arrested. But our task is not to decide whether a rational juror could have

believed her account of the events, but whether the record compelled the jury to do so.

Appellant’s testimony acknowledged that she could not extend her stay and that

she needed to leave the hotel. Officer Stamps corroborated that account, describing the

resolution after the first police response as Appellant packing up and going. Even

4 accepting that Appellant was given time to gather her property, the jury could find she

had been told to leave and that Appellant knew it.

Under Section 30.05, “remaining” on the premises occurs when the defendant

stays any length of time after notice to depart. Hernandez v. State, 783 S.W.2d 764, 765

(Tex. App.—San Antonio 1990, no pet.). How long a defendant may reasonably remain

to gather her belongings is a fact question for the jury. Here, the timeline permitted the

jury to find that any temporary permission to remain for packing had ended before the

second officers arrived. The first 911 call came at 12:44 p.m., officers arrived shortly after

1:00 p.m., and the call cleared at 2:01 p.m. Hotel management called again at 2:32 p.m.,

but Officers Rindlisbacher and Sharp did not reach the property until 4:18 p.m. By then,

more than three hours had passed since police first responded to the hotel, yet Appellant

remained. Even crediting the first officers’ observation that Appellant might need more

than thirty minutes to pack, the jury could find that her continued presence hours later

exceeded any accommodation she had been given.

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

Skyler Cannon v. the State of Texas, (Tex. Ct. App. 2026).

Skyler Cannon v. the State of Texas (Skyler Cannon v. the State of Texas) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
Hooper v. State
214 S.W.3d 9 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Clayton v. State
235 S.W.3d 772 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2007)
Guevara v. State
152 S.W.3d 45 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2004)
Malik v. State
953 S.W.2d 234 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1997)
Brooks v. State
323 S.W.3d 893 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 2010)
Hernandez v. State
783 S.W.2d 764 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1990)