Stephen Duane Roberts v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedMarch 12, 2019
Docket12-18-00032-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Stephen Duane Roberts v. State (Stephen Duane Roberts 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
Stephen Duane Roberts v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2019).

Opinion

NOS. 12-18-00032-CR 12-18-00033-CR 12-18-00034-CR

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

TWELFTH COURT OF APPEALS DISTRICT

TYLER, TEXAS

STEPHEN DUANE ROBERTS, § APPEALS FROM THE 3RD APPELLANT

V. § JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT

THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE § HENDERSON COUNTY, TEXAS

MEMORANDUM OPINION Stephen Duane Roberts appeals his three convictions for manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance. In five issues, Appellant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions, the trial court erroneously admitted certain testimony and denied his motion for new trial, and the State committed prosecutorial misconduct and Brady violations. We affirm.

BACKGROUND Appellant was charged by indictment with manufacture or delivery of four or more but less than 200 grams of methamphetamine, one or more but less than four grams of cocaine, and one or more but less than four grams of alprazolam. He pleaded “not guilty,” and the matter proceeded to a jury trial. At trial, the evidence showed that Investigator Josh Rickman with the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office obtained a warrant to search Appellant’s home for narcotics. When deputies executed the search warrant, they first found Jason Donnell sitting on a couch by some drugs and paraphernalia. They then found Appellant in a bedroom with Elisha Jones. The first deputy to enter the room saw Appellant throw something that appeared to be a plastic baggie. Inside the room, the deputies located a bag of marijuana on a dresser and a bag of methamphetamine on the bed behind Jones. A search of Appellant’s person revealed a bag of marijuana and $656.00. A search of Jones’s person revealed a grocery bag containing cocaine, ecstasy, alprazolam, other pills, and a large amount of methamphetamine. All three occupants were arrested and charged with offenses. Ultimately, the jury found Appellant “guilty” of all charges. He pleaded “true” to two enhancement paragraphs, and the jury assessed his punishment at imprisonment for sixty years and a $5,000.00 fine in the methamphetamine case and imprisonment for twenty years and a $2,500.00 fine in the cocaine and alprazolam cases. This appeal followed.

EVIDENTIARY SUFFICIENCY In Appellant’s first issue, he argues that the evidence he possessed the methamphetamine, cocaine, and alprazolam is insufficient to support his convictions. In Appellant’s second issue, he argues that Jones’s accomplice witness testimony was not corroborated by other evidence and the remaining evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. Standard of Review and Applicable Law In reviewing the sufficiency of the evidence, the appellate court must determine whether, considering all the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, the trier of fact was rationally justified in finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 2789, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979); Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893, 899 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010). Considering the evidence “in the light most favorable to the verdict” under this standard requires the reviewing court to defer to the trier of fact’s credibility and weight determinations, because the trier of fact is the sole judge of the witnesses’ credibility and the weight to be given their testimony. Brooks, 323 S.W.3d at 899; see Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319, 99 S. Ct. at 2789. A “court faced with a record of historical facts that supports conflicting inferences must presume—even if it does not affirmatively appear in the record—that the trier of fact resolved any such conflicts in favor of the prosecution, and must defer to that resolution.” Jackson, 443 U.S. at 326, 99 S. Ct. at 2793. Circumstantial evidence is as probative as direct evidence in establishing the guilt of an actor and can alone be sufficient to establish guilt. Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9, 13 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007).

2 To satisfy the elements of manufacture or delivery of a controlled substance as alleged in the first indictment, the State was required to prove that Appellant knowingly possessed with intent to deliver four or more but less than 200 grams of methamphetamine. See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 481.112(a), (d) (West 2017). To satisfy the elements as alleged in the second indictment, the State was required to prove that Appellant knowingly possessed with intent to deliver one or more but less than four grams of cocaine. See id. § 481.112(a), (c) (West 2017). To satisfy the elements as alleged in the third indictment, the State was required to prove that Appellant knowingly possessed with intent to deliver one or more but less than four grams of alprazolam. See id. Possession To prove unlawful possession of a controlled substance, the state must prove that the accused (1) exercised care, control, or management over the contraband and (2) knew the matter was contraband. Poindexter v. State, 153 S.W.3d 402, 405 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). This evidence, whether direct or circumstantial, must establish to the requisite level of confidence that the defendant’s connection with the substance was more than merely fortuitous. Id. at 405-06. The defendant’s mere presence at a place where the substance is possessed by others does not render him a joint possessor of the substance or party to the offense. Martin v. State, 753 S.W.2d 384, 387 (Tex. Crim. App. 1988). However, presence or proximity when combined with other evidence can establish possession. Evans v. State, 202 S.W.3d 158, 162 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006). A nonexclusive list of factors relevant to possession—or “affirmative links”—includes (1) the defendant’s presence during the search, (2) whether the contraband was in plain view, (3) the contraband’s proximity and accessibility to the defendant, (4) whether the defendant was under the influence of narcotics, (5) whether the defendant possessed other contraband, (6) whether the defendant made incriminating statements, (7) whether the defendant attempted to flee, (8) whether the defendant made furtive gestures, (9) whether there was an odor of contraband, (10) whether other contraband or drug paraphernalia was present, (11) whether the defendant owned or had the right to possess the place where the contraband was found, (12) whether the place where the drugs were found was enclosed, (13) whether the defendant was found with a large amount of cash, and (14) whether the conduct of the defendant indicated consciousness of guilt. Id. at 162 n.12. Possession is established not by a certain number of these links but by the logical force of all the evidence. Id. at 162.

3 Appellant argues that the possession evidence against him is insufficient because no witness saw the bag of methamphetamine land on the bed, Appellant was not charged as a party to the offenses, Jones’s testimony was uncorroborated, 1 and there is no other evidence that he possessed the narcotics. We disagree. Several factors link Appellant to the narcotics in this case. First, the evidence indicates that Appellant lived with his mother and brother at the house where the narcotics were found. Second, numerous plastic bags and scales of the sort commonly used to weigh narcotics were found in the house. Third, Appellant was present when the search was conducted. Fourth, Appellant was found in his bedroom with Jones, who had the bag of narcotics in her pants.

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Stephen Duane Roberts v. State, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/stephen-duane-roberts-v-state-texapp-2019.