Tracy Morgan Dantzler v. State

CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJanuary 20, 2006
Docket03-04-00726-CR
StatusPublished

This text of Tracy Morgan Dantzler v. State (Tracy Morgan Dantzler 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
Tracy Morgan Dantzler v. State, (Tex. Ct. App. 2006).

Opinion

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN





NO. 03-04-00726-CR




Tracy Morgan Dantzler, Appellant


v.


The State of Texas, Appellee





FROM THE DISTRICT COURT OF BURNET COUNTY, 33RD JUDICIAL DISTRICT

NO. 30329, HONORABLE GUILFORD L. JONES III, JUDGE PRESIDING




M E M O R A N D U M O P I N I O N



                        A jury convicted Tracy Morgan Dantzler of possessing and manufacturing methamphetamine in an amount of 400 grams or more, and assessed his punishment at confinement for 20 years and a probated fine. See Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. §§ 481.112, .115 (West 2003). In eight issues, appellant challenges the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction, and further contends that (i) the trial court erred in denying appellant’s challenge for cause as to an objectionable juror, (ii) the State improperly injected evidence outside the record, and (iii) the statute under which appellant was convicted is impermissibly overbroad and vague as to deprive him of due process and equal protection under both the Texas and United States constitutions. We affirm the judgment of conviction.

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

                        Law enforcement officers of the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report on February 19, 2004, that a runaway juvenile could be found at appellant’s residence located at the end of a county road in Burnet County. At trial, the officers testified that they arrived at the property after dark. An unlocked gate contained warning signs of “no trespassing,” “private property,” and “keep out.” Deputy Dean Golman of the Burnet County Sheriff’s Office described the entrance to the property as having a long drive before the gate, followed by a heavily wooded area after the gate leading to a circular drive. On the property, the officers observed a mobile home, an Airstream travel trailer, a locked storage facility, and a motor home located further down a trail. Sergeant Brent Nichols testified that the perimeter of the property was fenced. A neighbor testified that appellant lived on a fenced property at the last gate at the end of a county road in Burnet County. Although she had seen other cars going past her house toward appellant’s residence, to her knowledge no one else lived on the property.

                        The State’s evidence at trial showed that when Golman, Chief Deputy Rick Allen, and another deputy arrived at the property they saw a male youth entering the Airstream trailer. One of the officers knocked on the door of the trailer but no one answered. Allen sent one of the officers to the mobile home to ask for their help in locating the runaway juvenile. Appellant and a woman with a young child were in the mobile home. The woman gave permission for the officers to enter the trailer to look for the runaway. While inside the mobile home, the officers detected the odor of cooked methamphetamine and observed appellant lying on the couch and unable to stand.

                        One of the officers entered the Airstream trailer and found two juveniles: appellant’s son and the runaway juvenile. As the officers located the juvenile, they observed a video surveillance camera in front of the motor home, an illuminated screen inside the home that was displaying the image from the mounted camera, and a light on inside the motor home. They observed an extension cord running from the mobile home through the woods to the motor home, and another that led out to the surveillance camera. The cords were visible on the ground. Golman testified that the camera was set up to capture images over the tree tops. The motor home was located some distance down a trail and neither the motor home nor the surveillance camera were visible from the vicinity of the mobile home. The officers detected a strong odor of methamphetamine emanating from the motor home.

                        The officers removed the juvenile from the trailer and returned to the mobile home. Based upon their observations, the officers secured the premises and obtained a search warrant for the motor home. According to the testimony at trial, members of the narcotics enforcement team arrived after midnight to execute the search warrant. The narcotics officers discovered the “components of a fully operational clandestine methamphetamine laboratory” inside the motor home. They videotaped and photographed the interior of the trailer and seized numerous items.

                        At trial, Deputies Allen and Golman testified about their initial investigation. Three members of the narcotics enforcement team also testified about the execution of the search warrant and the evidence videotaped, photographed, and seized. A chemist from the Department of Public Safety testified that the officers seized methamphetamine weighing 535.97 grams. After a four-day trial, the jury convicted appellant of possession and manufacture of methamphetamine.

ANALYSIS

Legal and Factual Sufficiency

                        In his first four issues, appellant challenges the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his conviction for possession and manufacture of methamphetamine. Specifically, appellant contends that his nearby presence in the mobile home and the court’s failure to include a charge on parties are insufficient to affirmatively link him to the manufacture of, or the custody or control of, the methamphetamine.

                        In a legal sufficiency review, we look at the relevant evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and determine whether a rational finder of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979); Johnson v. State, 23 S.W.3d 1, 7 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). The evidence, viewed in this light, and all reasonable inferences drawn therefrom, are evaluated in this review. Alvarado v. State, 912 S.W.2d 199, 207 (Tex. Crim. App. 1995). The trier of fact is entitled to resolve any conflicts in the evidence, to evaluate the credibility of witnesses, and to determine the weight to be given any particular evidence. See Jones v. State, 944 S.W.2d 642, 647 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). Any inconsistencies in the evidence should be resolved in favor of the verdict. Moreno v. State, 755 S.W.2d 866, 867 (Tex. Crim. App. 1988). This standard of review is the same for both direct and circumstantial evidence. Green v. State, 840 S.W.2d 394, 401 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992).

                        Factual sufficiency requires the reviewing court to view the evidence “without the prism of ‘in the light most favorable to the prosecution.’” Clewis v. State, 922 S.W.2d 126, 129 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996).

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