Triplett v. State

686 S.W.2d 342, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6189
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedFebruary 14, 1985
Docket01-84-0424-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by12 cases

This text of 686 S.W.2d 342 (Triplett 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
Triplett v. State, 686 S.W.2d 342, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6189 (Tex. Ct. App. 1985).

Opinion

OPINION

HOYT, Justice.

The appellant was convicted by a jury of aggravated robbery and assessed punishment at 50 years confinement in the Department of Corrections.

The complainant, Pamela Paschal, first met the appellant at a Houston nightclub in September 17, 1983. At closing time, he asked her for a ride to his truck. While she was stopped at a red light, he reached over and put the car in park, took the keys out of the ignition, displayed a knife, and threatened to kill her. She then jumped out of the car, and he moved into the driver’s seat and drove off.

The complainant identified the appellant in a line-up on February 1, 1984, and at trial. Appellant now brings five grounds of error.

In the first ground of error, the appellant complains that the evidence is insufficient to prove that the knife is a deadly weapon. The following instruction on deadly weapon, which follows Tex.Penal Code Ann. sec. 1.07(a)(ll) (Vernon 1974), was given to the jury:

“Deadly weapon” means a firearm or anything manifestly designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting death or serious bodily injury; or anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury.

A knife is not a deadly weapon per se; however, consideration of the manner in which a knife is used or intended to be used, its size, shape, and sharpness, and its capacity to cause death or serious bodily injury may dictate a finding that a knife is a deadly weapon. Davidson v. State, 602 S.W.2d 272 (Tex.Crim.App.1980); Denham v. State, 574 S.W.2d 129 (Tex.Crim.App. 1978). In the absence of serious bodily injury, the jury must discern the manner of the knife’s use or its intended use, its capacity to produce death or serious bodily injury, as well as its size, shape, and sharpness in determining whether the knife is a deadly weapon. Batro v. State, 635 S.W.2d 156, 158 (Tex.App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1982, no pet.).

In the case before us, the knife was not introduced into evidence however, and *344 the complainant’s description of the knife was somewhat expositive and uncontradict-ed. She described the knife as a pocketknife with a four or five-inch shining blade with a point on the end. She testified that she was sitting in the front passenger seat, and the complainant was in the driver’s seat when the appellant held the knife up to her view. When the complainant did not get out of the car following appellant’s threat, he held the knife closer to her face as he repeated his threat to kill her. She testified that she feared for her life and exited the car, leaving her shoes and purse behind.

We conclude that when a knife, as described in this case, is exhibited in the manner described, there is sufficient evidence from which the jury could conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the weapon was deadly “in the manner of its use or intended use.” Ground of error one is overruled.

Ground of error two alleges error because the trial court overruled appellant’s objection to the jury charge due to the trial judge’s failure to include an instruction on the lesser included offense of robbery.

The established rule is that trial courts will instruct the jury on the lesser included offense when there is some evidence that raises an issue of the lesser included offense and there is testimony that if the defendant is guilty, he is guilty only, of the lesser offense. Hunter v. State, 647 S.W.2d 657, 658 (Tex.Crim.App. 1983).

In the case at hand, the complainant’s testimony describing the knife, the proximity of the parties, and the location of the knife were not challenged on cross-examination. Although the knife was not introduced into evidence, the description was expositive and uncontradicted. The appellant points out in his brief that the jury could have had a reasonable doubt whether he used or exhibited a deadly weapon. Any reasonable doubt that a jury could have had must arise from the evidence or lack of evidence concerning whether the knife met the deadly weapon test. Where the appellant offers no evidence and a review of the record reveals no conflicting evidence concerning the deadly weapon, an instruction on the lesser offense of robbery is not required, especially when the deadly weapon test is otherwise met. See Parr v. State, 658 S.W.2d 620, 622 (Tex.Crim.App.1983); Stevens v. State, 636 S.W.2d 857, 860 (Tex.App.—Waco 1982, pet. ref’d).

Ground of error two is overruled.

The final three grounds center on an order deferring adjudication, which was admitted into evidence at the punishment phase. On January 19, 1983, the appellant was placed on probation for six years by an order of probation out of Cherokee County, without an adjudication of guilt. The admission of the deferred adjudication order was objected to in this case based on the premise that it was not an adjudication of guilt. Appellant urges that the deferred adjudication order is not a “prior criminal record” within the meaning of Tex.Code Crim.P.Ann. art. 37.07, sec. 3(a) (Vernon 1981), and therefore, its admission constitutes reversible error.

Article 37.07, sec. 3(a) provides as follows:

Sec. 3. Evidence of prior criminal record in all criminal cases after a finding of guilty
(a) Regardless of the plea and whether the punishment be assessed by the judge or the jury, evidence may be offered by the state and the defendant as to the prior criminal record of the defendant, his general reputation and his character. The term prior criminal record means a final conviction in a court of record, or a probated or suspended sentence that has occurred prior to trial, or any final conviction material to the offense charged.

The appellant relies on the holding in Baehr v. State, 615 S.W.2d 713, 716 (Tex. Crim.App.1981), which holds that the deferred adjudication order is not a prior criminal record within the meaning of art. 37.07, sec. 3(a). The rationale is that a prior criminal record is a finding of guilt, *345 contrary to the informal administrative procedure of rendering deferred adjudication where no such finding is made. Id. at 716.

The State, however, contends that the deferred adjudication order is admissible under Tex.Code Crim.P.Ann. art. 42.12, sec. 3d(c) (Vernon 1979). This section provides as follows:

Sec. 3d(c) On expiration of a probationary period imposed under Subsection (а) of this section, if the court has not proceeded to adjudication of guilt, the court shall dismiss the proceedings against the defendant and discharge him.

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Bluebook (online)
686 S.W.2d 342, 1985 Tex. App. LEXIS 6189, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/triplett-v-state-texapp-1985.