Vasquez v. State

663 S.W.2d 16
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedApril 11, 1984
Docket01-81-0345-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by9 cases

This text of 663 S.W.2d 16 (Vasquez 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
Vasquez v. State, 663 S.W.2d 16 (Tex. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

OPINION

JACK SMITH, Justice.

The appellant was convicted of capital murder and received a sentence of life imprisonment. Because he was a 16-year old minor at the time the offense occurred, the appellant was under the jurisdiction of the juvenile court. After a certification hearing, the appellant was ordered transferred to the district court, where he was later indicted for capital murder.

He contends that his conviction is void because, (1) he was not properly served with notice of the juvenile certification hearing; (2) that his confession should not have been admitted because the magistrate’s certification did not comply with the applicable provisions of the family code; (3) that his confession should not have been admitted because it was the fruit of an illegal arrest; and, (4) a cigarette lighter allegedly belonging to the victim should not have been admitted into evidence because it was obtained as a result of an illegal arrest.

On October 3, 1978, Mary Dabney and Lynn Reeves Palmer went to a restaurant for drinks with friends after work. They arrived at the restaurant at about 5:30 p.m. and remained there until approximately 10:30 p.m.

As the two ladies left the restaurant and proceeded to the parking lot to obtain their car, Ms. Dabney noticed a young man standing between two cars. As they proceeded on they heard footsteps behind them and when they turned to look, they saw a young Latin American male behind them. At that time, the young man turned off in another direction. When they reached the car, Ms. Dabney started to unlock the door when she heard Ms. Palmer scream, “Mary, he stabbed me. I’m bleeding”. As Ms. Dabney looked up, she was confronted by a man, wielding a knife, who demanded her purse. She surrendered her purse to him and he departed, running through the parking lot.

Ms. Dabney assisted Ms. Palmer to the restaurant where Ms. Palmer was treated for shock until an ambulance arrived. While waiting for the ambulance, Ms. Dab-ney gave a description of the attacker to a waitress. The waitress and other employees later told police officers that the description indicated that the attacker was Mike Vasquez, a former employee of the *19 restaurant, who had been seen at the restaurant earlier that evening. Ms. Palmer later died as a result of complications from the knife wound.

Detective Rush, of the Hedwig Police Department, testified that he arrived at the restaurant between 10:30 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. He stated that other officers were already taking statements from employees and customers, and he was directed to follow the ambulance to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital, Detective Rush was refused permission to interview Ms. Palmer. However, he was able to interview Ms. Dab-ney who described the attacker as a young, Latin American male, approximately 5'7" to 5'9" tall, of medium build, with collar length black hair. Ms. Dabney also told him that the attacker was wearing a blue shirt with a yellow design around the collar.

Detective Rush obtained the name, Michael Vasquez, from another police officer who told him he had obtained the name from the restaurant manager. On the following day, Detective Rush and Chief Jones, located an address on a Michael Vasquez from the files of the Houston Police Department. They arrived at that address about 3:00 to 3:30 p.m. and were directed to the house in which Michael Vasquez was living. They then set up surveillance and waited for the appellant to arrive.

The young man who had informed the officers of the house where Michael Vasquez resided, also told the officers that Vasquez would be back shortly in a particular type truck. When the described truck arrived at the residence under surveillance, the appellant, one other male, two females and a baby got out. The officers approached the group and identified themselves as police officers. At this point, one of the males, who the officers described as obviously intoxicated, began verbally abusing the officers. Chief Jones asked the loud one for his name but received no response. He then asked the appellant for his name, whereupon the male who had verbally abused the officers, said “Don’t tell them, Mike”. Jones then asked the appellant if he was Michael Vasquez and the appellant said “yes”. The appellant matched the physical description which the officers had and was wearing the same type shirt that Ms. Dabney had described to the police on the night of the stabbing. The appellant also had a large hunting knife on his belt.

The officers then tried to separate the appellant from the others, who were all becoming verbally abusive. Jones relieved the appellant of his knife and took him to the police car. As Jones placed the appellant in the car, Detective Rush noticed that the appellant threw away a small object. Detective Rush retrieved the object, which was a gold lighter bearing the initials LRP, which was identified at trial by Ms. Dabney as belonging to Ms. Palmer. The officers then made a call for help to the Houston Police Department in an effort to maintain the status quo.

The appellant had observed Rush retrieve the lighter and show it to Jones and as Rush got into the back seat with the appellant, prior to any questioning, the appellant volunteered the statement that he knew they had him because of the lighter.

When the Houston Officers arrived, Jones talked to them briefly and then drove Rush and the appellant back to Hedwig Village. As they drove away the appellant was advised he was under arrest and given his juvenile warnings. The appellant waived his rights and talked freely about the offense. As they proceeded along the way, the appellant pointed out the service station where he had dumped the purses after looting them. These purses had been turned over to the Houston Police Departs ment by the manager of the service station who found them early that morning. Jones was able later to locate the purses based on the appellant’s statement.

When they arrived at the Hedwig Village police station, Judge Neil McKay gave the appellant the required juvenile warnings outside the presence of the police officers. Appellant then dictated a confession to Detective Rush. When the confession was reduced to writing, Judge McKay, in private, again gave the appellant the required warn *20 ings, after which the appellant signed the confession.

In his first ground of error, the appellant asserts he was not served with notice of the juvenile court’s transfer hearing on January 4,1979. He argues that because of lack of notice, the juvenile court was without jurisdiction to transfer him to the adult court. As a result, he asserts the indictment would be void and the adult court would be without jurisdiction to try the appellant for capital murder. He concedes that he was served with notice of a December 4, transfer hearing, but contends that no one came to that hearing and the actual hearing was not held until a month later.

The record reflects that appellant was properly served with notice of a December 4 transfer hearing and all parties appeared on that date. In fact, the appellant was twice served with a summons to the December 4 discretionary transfer hearing. The second summons was served because Ms. Palmer had died, and the allegations in the State’s petition for transfer were changed from aggravated robbery to capital murder.

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

Related

Vasquez v. State
816 S.W.2d 750 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Matter of CCG
805 S.W.2d 10 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1991)
C.C.G. Matter Of
805 S.W.2d 10 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1991)
Turner v. State
796 S.W.2d 492 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1990)
Martinez v. State
792 S.W.2d 525 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1990)
Tankoy v. State
738 S.W.2d 63 (Court of Appeals of Texas, 1987)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
663 S.W.2d 16, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/vasquez-v-state-texapp-1984.