Webb v. Schlagal

530 S.W.3d 793
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedAugust 31, 2017
DocketNo. 11-14-00101-CV
StatusPublished
Cited by19 cases

This text of 530 S.W.3d 793 (Webb v. Schlagal) 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
Webb v. Schlagal, 530 S.W.3d 793 (Tex. Ct. App. 2017).

Opinion

OPINION

MIKE WILLSON, JUSTICE

Buddy Wayne Webb appeals the trial court’s lifetime protective order that enjoined him from any contact or communication with his ex-wife, Lori Beth Sehlagal, [798]*798and her minor daughter. The Midland County district attorney alleged in the application for a protective order that Webb had engaged in a course of conduct that constituted stalking, as defined by Section 42.072 of the Texas Penal Code.1 Webb asserts five issues on appeal. We affirm.

I. Background Facts

Schlagal and Webb, after a brief courtship, married in September 2011. The two separated three months later and divorced in March 2012. Although Webb was the petitioner in the divorce case, Schlagal testified that she separated from him because she “felt [her] life was in jeopardy.” Schla-gal said that Webb was “very delusional, and he believed that I was a part of á conspiracy against him.”

A. Marital Discord

'■•Schlagal claimed that; during their marriage, Webb- routinely locked the- two of them'in a room and interrogated her. On one occasion in December 2011, Webb locked himself and Schlagal in a room and asked her “who the pimps, the tricks and the drug dealers were that were breaking into his home.” Webb believed that' a “prostitution ring” operated in and around his house. Webb had a theory that “possibly there’s a. tunnel.that comes under my house that goes up through these pathways that” lead into the attic. Webb testified that the tunnel and pathways provided a transportation system for the “prostitution ring.” Webb questioned Schlagal about her involvement in the prostitution ring.

Webb claimed that his do-it-yourself, home-security system, which included Home Depot motion detectors, Samsung cameras, and .a Vivint security system, alerted him to the presence, of intruders. He believed that intruders gained access to his home through tunnels, pathways, or a basement. Webb conceded that his house had no basement. He also acknowledged that people could not go through four-inch walls to get to the attic, but nonetheless, he .believed that the tunnels provided pathways to the attic.

On another occasion during'their marriage, Schlagal called the police after Webb came home screaming and asking her where his gun was. The police reported to the scene and placed Webb -in their police car, but they released him after he agreed to leave the premises. When asked if Webb had threatened to kill or hurt her on this occasion, Schlagal acknowledged that “[a]t the time [Webb] didn’t make a direct threat to me, no.” Webb also thought Schlagal was having an affair with a sex doctor in Dallas after he had gone [799]*799through her phone and phone records. Webb continued to . accuse her of being part of a prostitution ring and said that her breath smelled like “semen.” At the end of December 2011, Schlagal and Webb separated. .

B. Webb shoots himself in his home with a tripivire device attached to a 12-gauge shotgun.

In January 2012, Webb suffered a gunshot wound to his right ankle while in his home. Webb was hospitalized for the gunshot wound, which he initially said was an accidental shooting. Webb admitted that he kept weapons and a small amount of tear gas in the house. Later, when Detective Rosie Rodriguez of the Midland Police Department spoke to Webb in the hospital, Webb claimed that two neighborhood children had gained entry to his house through tunnels underneath his home and shot him. Webb provided Detective Rodriguez with a hand-drawn map of the tunnel and other pathways, which the State subsequently introduced into evidence. Detective Rodriguez started an investigation and went to Webb’s home. She found á 12-gauge shotgun connected to a “tripwire that went across from one wall—from the south wall to the north wall” of a small hallway. After the police had used a robot to clear Webb’s house of any dangers, they removed his weapons from his home, including the 12-gauge shotgun and two pistols. Detective Rodriguez characterized Webb’s injury as “self-inflicted” and described him as “delusional.”

C. Schlagal alleges Webb stalks her following the divorce.

Webb testified that “the last time that I seen or talked to [Schlagal] was June or July of [2012], So it’s been a year and a half since I seen or talked to her, and as far as I know she lived in Lubbock, or still does. I don’t have her phone number, you know.” Schlagal corroborated this testimony from Webb. However, Schlagal explained that, after she left Webb, he continued to try to locate her through Fa-eebook friends and by e-mailing her and others. He also threatened her family.

D.Webb alleges Schlagal is responsible for his gunshot wound.

At some point, Webb decided that Schla-gal was somehow responsible for his gunshot wound. Webb claimed that Schlagal had a relative who was a .doctor who treated him for his gunshot wound and that .the doctor lied when he reported that he removed shotgun wadding from the wound because Webb said he w;as not shot with a shotgun. Arthur Welch, Schlagal’s ex-boyfriend from after the divorce, contacted Webb via private Facebook message in October 2012. Welch alleged that Schlagal had tried to have Welch killed and asked if she may have had a part in Webb being shot. Webb introduced a copy of the conversation into evidence. It read as follows:

[Welch]: Do you think [Schlagal] had anything to do with the shooting? I dated her for a short time here in lubbock. And she threatenéd to have me killed.
[Webb]: I feel pretty sure that [Schla-gal] was in' Lubbock the weekend I was shot, so I don’t think she was the shooter. I absolutely.believe that she knows who did though. She would’ve.gotten the house and 1/2 million dollars IF I would’ve died ACCIDENTLY as it were made to look like....
[Welch]: Well I think she had a lot to do with it from the things she said. And I’m so never will trust her either.
[Webb]: What did she say? Did she -mention any names?

This conversation with Welch prompted Webb to send two e-mails directly to [800]*800Schlagal. The first e-mail, sent in November 2012, read as follows:2

Lori,
I told you to call the FBI the other day because of this conversation where your ex-boyfriend told me that you were involved in the attempt on my life. If you didn’t, then you are being framed. If you did, then your busted. Either way, it’s in your best interest to ... [and tell] EVERYTHING that you know. It’s like I told another friend of mine, 10 years is better than 30.
Furthermore, just knowing about a felony and not reporting it is a felony under federal law. Do a Google search on “Mis-prison of ...” information about this federal crime.
One more thing, Why didn’t you mention that [] used to own the house around the comer?
E. Schlagal alleges Webb continues stalking her in 2013.

In October 2013, Webb sent Schlagal a second e-mail. The State presented this email as another instance of Webb’s stalking. Webb asked Schlagal in the e-mail, “What was your part in the break-ins of my house, the death of my mom

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Bluebook (online)
530 S.W.3d 793, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/webb-v-schlagal-texapp-2017.