Michael Langley v. the State of Texas ( 2021 )

IN THE
TENTH COURT OF APPEALS
No. 10-19-00299-CR
MICHAEL LANGLEY,
Appellant
v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellee
From the 369th District Court
Leon County, Texas
Trial Court No. 18-0127CR
MEMORANDUM OPINION
In one issue, appellant, Michael Langley, challenges the sufficiency of the evidence
supporting his conviction for injury to an elderly individual. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN.
§ 22.04(a). We affirm.
Issue One
In his sole issue on appeal, Langley contends that the finding of guilt is irrational,
and thus, the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction.1 We disagree.
The Court of Criminal Appeals has expressed our standard of review of a
sufficiency issue as follows:
When addressing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence, we consider
whether, after viewing all of the evidence in the light most favorable to the
verdict, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of
the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319,
99 S. Ct. 2781, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979); Villa v. State, 514 S.W.3d 227, 232 (Tex.
Crim. App. 2017). This standard requires the appellate court to defer “to
the responsibility of the trier of fact fairly to resolve conflicts in the
testimony, to weigh the evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from
basic facts to ultimate facts.” Jackson, 443 U.S. at 319. We may not re-weigh
the evidence or substitute our judgment for that of the factfinder. Williams
v. State, 235 S.W.3d 742, 750 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007). The court conducting
a sufficiency review must not engage in a “divide and conquer” strategy
but must consider the cumulative force of all the evidence. Villa, 514 S.W.3d
at 232. Although juries may not speculate about the meaning of facts or
evidence, juries are permitted to draw any reasonable inferences from the
facts so long as each inference is supported by the evidence presented at
trial. Cary v. State, 507 S.W.3d 750, 757 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016) (citing Jackson,
443 U.S. at 319); see also Hooper v. State, 214 S.W.3d 9, 16-17 (Tex. Crim. App.
2007). We presume that the factfinder resolved any conflicting inferences
from the evidence in favor of the verdict, and we defer to that resolution.
Merritt v. State, 368 S.W.3d 516, 525 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012). This is because
the jurors are the exclusive judges of the facts, the credibility of the
witnesses, and the weight to be given to the testimony. Brooks v. State, 323
S.W.3d 893, 899 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010). Direct evidence and circumstantial
evidence are equally probative, and circumstantial evidence alone may be
1Our records reflect that, despite being represented by counsel, Langley has filed numerous pro se
documents in this Court. A party represented by counsel is not entitled to hybrid representation. See
Robinson v. State, 240 S.W.3d 919, 922 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (noting that courts are free to disregard pro se
motions presented by a defendant represented by counsel); Ex parte Taylor, 36 S.W.3d 883, 887 (Tex. Crim.
App. 2001). As such, we will not respond to Langley’s numerous pro se documents filed in this Court.
Langley v. State Page 2
sufficient to uphold a conviction so long as the cumulative force of all the
incriminating circumstances is sufficient to support the conviction. Ramsey
v. State, 473 S.W.3d 805, 809 (Tex. Crim. App. 2015); Hooper, 214 S.W.3d at
13.
We measure whether the evidence presented at trial was sufficient
to support a conviction by comparing it to “the elements of the offense as
defined by the hypothetically correct jury charge for the case.” Malik v.
State, 953 S.W.2d 234, 240 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). The hypothetically
correct jury charge is one that “accurately sets out the law, is authorized by
the indictment, does not unnecessarily increase the State's burden of proof
or unnecessarily restrict the State's theories of liability, and adequately
describes the particular offense for which the defendant was tried.” Id.; see
also Daugherty v. State, 387 S.W.3d 654, 665 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013). The “law
as authorized by the indictment” includes the statutory elements of the
offense and those elements as modified by the indictment. Daugherty, 387
S.W.3d at 665.
Zuniga v. State, 551 S.W.3d 729, 732-33 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018).
Here, Langley was charged by indictment with intentionally or knowingly causing
bodily injury to Evelyn Carrington, an individual sixty-five years of age or older and a
member of the defendant’s household by striking her in the face with his hand. See TEX.
PENAL CODE ANN. § 22.04(a). A person commits the offense of causing injury to an elderly
individual if he intentionally, knowingly, recklessly, or with criminal negligence causes
an elderly individual: (1) serious bodily injury; (2) serious mental deficiency,
impairment, or injury; or (3) bodily injury. Id. “Elderly individual” means a person sixty-
five years of age or older. Id. § 22.04(c)(2). “Bodily injury” means “physical pain, illness,
or any impairment of physical condition.” Id. § 1.07(a)(8). On appeal, Langley asserts
that the evidence is insufficient to show that he caused bodily injury to Evelyn.
Langley v. State Page 3
Evelyn met Langley, who is about thirty years her junior, at a Subway restaurant
in Jewett, Texas.2 Evelyn recalled that Langley was profusely perspiring, looked sick, and
carried “a staff like Moses carried.” Langley overheard that Evelyn needed her house
painted and interjected that that was his line of work. Feeling sorry for Langley, Evelyn
invited him over to her house on several occasions to help her and do odd jobs.
Eventually, Langley moved into Evelyn’s house.
All was well for several years until Langley’s demeanor changed. Evelyn noted
that Langley began to curse often, get mad at her, and drove away her family and friends.
At this point, Evelyn wanted Langley to leave her house, which, as Evelyn described in
her testimony, led to the incident in question. Specifically, she described the incident as
follows:
He was sitting at the end of the dining room table there, and I stood facing
him, and I said Today—I’ve asked you to leave my home, and asked you to
leave my home, I’ve called the law and asked you to leave my home, and
you wouldn’t leave, and now I’m going to have to evict you. You’ll leave
my home today.
When told this, Langley “jumped up, and he slapped me here. And then, he grabbed me
this way, and put my head into the wall there, into the door facing.” Evelyn recalled that
“[i]t hurt me so bad, I was just—In other words, I was hurting, and I was—I wasn’t
thinking straight.”
2 At the time of trial, Evelyn was eighty-one years old.
Langley v. State Page 4
Deputy Cody Wood of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office testified that, on August
29, 2018, Evelyn called to report that she “had a knot on the top of her head from where
she was shoved into a wall, and then, her face and her ear where she had been hit.”
Deputy Wood went to Evelyn’s residence to investigate and recalled seeing a “bump on
the top of her head” and that “she did have a slight red spot on the side of her face.”
Photographs of Evelyn’s injuries were admitted into evidence. Based on his observations,
Deputy Wood believed that Evelyn had been assaulted. When Deputy Wood asked to
speak with Langley, Evelyn indicated that she did not want that to happen because “it
would just make matters worse.” Deputy Wood noted that Evelyn’s comments about
Langley made him concerned about her safety.
Deputy Jerry Nichols of the Leon County Sheriff’s Office testified that he was
dispatched to Evelyn’s house two days after she had spoken with Deputy Wood. During
her encounter with Deputy Nichols, Evelyn was “pretty shaken up.” Deputy Nichols
testified that Evelyn was remorseful and attempted to recant her story about the assault.
Evelyn also told Deputy Nichols that she was afraid of Langley. Describing the incident
with Langley two days prior, Evelyn told Deputy Nichols that she had,
gotten into a verbal altercation [with Langley]. She was upset because he
stated he wanted to purchase a motorcycle. And at that point, they were
crossing paths in the doorway, and he, being a bigger man, is how she put
it, bumped into him—or, bumped into her, and she bumped into the
doorway.
Langley v. State Page 5
Evelyn then expressed her appreciation for Langley and that she was worried who would
be taking care of her in the future. According to Deputy Nichols, Evelyn felt dependent
on Langley. Deputy Nichols also recounted that Evelyn’s behavior that day was odd and
that it is common for victims of domestic violence to change their stories “out of fear of
the other person that caused continuous harm, or they’re not financially stable, or they
would feel alone if they separated from that individual.”
Robert Carrington, Evelyn’s son, noted that, on the day of the incident, his mother
came over to his house crying with a washcloth across her face. Evelyn told Robert that
Langley had hit her. Robert recounted that his mother did not waver about the assault,
but “at one point told me that it was a mistake. I wouldn’t say that she said it didn’t
happen, it was a mistake.”
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude that
the evidence is sufficient for the jury to have determine beyond a reasonable doubt that
Langley was guilty of the offense of injury to an elderly individual. See TEX. PENAL CODE
ANN. § 22.04(a); see also Zuniga, 551 S.W.3d at 732-33. And to the extent that the evidence
conflicts, we are to defer to the jury’s resolution of such inconsistencies in the evidence.
See Lancon v. State, 253 S.W.3d 699, 706 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008); Render v. State, 316 S.W.3d
846, 859 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2010, pet. ref’d) (“An appellate court must give deference to
a jury’s decision regarding what weight to give contradictory testimonial evidence
because the decision is most likely based on an evaluation of credibility and demeanor,
Langley v. State Page 6
which the jury is in a better position to judge.”); see also Pollock v. State, 405 S.W.3d 396,
402 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2013, no pet.) (noting that a rational juror could have found
the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt even when the
complainant recanted because such testimony simply presents a conflict in the evidence
to be resolved by the jury (citing Chambers v. State, 805 S.W.2d 459, 461 (Tex. Crim. App.
1991) (holding that complainant’s recantation of her videotaped testimony did not
destroy its probative value and that the jury was entitled to disbelieve the recantation))).
We overrule Langley’s sole issue on appeal.
Conclusion
We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
MATT JOHNSON
Justice
Before Chief Justice Gray,
Justice Johnson, and
Justice Rose3
Affirmed
Opinion delivered and filed August 25, 2021
Do not publish
[CR25]
3The Honorable Jeff Rose, Former Chief Justice of the Third Court of Appeals, sitting by assignment
of the Chief Justice of the Texas Supreme Court. See TEX. GOV'T CODE §§ 74.003, 75.002, 75.003.
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