Frankie Bertolo Mercado v. State ( 2016 )

Opinion issued December 8, 2016
In The
Court of Appeals
For The
First District of Texas
————————————
NO. 01-16-00705-CR
NO. 01-16-00706-CR
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FRANKIE BARTOLO MERCADO, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 262nd District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Case Nos. 1431364 & 1431388
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant, Frankie Bartolo Mercado, pleaded guilty to two counts of the first-
degree felony offense of aggravated robbery—deadly weapon, in the underlying trial
court cause numbers 1431364 and 1431388.1 Pursuant to plea bargains in both cases,
1
See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 29.03(a)(2), (b) (West Supp. 2016).
the State agreed to recommend that appellant’s punishment be assessed concurrently
at fifteen years’ confinement. On February 1, 2016, in accordance with the terms of
his plea bargains with the State, the trial court found appellant guilty and assessed
his punishment at fifteen years’ confinement in each case, with the sentences to run
concurrently.2 Appellant did not file his pro se combined notice of appeal for both
cases until August 23, 2016. Appellant also filed several pro se letter-motions,
including for bail and for an extension of time to file his brief, and his pro se
appellant’s brief, in this Court. We dismiss these appeals for want of jurisdiction
and dismiss the motions as moot.
A criminal defendant’s notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after
the sentence is imposed, if the defendant has not filed a motion for new trial. See
TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(1). A notice of appeal that complies with the requirements
of rule 26 is essential to vest the court of appeals with jurisdiction. See Slaton v.
State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998); Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519,
522–23 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). If an appeal is not timely perfected, a court of
appeals does not obtain jurisdiction to address the merits of the appeal. See Slaton,
981 S.W.2d at 210.
Here, the trial court signed appellant’s judgments of conviction in both cases
on February 1, 2016, and imposed the concurrent sentence on that date. Appellant
2
See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 12.32(a) (West Supp. 2016).
2
did not timely file a motion for new trial or extension of time to file a notice of
appeal, making his notice of appeal due by March 2, 2016. See TEX. R. APP. P.
26.2(a)(1). Appellant’s combined notice of appeal was not filed until August 23,
2016, more than six months after the judgment was signed. See id. Thus, under
these circumstances, we can take no action other than to dismiss these appeals for
want of jurisdiction.3 See Slaton, 981 S.W.2d at 210; Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 526.
Accordingly, we dismiss these appeals for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R.
APP. P. 43.2(f). We dismiss all pending motions as moot.
PER CURIAM
Panel consists of Justices Keyes, Higley, and Lloyd.
Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
3
Moreover, even if appellant had timely appealed, these appeals must be dismissed
because the trial court’s certifications state that these are plea-bargained cases and
that he has no right of appeal in either case. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2), (d). The
special clerk’s records, filed in this Court on November 15, 2016, in each case,
support the trial court’s certifications. See Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610, 615
(Tex. Crim. App. 2005).
3