Blair, Edmund Paul v. State ( 2002 )

  Opinion issued April 18, 2002

In The

Court of Appeals

For The

First District of Texas

____________

NO. 01-01-00306-CR

____________

EDMUND PAUL BLAIR, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

---

On Appeal from the 338th District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 832128

---

O P I N I O N  

Appellant Edmund Paul Blair pleaded guilty without an agreed recommendation to murder by using a deadly weapon. See Tex. Penal Code § 19.02 (Vernon 1994) (murder); Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 42.12, § 3g(a)(2) (Vernon Supp. 2002) (community supervision not available when there is deadly weapon finding). The trial court found appellant guilty, made a deadly weapon finding, and assessed punishment at 50 years imprisonment. Appellant brings one point of error challenging the deadly weapon finding. We affirm.

Appellant argues the deadly weapon finding is erroneous because his guilty plea includes the following handwritten statement: "I committed this offense along with Braulio Sepulveda and Eddie Bustamonte." He claims the trial court could have convicted him under the law of parties and there is no specific affirmative finding that he (1) personally used or exhibited a deadly weapon or (2) was a party to the offense and knew that a deadly weapon would be used or exhibited during the commission of the offense. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 42.12, § 3g(a)(2) (Vernon Supp. 2002). Appellant asks us to delete the deadly weapon finding under the rationale of Flores v. State, 690 S.W.2d 281, 282 (Tex. Crim. App. 1985).

Appellant pleaded guilty to murdering the victim by shooting him with a firearm. There was no mention in the guilty plea that Sepulveda or Bustamonte shot the victim and appellant was criminally responsible under the law of parties. Because appellant pleaded guilty to an indictment that included an allegation he used a deadly weapon, the trial court was authorized to make the deadly weapon finding. See Hunt v. State, 967 S.W.2d 917, 919 (Tex. App.--Beaumont 1998, no pet.).

We overrule point of error one.

We affirm the trial court's judgment.

Sherry J. Radack

Justice

Panel consists of Chief Justice Schneider and Justices Radack and Duggan. ⁽¹⁾

Do not publish. Tex. R. App. P. 47.4

1. The Honorable Lee Duggan, Jr., retired Justice, Court of Appeals, First District of Texas at Houston, participating by assignment.