Michael Anthony Moreno v. State ( 2005 )

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Opinion issued August 11, 2005

In The

Court of Appeals

For The

First District of Texas

NO. 01-04-00067-CR

MICHAEL ANTHONY MORENO, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 338th District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 952,558

OPINION ON MOTION FOR REHEARING

          Appellant has moved for rehearing. We grant appellant’s motion for rehearing, withdraw our opinion of June 9, 2005, and issue the following opinion in its stead.

          Michael Anthony Moreno, appellant, pleaded not guilty to burglary of a habitation with intent to commit theft. The jury found him guilty and affirmatively answered the special issue submitted on the use of a deadly weapon. The judge assessed punishment at 45 years’ confinement. In three points of error that are reordered as follows, appellant contends that (1) the evidence is legally insufficient to support the jury’s affirmative finding that he used or exhibited a firearm; (2) the trial court erred in admitting a BB gun into evidence; and (3) the trial court erred in failing to grant his motion for directed verdict because the State failed to corroborate accomplice-witness testimony. We affirm.

                                                    BACKGROUND

          On September 27, 2002, Janet Ferguson, complainant, was lying in bed when she heard footsteps outside her bedroom door. A man opened the door, put a small silver gun to Ferguson’s head, and told her to close her eyes. After another assailant entered Ferguson’s bedroom, the men blindfolded Ferguson and bound her hands and feet with duct tape. As one assailant rummaged through Ferguson’s dresser, another got into her bed and attempted to sexually assault her. After Ferguson heard an unidentified woman’s voice over a Nextel phone telling the assailants to hurry and to get out of there, the assailants left Ferguson’s bedroom.

          While Ferguson was attempting to unbind her feet, one assailant returned to her bedroom, grabbed her, and led her to the kitchen to search for her purse. Ferguson escaped and ran to a neighbor’s house.

          Ferguson later told the police that she was missing four television sets, a computer, a purse containing four credit cards, and some jewelry. When Ferguson called to cancel her credit cards the morning after the burglary, she learned that one of her cards had been used at a Denny’s Restaurant four hours after the burglary. After watching a videotape made in the Denny’s Restaurant, Ferguson identified the person using her credit card as a former employee who had worked in Ferguson’s home office, Jacqueline Foster. Foster had worked for Ferguson for six months and ran the office in Ferguson’s absence. Through her employment, Foster had toured Ferguson’s house and knew that she lived alone. Ferguson was unable to identify the assailant with the silver gun from the video, whom she had previously described to investigators as a 20- to 30-year old Hispanic male with a goatee and a plaid shirt.

          After her bank returned a check to her that was stolen in the burglary, Ferguson contacted Detective Frazee of the Harris County Sheriff’s Department. During his investigation, Frazee found that Foster was employed by a limousine service at the time of the offense. An employee of the limousine service also gave Frazee information about appellant and indicated that appellant and Foster were living together. Appellant and Foster were soon arrested and a number of items were seized from their truck, including a BB gun, duct tape, two sets of gloves, and Foster’s purse, which contained pawn tickets from a Cash America pawnshop. Foster gave a written confession of her involvement in the burglary.

          The day following the arrests, another sheriff’s deputy took Ferguson to the Cash America pawnshop, the pawnshop listed on the pawn tickets found in appellant’s billfold and Foster’s purse, so that Ferguson could inspect the contents of the items listed on the pawn tickets. Ferguson identified four items as belonging to her: a rope chain, a rope bracelet, and two rings. The items were listed on four pawn tickets seized from Foster’s purse. These pawn tickets listed appellant as the pledgor. A videotape provided by Cash America showed appellant and Foster entering the pawnshop on November 11, 2002. The videotape showed appellant giving his identification to the cashier, while Foster gave the property over to the cashier and concluded the transaction.

          At trial, Foster identified appellant as one of four participants in the burglary of Ferguson’s home.

DISCUSSION

Sufficiency of Jury Finding

          In his first point of error, appellant argues that the evidence is legally insufficient to prove that he used or exhibited a firearm during the commission of the charged offense because there is no evidence that the gun used during the robbery was, in fact, a firearm.

          A legal-sufficiency challenge requires us to determine whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. King v. State, 29 S.W.3d 556, 562 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000); Howley v. State, 943 S.W.2d 152, 155 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1997, no pet.). As the exclusive judges of the facts, the credibility of the witnesses, and the weight to be given their testimony, the jurors may believe or disbelieve all or any part of a witness’s testimony. McKinny v. State, 76 S.W.3d 463, 468-69 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2002, no pet.).

          The trial court posed a special issue to the jury that asked, “Do you the Jury find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant used or exhibited a deadly weapon, namely, a firearm, during the commission of the offense for which he has been convicted or during the immediate flight therefrom?” The jury answered, “We [d]o.” The trial court, as part of its judgment, noted an affirmative finding that appellant had used a deadly weapon, “[n]amely, [a] firearm,” in the commission of a felony offense.

          The Texas Penal Code defines a “deadly weapon” as the following:

(A) a firearm or anything manifestly designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting death or serious bodily injury; or

(B) anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury.

Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 1.07(a)(17) (Vernon 2003). This Court has previously held that a handgun is a “deadly weapon” per se under the Texas Penal Code. See Garner v. State, 864 S.W.2d 92, 103 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1993, pet. ref’d). However, the term “gun” may be a broader term than “firearm,” so as to include non-lethal instruments such as BB guns, blow guns, pop guns, and grease guns. O’Briant v. State, 556 S.W.2d 333, 336 (Tex. Crim. App. 1977); Benavides v. State, 763 S.W.2d 587, 588 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi 1988, pet. ref’d).

          At trial, complainant testified that one of her assailants came “storming in [to her bedroom], threw the door open, and put a gun to my head immediately.” One assailant told her to “close your eyes or I’ll kill you.” Although she only saw it for a “brief moment,” she recognized the object that her assailants placed against her head as a gun. She described it by stating that “it appeared like a gun and it was silver and it was little.” Complainant later testified that she believed she was hit over the head with the same gun to stop her from running away after she freed her duct tape-bound arms.

          The determination of what weight to give testimonial evidence is within the sole province of the jury, as it turns on an evaluation of credibility and demeanor. Cain v. State, 958 S.W.2d 404, 408-09 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). Thus, the jury was free to believe all or any part of the testimony of the State’s witnesses, and disbelieve all or any part of the witness testimony. A court of appeals must show deference to such a jury finding. Id. at 409. Under the circumstances, we properly leave to the jury the weight to give complainant’s testimony.

          The assailant’s statement, “Close your eyes or I’ll kill you,” is some evidence that the silver gun was, in fact, a firearm capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. See Bethel v. State, 842 S.W.2d 804, 807 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1992, no writ) (“The jury may consider all the facts of a case when determining whether a weapon is ‘deadly,’ including the words spoken by the accused.”). Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, a rational trier of fact could have found that appellant committed burglary while using or exhibiting a deadly weapon. Therefore, we hold that the evidence was legally sufficient to support the jury’s affirmative finding on the issue of a deadly weapon.

          Accordingly, we overrule appellant’s first point of error.

Admission of Evidence

          In his second point of error, appellant asserts that the trial court erred in admitting into evidence State’s Exhibit 50. Specifically, appellant contends that the black BB gun found in his truck was not relevant. The State argues that the evidence was properly admitted as proof of circumstances surrounding the occurrence of the charged offense and the subsequent arrest of appellant.

Relevancy

          Evidence must be relevant to be admissible; evidence that is not relevant is not admissible. Tex. R. Evid. 402. “Relevant evidence” means evidence having any tendency to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Tex. R. Evid. 401.

          Generally, an accused is entitled to be tried for the offense for which he is charged and not for some collateral crime or for being a criminal generally. Couret v. State, 792 S.W.2d 106, 107 (Tex. Crim. App. 1990); Maynard v. State, 685 S.W.2d 60, 66 (Tex. Crim. App. 1985). Exceptions to this rule allow extraneous matters to be admitted if the extraneous matter is relevant to a material issue and the relevancy value outweighs the prejudicial potential. Couret, 792 S.W.2d at 107. The State is entitled to show the circumstances surrounding the arrest of an accused, except when such evidence is inherently prejudicial and has no relevance to any issue in the case. Maddox v. State, 682 S.W.2d 563, 564 (Tex. Crim. App. 1985). Whether evidence is relevant to any issue in a case lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. Williams v. State, 535 S.W.2d 637, 639-40 (Tex. Crim. App. 1976). An abuse of discretion occurs when the trial court acts arbitrarily, unreasonably, or without reference to any guiding rules and principles. Montgomery v. State, 810 S.W.2d 372, 380 (Tex. Crim. App. 1990).

          In explaining the rules relating to evidence of circumstances surrounding an accused’s arrest, the Court of Criminal Appeals stated

A good example of how these rules should be applied can be found in the instant case. The trial court sustained appellant’s objections to testimony concerning the recovery of a stolen television during the search. Even though such testimony concerned facts surrounding the search and arrest of appellant, it did not relate to proving that he possessed the heroin in question and could only be used to prejudice consideration of whether appellant committed the crime charged.

Hernandez v. State, 484 S.W.2d 754, 755 n.2 (Tex. Crim. App. 1972).

          Evidence is relevant if it tends to make the existence of any fact that is of consequence to the determination of the action more probable or less probable than it would be without the evidence. Tex. R. Evid. 401. Even if the evidence is relevant, we must determine whether the risk of unfair prejudice substantially outweighs the probative value. Tex. R. Evid. 403; Goldberg v. State, 95 S.W.3d 345, 366 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2002, pet. ref’d). Relevant evidence may be excluded if its potentially prejudicial effect outweighs its probative value. Tex. R. Evid. 403; Swarb v. State, 125 S.W.3d 672, 681 (Tex. App.—  Houston [1st Dist.] 2003, pet. dism’d). The reviewing court, using an abuse-of-discretion standard, must “do more than decide whether the trial judge did in fact conduct the required balancing between probative and prejudicial values; the trial court’s determination must be reasonable in view of all relevant facts.” Santellan v. State, 939 S.W.2d 155, 169 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997) (citations omitted). A Rule 403 balancing test includes, but is not limited to, the following factors:

(1) how probative is the evidence;

(2) the potential of the evidence to impress the jury in some

irrational, but nevertheless indelible way;          (3) the time the proponent needs to develop the evidence;

          and

          (4) the proponent’s need for the evidence.

Reese v. State, 33 S.W.3d 238, 240-41 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).

          The black BB gun that was recovered from Foster and appellant’s truck was admitted, over appellant’s relevancy objection, during the direct examination of Officer C. Williamson. Williamson’s testimony only mentioned the BB gun in a list of approximately ten items that were seized from appellant’s truck. The record does not show that the BB gun was used during the burglary. Although Ferguson testified that one of her assailants held a little silver gun to her head, she never mentioned seeing a black BB gun. Therefore, the BB gun was not probative of any fact of consequence as the only eyewitness, Ferguson, did not see any of her assailants using a BB gun during the burglary. Because the complaining witness testified that no BB gun was ever exhibited during the burglary, the presence of such weapon continuously before the jury would only inflame their minds and encourage juror speculation and conjecture as to its use in past criminal activities. The evidence of the BB gun had some potential to impress the jury in an irrational, but nevertheless indelible, way because of the presence of the special issue on the use of a deadly weapon that the jury was asked to answer. Because the State had already elicited testimony from Ferguson regarding a silver gun that was used by one of her assailants and seen by Ferguson, the BB gun evidence was not necessary for the jury to answer the special issue on the use of a deadly weapon. Because the BB gun in question had no relevance to any issue in the case, the trial judge abused his discretion in admitting it into evidence. Therefore, we must consider whether this error was of such harm as to cause the rendition of an improper judgment.

Harmless Error

          The general rule is that a judgment will not be reversed for error in the admission of evidence that did not injure the defendant. Cunningham v. State, 500 S.W.2d 820, 824 (Tex. Crim. App. 1973). The question is whether there is a reasonable possibility that the evidence complained of might have contributed to the conviction. See Harrington v. California, 395 U.S. 250, 254, 89 S. Ct. 1726, 1728 (1969).

          We must disregard nonconstitutional error if, after examining the record as a whole, we have fair assurance that the error did not influence the jury or had but a slight effect. See Tex. R. App. P. 44.2(b); Solomon v. State, 49 S.W.3d 356, 365 (Tex. Crim. App. 2001). In making this determination, the question is not simply whether there was sufficient evidence to support the verdict. Bagheri v. State, 119 S.W.3d 755, 763 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003). Instead, the reviewing court should consider the entire record, including testimony, physical evidence, jury instructions, the State’s theories and any defensive theories, closing arguments, and voir dire, if applicable. Id. (citing Motilla v. State, 78 S.W.3d 352, 355-56 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002)). Important factors include the nature of evidence supporting the verdict, the character of the alleged error and how it might be considered in connection with other evidence in the case. Bagheri, 119 S.W.3d at 763 (citing Motilla, 78 S.W.3d at 355).

          In this case, the BB gun was offered and admitted into evidence when Officer Williamson discussed the items he seized while conducting an inventory of appellant’s truck. Williamson described the BB gun as a Black Repeater caliber BB pistol. On cross-examination, defense counsel drew attention to the fact that the gun was black, not silver.

          In its closing argument, the State mentioned a firearm or a gun three times. However, the State never discussed the type of gun or the color of the gun. The State’s first and second references to a firearm were made as the State summarized the events of the burglary at the beginning of argument. The State recounted

We do know that there was a firearm pointed at her head. It was dimly lit. Whether someone had a goatee or not, plaid shirt, just place yourself under the circumstances. You are sitting there, lying there [sic] your bed, minding your own business, watching television, someone kicks in that door. We know who that someone is, make no mistake of it. Pointing a firearm at your head.

The only other reference to a gun of any sort is shortly thereafter when the State asserted, “And we know based upon Janet’s testimony that that person came in guns ablazing, shut your eyes.” The State never described the gun in any more detail during its closing argument. The State never drew a connection between the general references to a “firearm” or “gun” made in its closing and the BB gun that the jury saw when it was admitted into evidence as State’s Exhibit 50.

          We do not have fair assurances that the mind of an average juror would have found the State’s case less persuasive had the BB gun in question not been admitted into evidence. Therefore, its admission into evidence was harmless error. See Harrington, 395 U.S. at 254, 89 S. Ct. at 1728.

          Accordingly, we overrule appellant’s second point of error.

Directed Verdict

          In his third point of error, appellant asserts the trial court erred in denying his motion for directed verdict for lack of sufficient evidence to corroborate Foster’s accomplice witness testimony.

          We review a complaint that the trial court erred in denying a motion for instructed verdict as a challenge to the legal, not factual, sufficiency of the evidence. See Williams v. State, 937 S.W.2d 479, 482 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996) (citing Cook v. State, 858 S.W.2d 467, 470 (Tex. Crim. App. 1993)); see also Youens v. State, 988 S.W.2d 404, 407 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 1999, no pet.).

          A conviction cannot be had upon the testimony of an accomplice unless corroborated by other evidence tending to connect the defendant with the offense committed; and the corroboration is not sufficient if it merely shows the commission of the offense. Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 38.14 (Vernon 2005). In assessing the sufficiency of corroborative evidence, we eliminate the testimony of the accomplice witness from consideration and examine the testimony of other witnesses to ascertain whether the non-accomplice evidence tends to connect the accused with the commission of the offense. Hernandez v. State, 939 S.W.2d 173, 176 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). The non-accomplice evidence need not be sufficient itself to establish the accused’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Id. The law only requires that some non-accomplice evidence tends to connect the accused to the commission of the offense. Id. All the facts and circumstances in the case may be considered when determining whether the accomplice testimony was properly corroborated. See Reed v. State, 744 S.W.2d 112, 126 (Tex. Crim. App. 1988).

          Here, Foster testified that she and appellant discussed how to get money by deciding on “[r]obbing [sic] a home.” Foster and appellant decided to rob Ferguson’s home because Foster was familiar with the layout and contents of the home from when she worked for Ferguson. Foster testified that she and appellant burglarized Ferguson’s home on the night of September 27, 2003, with two other men, Ricky and John. Foster stayed in the truck, while the three males retrieved items from Ferguson’s home and loaded them in the truck. Foster communicated with appellant when he was in Ferguson’s home through their use of two Nextel mobile phones that functioned as walkie-talkies. Foster testified that neither she nor appellant had permission to enter Ferguson’s home.

          The State produced non-accomplice testimony that an offense was committed by at least two men and one woman. The State also produced non-accomplice evidence that appellant had a relationship with Foster, that an unidentified man was present when Foster used complainant’s stolen credit card only four hours after commission of the robbery, that a number of items allegedly used in the burglary, including duct tape and two pairs of brown gloves, were found in appellant’s truck two months after its commission, and that appellant used his identification to pawn a number of items stolen from Ferguson with Foster at his side.

          The accomplice-witness rule is a statutorily imposed sufficiency review and is not derived from the federal or state constitutional principles that otherwise define legal- and factual-sufficiency review. Cathey v. State, 992 S.W.2d 460, 462-63 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999). “The burden established by the Legislature is that there be other evidence tending to connect the defendant with the offense.” Id. at 463. Having reviewed the circumstances of the offense and the testimony from the non-accomplices, we hold that sufficient non-accomplice evidence tends to connect appellant to the commission of the offense, as required by article 38.14. See Hernandez, 939 S.W.2d at 178. Because appellant only contends that the evidence was insufficient without the accomplice testimony, we need not make the determination whether the evidence was sufficient when all the evidence is considered, including the accomplice-witness testimony. Id. at 176; Mendoza v. State, No. 01-03-00783-CR, 2004 WL 2538280, at *4-5 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] Nov. 10, 2004, no pet.) (not designated for publication).

          Accordingly, we overrule appellant’s third point of error.

CONCLUSION

          We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

                                                             Sherry Radack

                                                             Chief Justice

Panel consists of Chief Justice Radack and Justices Jennings and Hanks.

Do not publish. Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).