Morrison, Patrick Lee v. State ( 2005 )

Affirmed and Memorandum Opinion filed January 25, 2005

Affirmed and Memorandum Opinion filed January 25, 2005.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

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NO. 14-03-01329-CR

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PATRICK LEE MORRISON, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the County Criminal Court at Law No. 5

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 1183393

M E M O R A N D U M   O P I N I O N

This is an appeal from a conviction for deadly conduct.  In one issue, appellant Patrick Lee Morrison argues that the State made an improper closing argument.  We affirm.

On July 13, 2003, appellant pointed a gun at complainant Joel Taylor and Taylor’s son. Taylor and appellant lived on neighboring properties in north Harris County.  Appellant owned an equestrian center, and his clients rode horses on his property.  Apparently, on several occasions, appellant’s clients had also ridden horses onto Taylor’s property.  On the day of this incident, Taylor asked a woman who rode onto his property to avoid doing so.  The woman informed appellant of Taylor’s request, and in response, appellant drove to Taylor’s house and confronted him.  Both Taylor and his son testified that appellant appeared intoxicated and that he pointed a handgun at each of them while screaming threats and obscenities. After appellant drove away, Taylor reported the incident to the police, and appellant was later arrested. Following a jury trial, appellant was convicted of deadly conduct and sentenced to one year in the Harris County jail, probated for two years.

Appellant complains the State made an improper jury argument.  During closing arguments at the guilt-innocence phase of trial, the State made the following remark concerning the woman Taylor had spoken with:

[Appellant] didn’t bring this lady back over with him and say, Yeah, that’s the guy.  And he did this, this, and this.  No, she didn’t come.  And she didn’t come in here.  She could have come and told you that, Yeah, Mr. Taylor was horrible.  You didn’t hear it from her, now why?

Appellant contends that this argument was improper because it introduced matters outside the record to the jury.  However, appellant failed to object to the argument.  In order to complain of improper jury argument on appeal, there must have been an objection at trial.  Cockrell v. State, 933 S.W.2d 73, 89 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). Because appellant did not object, he failed to preserve error.  Id. Accordingly, we overrule appellant’s sole issue.

The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

/s/      Leslie Brock Yates

Justice

Judgment rendered and Memorandum Opinion filed January 25, 2005.

Panel consists of Justices Yates, Edelman, and Guzman.

Do Not Publish — Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).