Frederick Earl Crawford v. State ( 2011 )


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  •                                   IN THE
    TENTH COURT OF APPEALS
    No. 10-10-00003-CR
    FREDERICK EARL CRAWFORD,
    Appellant
    v.
    THE STATE OF TEXAS,
    Appellee
    From the 85th District Court
    Brazos County, Texas
    Trial Court No. 07-06398-CRF-85
    MEMORANDUM OPINION
    The trial court found Frederick Earl Crawford guilty of robbery and assessed his
    punishment at twenty years’ imprisonment. In two issues, Crawford contends that the
    evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support his conviction, specifically on
    the issue of bodily injury. We will affirm.
    The Court of Criminal Appeals recently overruled Clewis v. State, 
    922 S.W.2d 126
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1996) and factual-sufficiency review. See Brooks v. State, 
    323 S.W.3d 893
    , 895 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010). The court held that the Jackson v. Virginia legal-
    sufficiency standard is the only standard a reviewing court should apply in determining
    the sufficiency of the evidence. 
    Id. Because we
    cannot review the evidence for factual
    sufficiency, we overrule issue two and will proceed to a sufficiency review for issue
    one.
    When reviewing a challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence to establish the
    elements of a penal offense, we must determine whether, after viewing all 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. See Jackson v. Virginia, 
    443 U.S. 307
    , 318-19, 
    99 S. Ct. 2781
    , 2789, 
    61 L. Ed. 2d 560
    (1979). Our duty is to determine if
    the finding of the trier of fact is rational by viewing all of the evidence admitted at trial
    in the light most favorable to the verdict. Adelman v. State, 
    828 S.W.2d 418
    , 422 (Tex.
    Crim. App. 1992). In doing so, any inconsistencies in the evidence are resolved in favor
    of the verdict. Curry v. State, 
    30 S.W.3d 394
    , 406 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).
    As alleged in the indictment, a person commits the offense of robbery if, in the
    course of committing theft and with intent to obtain or maintain control of the property,
    he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another. TEX. PENAL
    CODE ANN. § 29.02(a)(1) (West 2011). “Bodily injury” is defined as “physical pain,
    illness, or any impairment of physical condition.” 
    Id. § 1.07(a)(8)
    (West 2011). The
    definition of bodily injury is broad and encompasses even relatively minor physical
    contacts as long as they constitute more than mere offensive touching. Lane v. State, 
    763 S.W.2d 785
    , 786 (Tex. Crim. App. 1989).
    Crawford v. State                                                                      Page 2
    In this case, Oralia Esquivel testified that she went to the store with her husband
    and children. Her husband waited in the truck while she, her oldest daughter, and her
    baby went into the store. When she returned to the truck and began putting the baby
    inside, Crawford “arrived and pulled my daughters to the side, and he started to pull
    on my purse.” Oralia was pulling it back at first, but she finally let it go when she saw
    Crawford turn and look at her children. She then told her husband, “Help me. He’s
    robbing me.” Her husband and another man chased Crawford and, once they caught
    him, held him until the police arrived.
    Oralia stated that she had the purse on her arm when he began pulling on it.
    When asked how hard Crawford was pulling, she stated that it was “full force.” It hurt
    and made a “red spot.” The following day, she had bruises.
    Officer Jeremy Elmore with the Bryan Police Department testified that after
    arresting Crawford, he spoke with Oralia, with her daughter acting as an interpreter.
    Oralia showed him the injury on her left bicep. “She was saying it was injured or sore,
    and she had some pain in it.” Officer Elmore took a photograph of the red mark that
    night, and it was admitted at trial. On cross-examination, Officer Elmore acknowledged
    that in talking with Oralia, she never said that she fell down, was pushed up against the
    car, or was pushed down.
    Francisco Esquivel, Oralia’s husband, also testified. He stated that his daughter
    was standing at the truck’s door and Crawford pulled her away to grab his wife’s
    purse. “He pulled on the purse until he grabbed it from her.” Oralia was trying to keep
    Crawford from taking the purse. This lasted “for a while” because, at first, he thought
    Crawford v. State                                                                   Page 3
    his wife knew Crawford from the place that she used to work, but when his wife yelled
    to him that Crawford was robbing her, he got out of the truck and started chasing him.
    Francisco acknowledged that his wife never fell to the ground or anything like that.
    Crawford pushed her, but she landed against the truck, and he never saw a punch
    thrown. Crawford was only pulling on the purse, and his wife’s clothes were not
    ripped. But the following day, her arm was bruised. He identified three pictures of his
    wife, showing the bruise on her arm. The pictures were admitted. Francisco stated that
    the injury was from Crawford grabbing the purse. He stated that the bruises got even
    larger than what was shown in the pictures.
    Crawford testified in his own defense. He stated that he did take the purse, but
    in doing so, he did not threaten her or harm the victim in any kind of way. He did not
    try to struggle with the woman in order to get her purse. He did not try to push her
    down. He pulled the purse one or two times and then ran. On cross-examination by
    the State, when asked if he was saying that he did not injure her, he replied, “I didn’t
    know I injured her, no.”
    This case is very similar to Lane, where the victim testified that she suffered
    physical pain when her wrist was twisted by the appellant as he attempted to steal her
    wallet. 
    Lane, 763 S.W.2d at 787
    . A bruise on her wrist corroborated the fact that she was
    indeed injured to some extent in the struggle. 
    Id. The court
    of criminal appeals held
    that the jury was justified in finding that the appellant inflicted bodily injury when he
    grabbed the wallet and twisted it out of her hands. 
    Id. Crawford v.
    State                                                                  Page 4
    Crawford argues that this case is factually distinguishable from Lane. Crawford
    contends that, unlike in Lane, “there is no clear evidentiary link between the act of
    Appellant and the alleged bodily injury.” We disagree. Viewing all the evidence in the
    light most favorable to the verdict, we conclude that a rational trier of fact could have
    found Crawford committed the offense of robbery beyond a reasonable doubt. We thus
    overrule issue one.
    Having overruled Crawford’s issues, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.
    REX D. DAVIS
    Justice
    Before Chief Justice Gray,
    Justice Davis, and
    Justice Scoggins
    Affirmed
    Opinion delivered and filed October 26, 2011
    Do not publish
    [CR25]
    Crawford v. State                                                                  Page 5
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 10-10-00003-CR

Filed Date: 10/26/2011

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 10/16/2015