John Lavette Jackson III v. State

In The
Court of Appeals
Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
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NO. 09-13-00519-CR
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JOHN LAVETTE JACKSON III, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
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On Appeal from the 163rd District Court
Orange County, Texas
Trial Cause No. B-130353-R
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MEMORANDUM OPINION
A jury convicted appellant John Lavette Jackson III of robbery and assessed
punishment at twelve years of confinement. In his sole appellate issue, Jackson
challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction. We affirm the
trial court’s judgment of conviction.
BACKGROUND
The two-paragraph indictment alleged that while committing theft of
property, Jackson (1) recklessly caused bodily injury to complainant Cameron
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Ricks by hitting Ricks on the shoulder, arm, and body, and (2) intentionally and
knowingly threatened and placed complainant Darrell McFarland in fear of
imminent bodily injury or death by driving away in a vehicle and causing the
vehicle to “swerve back and forth” while McFarland was holding onto the outside
of the vehicle.
Ricks, a dairy helper at Market Basket on February 1, 2013, the day the
incident occurred, testified that he was helping to stock candy near the front of the
store when he saw Michael Sattler, the head manager, following a woman around
the store. The woman was subsequently identified as Rebecca Blanchette. Ricks
explained, “[w]henever managers do that, they’re typically watching somebody,
thinking that they’re about to . . . steal an item.” Sattler testified that he saw
Blanchette get out of a Jeep and enter the store with what appeared to be an empty
purse. Sattler saw Blanchette enter the store at a brisk pace, remove a bottle of
Pennzoil from the shelf, and eventually open her purse and put the bottle into her
purse. Ricks saw Sattler following very quickly after Blanchette, who had a bag
clutched beneath her arm.
Ricks and Sattler saw Blanchette walk past the checkout lanes without
paying and go outside, and Ricks went outside “to intercept her and ask her to
come back in the store.” Ricks saw Blanchette walking toward a white Jeep
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Cherokee that was parked “right outside the doors,” and he placed himself between
Blanchette and the Jeep and asked her to come back into the store. Sattler told
Blanchette that he believed she had stolen something and asked her to re-enter the
store. Ricks testified that he did not touch Blanchette, but Blanchette began
shoving Ricks and telling him he could not touch her. Sattler attempted to pull
Blanchette away from Ricks. Ricks testified that Blanchette caused him pain, but
he did not receive “long-term injuries or anything like that.” Sattler instructed
Ricks to let Blanchette go because he had seen the license plate, and Blanchette got
into the Jeep.
McFarland, co-manager at Market Basket, testified that he went outside
because a cashier told him Sattler needed help outside. As McFarland approached
the store’s door, he saw a female struggling with Sattler, and by the time
McFarland reached the door, the female was “getting away” and was heading
toward the Jeep. Ricks and Sattler testified that McFarland ran to the driver’s side
of the Jeep to ask the driver not to leave, but the driver nevertheless proceeded to
leave. According to Ricks, McFarland grabbed the roof rack of the Jeep, and
Jackson, who was driving the vehicle, “proceeded to go across the parking lot,
swerving back and forth, obviously trying to get him off the vehicle.” Likewise,
Sattler testified that Jackson was “swerving, trying to get Mr. McFarland to fall off
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the vehicle as Mr. McFarland was trying to turn the key.” McFarland also testified
that he approached the driver’s side of the Jeep to tell the driver to stop, and he
held onto the vehicle as it began to roll away. In addition, Sattler testified that
McFarland was hanging onto the Jeep as it began to move away. According to
McFarland, Jackson rolled down the window and told McFarland to get off of the
vehicle, and Jackson began driving faster and swerving.
McFarland testified that he avoided having to jump off the vehicle because
Jackson decided to stop very quickly, and when Jackson stopped, McFarland
grabbed Jackson’s key and put the vehicle into park, and Blanchette “jumped out
and started on foot.” Jackson told McFarland “he is stupid because he could have
gotten himself killed.” Ricks testified that Jackson appeared to be angry.
According to McFarland, when Jackson got out of the Jeep, “[h]e was bowed up
and in that stance position to where you would assume he was going to hit you or
at least attempt something.” McFarland explained that he was scared he would be
hurt if the vehicle had not stopped. However, McFarland explained that he was not
injured because the vehicle stopped. Sattler followed Blanchette after she got out
of the Jeep and walked toward the alleyway, and a police officer arrived “very
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quickly.” Sattler saw that Blanchette had put the Pennzoil into a dumpster, and
Sattler informed the police officer of what he observed. 1
Officer Chase Alexander of the Vidor Police Department testified that he
was working the day shift on February 1, 2013. While Officer Alexander was
conducting a traffic stop nearby, he heard the radio dispatcher advice that Market
Basket employees had detained a female. He looked across the parking lot, and he
saw that a white Jeep was parked and observed a blonde female running through
the parking lot while Market Basket employees were chasing her. Officer
Alexander testified that he then got into his patrol vehicle, activated his siren, and
proceeded to the Market Basket parking lot, where he saw the employees pointing
behind a building. He testified that as soon as he saw the woman, he “knew her by
sight to be Rebecca Nicole Blanchette.” Blanchette told Officer Alexander that she
was trying to buy oil from Market Basket. Officer Alexander drove his vehicle
behind the building and found the stolen Pennzoil in one of the dumpsters. The
State rested at the conclusion of Officer Alexander’s testimony.
Blanchette testified that she was with Jackson on February 1, 2013, in a
white Jeep. According to Blanchette, Jackson was driving the Jeep, and she was
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Milton “Wesley” Baldree testified regarding his observations of the same
events about which Ricks and Sattler testified. For the sake of brevity in this
memorandum opinion, we do not recite the substance of Baldree’s testimony here.
See Tex. R. App. P. 47.1.
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Jackson’s passenger. Blanchette testified that she asked Jackson to stop at the
Crossroads Shopping Center so she could use the restroom, so Jackson stopped the
Jeep in front of Market Basket. Blanchette denied telling Jackson about any other
purpose for the stop. Blanchette testified that her true intention was to get some oil,
but she never told Jackson that she had stolen any merchandise, and she had
concealed the oil in her purse. Blanchette directed Jackson to leave when she got
into the Jeep, and the car slowly rolled away. According to Blanchette, Jackson
never accelerated the Jeep. Blanchette testified that she went behind the building
and “hid the oil in the dumpster.” The defense rested when Blanchette’s testimony
concluded.
The application paragraph of the trial court’s charge to the jury as to
paragraph one of the indictment instructed the jury to determine whether: (1)
Blanchette intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly caused bodily injury to Ricks (2)
in the course of committing theft of property owned by Sattler (3) with intent to
obtain or maintain control of the property, (4) Jackson aided or attempted to aid
Blanchette in committing the offense, and (5) Jackson acted with intent to assist in
the commission of the offense by Blanchette. The trial court’s charge instructed the
jury that if all jurors agree that the State has proved all five elements, it must find
Jackson “guilty” as charged in paragraph one of the indictment and instructed the
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jury not to consider whether Jackson was guilty of robbery as alleged in paragraph
two of the indictment. The charge also included an instruction on the law of
parties. The jury found Jackson guilty under paragraph one and, therefore, did not
decide Jackson’s guilt or innocence as to paragraph two. As part of its punishment
findings, the jury found that Jackson used a vehicle as a deadly weapon during the
commission of robbery. The jury assessed Jackson’s punishment at twelve years of
confinement. The trial court signed a judgment of conviction in accordance with
the jury’s verdict.
JACKSON’S ISSUE
In his sole appellate issue, Jackson challenges the sufficiency of the
evidence to support his conviction. As part of his argument, Jackson contends the
evidence was insufficient to support the deadly weapon finding because he was
found “not guilty” as to paragraph two of the indictment, which dealt with use of
the vehicle. When evaluating the legal sufficiency of the evidence, we review all
the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict to determine whether any
rational factfinder could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a
reasonable doubt. Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893, 902 n.19 (Tex. Crim. App.
2010) (citing Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979)); Hooper v. State, 214
S.W.3d 9, 13 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007). Because the indictment alleged that Jackson
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was responsible for the conduct of Blanchette, and the jury was instructed as to the
law of parties, Jackson’s conviction may be upheld upon proof that the offense was
committed “by his own conduct, by the conduct of another for which he is
criminally responsible, or by both.” Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 7.01(a) (West 2011).
A person is criminally responsible for an offense committed by the conduct of
another if, “acting with intent to promote or assist the commission of the offense,
he solicits, encourages, directs, aids, or attempts to aid the other person to commit
the offense[.]” Id. § 7.02(a)(2) (West 2011).
The jury is the ultimate authority on the credibility of witnesses and the
weight to be given their testimony. Brooks, 323 S.W.3d at 894-95; Penagraph v.
State, 623 S.W.2d 341, 343 (Tex. Crim. App. 1981). We give full deference to the
jury’s responsibility to fairly resolve conflicts in the testimony, to weigh the
evidence, and to draw reasonable inferences from basic facts to ultimate facts.
Hooper, 214 S.W.3d at 13. We may not substitute our judgment for that of the
factfinder concerning the weight and credibility of the evidence. King v. State, 29
S.W.3d 556, 562 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).
As discussed above, the trial court’s charge instructed the jury not to reach
the issue of whether Jackson was guilty under paragraph two of the indictment if
the jury found him guilty under paragraph one. Therefore, Jackson’s contention
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that the jury found him “not guilty” as to paragraph two, which involved the use of
a vehicle, is erroneous. The jury heard evidence that a Jeep driven by Jackson
dropped Blanchette off in front of Market Basket, and Blanchette entered the store
and took a bottle of Pennzoil without paying for it. In addition, the jury heard
evidence that after taking the item, Blanchette walked back toward the Jeep, and
that Blanchette began shoving Ricks. The jury further heard evidence that
McFarland grabbed the Jeep as it began to move away, and Jackson began
swerving the Jeep back and forth, causing McFarland to fear for his safety. The
jury also heard evidence that Jackson rolled down the window and told McFarland
to get off of the vehicle, and Jackson ultimately stopped the Jeep abruptly and
quickly. The jury heard evidence that Jackson appeared to be angry. The jury
further heard Blanchette’s testimony that Jackson was unaware of her intention to
steal something from the store or that she had done so. Because juries are the
exclusive judge of the facts, credibility of the witnesses, and weight to be given the
testimony, the jury was free to disbelieve Blanchette’s testimony. See Bartlett v.
State, 270 S.W.3d 147, 150 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008); Beardsley v. State, 738
S.W.2d 681, 684 (Tex. Crim. App. 1987).
Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict, a rational
jury could have concluded beyond a reasonable doubt that Jackson was guilty of
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robbery under the law of parties, and of using a deadly weapon during the course
of committing the offense. See Hooper, 214 S.W.3d at 13; see also Tex. Penal
Code Ann. §§ 7.01(a), 7.02(a)(2). Accordingly, we overrule Jackson’s sole issue
and affirm the trial court’s judgment of conviction.
AFFIRMED.
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STEVE McKEITHEN
Chief Justice
Submitted on November 7, 2014
Opinion Delivered November 19, 2014
Do Not Publish
Before McKeithen, C.J., Horton and Johnson, JJ.
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