Darren Ray Gunnels v. the State of Texas

In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-23-00111-CR
DARREN RAY GUNNELS, APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE
On Appeal from the 100th District Court
Donley County, Texas
Trial Court No. 4184, Honorable Stuart Messer, Presiding
December 27, 2023
ORDER OF ABATEMENT AND REMAND
Before QUINN, C.J., and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.
Appellant, Darren Ray Gunnels, appeals his conviction for evading arrest 1 and
sentence to twenty years of confinement. Appellant has filed a brief but alleges, therein,
that the clerk’s record and reporter’s record contain inaccuracies and omissions material
to this appeal. By letter of December 5, 2023, we directed the State to file a response
1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 38.04.
indicating its agreement or disagreement with purported record errors. No response was
filed. We remand the cause to the trial court for further proceedings.
Rules of Appellate Procedure 34.5(e) and 34.6(e)(3) provide that if a dispute
concerning the accuracy of the clerk’s record or reporter’s record arises, the court may
submit the dispute to the trial court for resolution. The trial court must then settle the
dispute. TEX. R. APP. P. 34.5(e); 34.6(e)(2), (3).
We now abate the appeal and remand the cause to the trial court to settle whether
any inaccuracies or omissions exist in the clerk’s record or reporter’s record. The trial
court shall conduct a hearing by whatever means necessary and, if it finds any
inaccuracies or omissions, it must order the trial court clerk or court reporter to correct the
record and to file certified corrections in this Court. The trial court shall order any
supplemental clerk’s record and supplemental reporter’s record and any other necessary
findings to be prepared and filed in this Court on or before January 26, 2024. All appellate
deadlines, including the present deadline to file the State’s brief, are suspended until
further order of the Court.
It is so ordered.
Per Curiam
Do not publish.
2