Opinion
No. 02-18-00496-CR
08-26-2019
QUENTEZ JAVONTA BROWN, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS
On Appeal from Criminal District Court No. 2 Tarrant County, Texas
Trial Court No. 1519910D Before Birdwell, Bassel, and Womack, JJ.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Appellant Quentez Javonta Brown appeals his conviction and related ten-year sentence for robbery, a charge Brown pleaded guilty to after the State had initially charged him with aggravated robbery with a deadly weapon (a firearm). See Tex. Penal Code Ann. §§ 12.33, 29.02. We will affirm.
Brown's court-appointed appellate counsel has filed a motion to withdraw as counsel and a brief in support of that motion. Counsel's brief and motion meet the requirements of Anders v. California by presenting a professional evaluation of the record demonstrating why there are no arguable grounds for relief. See 386 U.S. 738, 744, 87 S. Ct. 1396, 1400 (1967). In compliance with Kelly v. State, counsel notified Brown of his motion to withdraw, provided him a copy of the brief, informed him of his right to file a pro se response, informed him of his pro se right to seek discretionary review should this court hold the appeal is frivolous, and took concrete measures to facilitate Brown's review of the appellate record. See 436 S.W.3d 313, 319 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014). Brown had the opportunity to file a pro se response to the Anders brief, but he did not. The State submitted a letter stating that it would not be filing a brief.
As the reviewing court, we must conduct an independent evaluation of the record to determine whether counsel is correct in determining that the appeal is frivolous. See Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991); Mays v. State, 904 S.W.2d 920, 923 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 1995, no pet.). Only then may we grant counsel's motion to withdraw. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82-83, 109 S. Ct. 346, 351 (1988).
We have carefully reviewed the record and counsel's brief. We agree with counsel that this appeal is wholly frivolous and without merit—we find nothing in the record that arguably might support an appeal. See Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 827-28 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). Accordingly, we grant counsel's motion to withdraw and affirm the trial court's judgment.
/s/ Dana Womack
Dana Womack
Justice Do Not Publish
Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b) Delivered: August 26, 2019