Opinion
No. 05-04-00570-CR
Opinion Filed March 31, 2005. DO NOT PUBLISH. Tex.R.App.P. 47.
On Appeal from the 194th Judicial District Court, Dallas County, Texas, Trial Court Cause No. F02-74101-IM.
Affirmed.
Before Chief Justice THOMAS and Justices, MOSELEY and MAZZANT.
OPINION
A jury convicted Lawrence Burks, Jr. of murder and assessed punishment at life confinement and a $10,000 fine. In two points of error, appellant contends the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the conviction. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
Background
At 7:30 a.m. on November 19, 2002, Scott and Mindy Peterson found Monica Walton, covered in blood, lying on a neighbor's front steps. Scott called an ambulance. Mindy asked Walton her name, and Walton responded that it was Monica. Mindy confirmed this by the name tag on Walton's Popeye's Chicken uniform. Walton said she was afraid she would die if she went to sleep. When Walton rolled over onto her stomach, the Petersons saw blood, a "tear in Monica's shirt," and a deep wound below Walton's left shoulder. Walton asked Scott to look in her pocket because Walton had written down a partial license plate number. Scott did not find anything in Walton's pocket, but said Walton told him a partial license number of "ZDS." Both Scott and Mindy testified that Walton told them that "Lance" had stabbed her. Denise Harris testified that Walton came to her apartment at 3 a.m. on November 19, 2002, because she wanted to get some drugs. Walton was wearing a Popeye's uniform. Harris and Walton walked to Don Davis's apartment, which was located in the same complex. The three went to a nearby complex where Harris purchased crack cocaine with Walton's money. They returned to Harris's apartment and got high. After the drugs were gone, Davis went back to his apartment. Walton left Harris's apartment a few minutes later. Harris testified she knew appellant by the name Lance. Davis testified he met Walton for the first time that night. Walton was wearing a Popeye's uniform. Davis drove Walton and Harris to another complex to purchase crack cocaine, then they returned to Harris's apartment where they used the drugs. Davis then returned to his apartment. Walton asked Davis two additional times to take her to buy drugs. Davis agreed to a second trip, but refused Walton's third request. Walton left Davis's apartment, but returned a short time later with more cocaine. Around 7 a.m. that morning, appellant came to Davis's door, asked for Walton, and said, "tell Monica to come on because I got to drop the kids off at school." Davis saw a car in the parking lot with a woman in the driver's seat. Davis saw Walton walk outside, but he did not see her get into a car. Nicki Craver was the woman waiting in the car for appellant. She testified that a few minutes before appellant went to the apartment looking for Walton, Craver had seen appellant and Walton at the front entrance to the complex making what appeared to be a drug transaction. When appellant went to the apartment, Craver waited outside in her car. Walton and appellant returned to the car. Appellant got into the front passenger seat, and Walton got into the back seat. Craver learned Walton's name from the name tag on Walton's Popeye's uniform. Appellant told Craver to drive to a nearby gas station because Walton needed to get money from an ATM. Craver later learned that Walton owed appellant $40 for cocaine. Craver drove to the station. Walton went into the station, but returned and said the ATM was broken. Appellant went inside to double check, then told Craver to go to a grocery store that was across from the station. The store, however, did not open until 7 a.m., so they waited in the car and smoked "blunts" (cigars filled with marijuana). Walton asked appellant if she could pay for the cocaine by purchasing appellant groceries with her Lone Star card. Walton also said she needed to buy some household items. The remark apparently angered appellant, who replied "You have the money to buy that but you don't have my money," and reached back and hit Walton. When the store opened, appellant and Walton went inside. Craver and a friend went to a fast food restaurant, then went into the store. Appellant was angry because Walton had locked herself in the store's bathroom. After a short time, Walton came out of the bathroom and they all left the store. Craver testified she believed Walton had paid appellant the $40 because appellant appeared to be calm when they all got back into Craver's car. Walton said she wanted to go to her mother's house. Craver assumed Walton meant the same place she had gotten in the car, so Craver headed in that direction. Appellant then directed Craver where to drive. They came to a dead-end road, and Walton abruptly told Craver to stop. Walton got out of Craver's car near a house Craver assumed belonged to Walton's mother. After Walton got out of the car, Craver turned the car around and started back up the street. Appellant then told Craver to let him out of the car. Craver stopped and asked appellant if he wanted her to wait. Appellant said yes. After appellant got out of the car, Craver drove a short distance up the street and parked. Craver testified she did not see Walton and assumed Walton had gone home. Appellant returned to the car after only a few minutes. Craver testified she never saw appellant do anything to Walton. According to Craver, appellant was wearing a red sweatshirt, dark pants, and red and black shoes. She did not see any blood on appellant's clothing. She and appellant left the area at approximately 7:20 a.m. The next day, appellant told Craver he "should have or he did beat the shit out of Monica." Chinquilla Pettit testified she had been in an abusive relationship with appellant's brother, Antonio, for four years. On the day before Thanksgiving 2002, Antonio picked Pettit up from work and told her appellant had been arrested for murder. Antonio left their apartment and returned about five hours later carrying a brown grocery bag. Antonio was pacing and acting nervous and upset. Pettit followed Antonio outside. She saw Antonio pull several items from the bag, including a shirt, a pair of pants, and a knife. Pettit recognized the shirt and knife as appellant's. Pettit testified the knife was seven to eight inches long, with a "brass knuckle" handle and a curved tip. Although the knife looked like it had been cleaned, Pettit saw what appeared to be dried blood on the blade. Pettit went back inside the apartment because she did not want to get involved. Pettit watched from inside as Antonio burned the clothing in the barbecue grill. She also watched Antonio walk with the knife in his hand to an empty field next to the apartment complex. When Antonio returned forty-five minutes later, he did not have the knife. Pettit testified she did not call the police because she was afraid. Pettit admitted that she did not mention the knife in the written statement she gave the police. Pettit testified she told the prosecutor about seeing the knife about two months before the trial. A medical examiner testified that Walton had a stab wound to the left side of her back that had punctured her right lung and wounds on her right hand, left elbow, and left ear. Several detectives testified they found a large pool of blood in a wooded area near the Trinity River. A blood trail led from that spot to the steps of the house where Walton was found — a distance of about one-tenth of a mile. The detectives found a labor-transaction receipt with Walton's name on it near her body and another receipt and a ballpoint pen at the base of a mailbox. The notation "L54" was written on the second receipt. Believing this was a partial license plate number, the detectives ran a check and found that a vehicle with a license plate matching the partial license plate number was registered to appellant's mother. Lab analysis on Pettit's barbecue grill showed the ashes contained burned fabric, a metal rivet stamped with the logo "FUBU 1992 Platinum," and teeth from a zipper. When appellant was arrested, officers collected clothing and shoes belonging to appellant, including a jacket and red and black shoes with "FUBU" on the side. Lab analysis showed blood stains that matched Walton's DNA on appellant's jacket and left shoe.Applicable Law
In reviewing a challenge to the legal sufficiency of the evidence, we examine the evidence in the light most favorable to the judgment, and determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979); Sanders v. State, 119 S.W.3d 818, 820 (Tex.Crim.App. 2003). The standard is the same for both direct and circumstantial evidence cases. Edwards v. State, 813 S.W.2d 572, 575 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1991, pet. ref'd). In reviewing the factual sufficiency of the evidence, we view all of the evidence in a neutral light, favoring neither party, to determine whether the jury was rationally justified in finding guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Zuniga v. State, 144 S.W.3d 477, 484 (Tex.Crim.App. 2004); Johnson v. State, 23 S.W.3d 1, 7 (Tex.Crim.App. 2000). We defer to the fact finder's determination of the credibility of the evidence. See Johnson, 23 S.W.3d at 11. The State was required to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant intentionally or knowingly caused the death of Monica Walton or intended to cause serious bodily injury and committed an act clearly dangerous to human life that caused Monica Walton's death. See Tex. Pen. Code Ann. § 19.02(b) (Vernon 2003).Discussion
Appellant argues the evidence is legally and factually insufficient because the entire case is circumstantial and there was no direct evidence to prove his identity as the perpetrator. Appellant also asserts the forensic evidence was insufficient to prove he was the killer, and Pettit's testimony was not credible. The evidence showed that appellant was at the crime scene with Walton within an hour of her death. She was found, covered in blood, suffering a stab wound to her back and wounds on her right hand, left elbow, and ear. Before she died, Walton identified the person who stabbed her as "Lance." Harris testified she knew appellant as "Lance." Walton's blood was found on appellant's jacket and shoe. Appellant's brother destroyed clothing that appellant allegedly had been wearing at the time of Walton's death and discarded a knife with a curved seven- or eight-inch blade that contained dried blood. Although appellant asserts Pettit was not credible, it was the jury's role to judge the weight and credibility of the witnesses and their testimony and to resolve the conflicts in the evidence. See Cain v. State, 958 S.W.2d 404, 408 (Tex.Crim.App. 1997); see also Empty v. State, 972 S.W.2d 194, 196 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1998, pet. ref'd). Having reviewed all of the evidence under the proper standards, we conclude the evidence is legally and factually sufficient to support the conviction. See Sanders, 119 S.W.3d at 820; Zuniga, 144 S.W.3d at 484-85. We overrule appellant's points of error.We affirm the trial court's judgment.