Opinion
No. 04-06-00659-CR
Delivered and Filed: September 12, 2007. DO NOT PUBLISH.
Appeal from the County Court at Law No. 8, Bexar County, Texas Trial Court No. No. 914642, Honorable Olin Strauss, Judge Presiding. AFFIRMED.
The Honorable Monica Guerrero is the presiding judge of County Court at Law No. 8, Bexar County, Texas. However, the Honorable Olin Strauss presided over the jury trial and signed the judgment that is at issue in this appeal.
Sitting: ALMA L. LÓPEZ, Chief Justice, SANDEE BRYAN MARION, Justice, PHYLIS J. SPEEDLIN, Justice.
MEMORANDUM OPINION
A jury found defendant, Leonard Gates, guilty of interfering with the duties of a public servant and assessed a punishment of six months' confinement, probated for eighteen months, a $700 fine, and a letter of apology to the officers involved in the case. In two issues on appeal, defendant asserts the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the jury's verdict. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
On February 5, 2005, officers Xavier Velazquez and Sebastian Jerrytone responded to a call regarding a disturbance in a parking lot. Once they arrived at the parking lot, the two attendants of the lot told the officers that a man, later identified as the defendant, and another driver, later identified as Paula Meadows, defendant's cousin, attempted to park in the lot where the attendants were working. When the attendants told the defendant he would have to pay to park there he became upset and he refused to pay, arguing that he had parked there for free on previous occasions. Both attendants told the officers that as defendant left the parking lot, he threatened to run them over if they did not get out of his way. The attendants described defendant as a male, about 6'1" or 6'2", medium set, stout, and wearing a black shirt and white pants. The attendants told the officers that they had observed defendant going into a nearby bar, the TKO. The officers decided to further investigate because the attendants appeared to be shaken up by the incident. The officers entered the TKO bar at approximately 12:30 a.m. Based on the description the officers were given, they recognized defendant standing at the bar and approached him. Officer Jerrytone explained they were there to talk to defendant about the incident with the parking lot attendants. Because of safety concerns with the crowd and the noise in the bar, the officers asked the defendant to step outside so that they could speak with him. Defendant denied the incident occurred and refused to go outside. The officers asked defendant two or three times to step outside and each time he refused. Officer Velazquez then grabbed defendant's right arm by the wrist and the elbow. Officer Velazquez testified that defendant "slapped away at my hand to get it away." Officer Jerrytone testified that Officer Velazquez tried to take defendant's arm to usher him out, stating "I remember [defendant] making a movement, slapping his arm away." Additionally, on cross-examination, Officer Jerrytone described the interaction between Officer Velazquez and defendant as follows: "I remember [defendant] pushing his arm away and then I tried to grab him. . . .Yes. He pushed the officer's arm away. . . . it was a matter like that. Yeah." On re-direct examination, Officer Jerrytone was asked to act out the interaction between Officer Velazquez and defendant. The testimony proceeded as follows:PROSECUTOR: Okay. And then, I'm you and you're Officer Velazquez, tell us how did Officer Velazquez escort him out, try to escort him out? Did he grab his arm like this?
OFFICER JERRYTONE: It was something like that.
PROSECUTOR: Okay. So he kind of tried to push him like this. And what did the defendant do in reaction to this?
OFFICER JERRYTONE: He smacked his arm out[.]Both officers then struggled with defendant, eventually subduing him. When defendant testified, he confirmed that the officers attempted numerous times to get him to go outside. However, defendant testified that when Officer Velazquez grabbed his arm, he only pulled his arm away. Also, Paula Meadows, the defendant's cousin, testified that Officer Velazquez grabbed for defendant's arm and defendant pulled his arm away. Finally, Winfred Alexander Williams, who was at the bar when the altercation occurred, testified as follows: "They spoke to him for a while and it seems they were just asking questions. I couldn't see what was going on and it looked like one of the gentlemen grabbed his arm and he pulled away. Then I saw another officer jump on his back . . ."