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Miles v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas, Tenth District, Waco
May 21, 2008
No. 10-07-00332-CR (Tex. App. May. 21, 2008)

Opinion

No. 10-07-00332-CR

Opinion delivered and filed May 21, 2008. DO NOT PUBLISH

Appeal from the 54th District Court McLennan County, Texas, Trial Court No. 2007-1458-C2.

Before Chief Justice GRAY, Justice VANCE, and Justice REYNA.


MEMORANDUM OPINION


Steven Bernard Miles was convicted of murder and sentenced to 90 years in prison. He appeals. Because the evidence is factually sufficient to support the jury's rejection of his self-defense theory, the trial court's judgment is affirmed. On the night of August 31, 2007, Salvador Malave was at the house of his girlfriend, Eva, watching a Dallas Cowboys football game. Miles walked into the yard asking about a black man in a cowboy hat. When told that there was no one at the house with that description, Miles was walked to the sidewalk by Malave and Eva's brother, Jimmy Rosales. Miles then shot Malave in the forehead with a .22 caliber handgun and ran away. Jimmy gave chase for a few blocks. Malave died a few days later. In one issue, Miles contends the evidence supporting the jury's rejection of his self-defense theory was factually insufficient. Self-defense is justified when a person "reasonably believes" that force is "immediately necessary" to protect himself "against the other's use or attempted use of unlawful force." See TEX. PEN. CODE ANN. § 9.31(a) (Vernon Supp. 2007). A person's use of deadly force is warranted where self-defense is justified under Section 9.31, a reasonable person would not have retreated, and when deadly force is reasonably necessary to protect himself against another's use or attempted use of deadly force. See Act of 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 235 § 1, amended by Act of 2007, 80th Leg., ch. 1, § 3, eff. Sept. 1, 2007; Bumguardner v. State, 963 S.W.2d 171, 173 (Tex.App.-Waco 1998, pet ref'd). When a defendant challenges the factual sufficiency of the rejection of a defense, we review all of the evidence in a neutral light and ask whether the State's evidence, taken alone, is too weak to support the finding and whether the proof of guilt, although adequate if taken alone, is against the great weight and preponderance. Zuliani v. State, 97 S.W.3d 589, 595 (Tex.Crim.App. 2003). Miles first presented his theory of self defense during his video-taped interview with a police detective. The videotape was admitted into evidence. On appeal, Miles argues that the following evidence supports his claim of self-defense. Some witnesses testified that Malave and Jimmy were yelling at Miles and being aggressive as they walked off the porch toward Miles. Some witnesses testified that another male, who could have been Eva's other brother Adam, was present during the altercation, and also gave chase of Miles after the shots were fired. One witness testified that Malave had something silver in his hand. Another witness testified that shots were fired first from the group on the porch. However, other witnesses testified that Malave and Jimmy were not aggressive toward Miles and were the only people who approached Miles. No other witness testified that Malave had anything in his possession. And other witnesses testified that only Miles fired gun shots. It was within the jury's province to resolve conflicts in the testimony. Wesbrook v. State, 29 S.W.3d 103, 112 (Tex.Crim.App. 2000). And in resolving those conflicts, the jury could reasonably conclude that Miles did not act in self-defense. Accordingly, reviewing the record under the appropriate standard, the evidence is factually sufficient to support the jury's rejection of Miles's claim of self-defense. His sole issue is overruled. The trial court's judgment is affirmed.

This part of section 9.32 was deleted by the legislature but did not become effective until after the offense was alleged to have been committed. See TEX. PEN. CODE ANN. § 9.32(a)(1)-(2) (Vernon Supp. 2007).


Summaries of

Miles v. State

Court of Appeals of Texas, Tenth District, Waco
May 21, 2008
No. 10-07-00332-CR (Tex. App. May. 21, 2008)
Case details for

Miles v. State

Case Details

Full title:STEVEN BERNARD MILES, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

Court:Court of Appeals of Texas, Tenth District, Waco

Date published: May 21, 2008

Citations

No. 10-07-00332-CR (Tex. App. May. 21, 2008)