Doyle v. State

• Docket Number: 01-23-00075-CR
• Decision Date: 25 April 2024
• Parties: KOLBE ALLAN DOYLE, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

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KOLBE ALLAN DOYLE, Appellant
v.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

No. 01-23-00075-CR

Court of Appeals of Texas, First District

April 25, 2024

Do not publish. Tex.R.App.P. 47.2(b).

On Appeal from the 180th District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 1583406

Panel consists of Adams Chief Justice and Guerra and Farris Justices.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Terry Adams, Chief Justice.

Kolbe Allan Doyle pleaded guilty to the offense of compelling prostitution by a child.^[1] In accordance with Doyle's plea agreement with the State, the trial court deferred adjudication of his guilt, placed him on community supervision for 10

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years, and imposed a $1,000 fine. Subsequently, the State moved to adjudicate Doyle's guilt, alleging numerous violations of the conditions of his community supervision.

After a hearing, the trial court found true the State's allegations that Doyle committed new offenses of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, namely a firearm, and endangering a child.^[2] The trial court granted the State's motion, found Doyle guilty of the underlying offense of compelling prostitution, and assessed his punishment at confinement for 25 years. Doyle appeals.^[3]

In his sole issue, Doyle contends that the trial court erred at the adjudication hearing by admitting a firearm, magazine, and bullet into evidence, along with related testimony. According to Doyle, the evidence was obtained through a warrantless search of the car he was driving and in violation of his constitutional rights.^[4]

We affirm.

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Background^[5]

In the trial court's order of deferred adjudication in the underlying offense, the conditions of community supervision included that Doyle "[c]ommit no offense against the laws of this or any other State or of the United States."

Six months after that order was issued, a Harris County Grand Jury issued a true bill of indictment, alleging that Doyle "intentionally and knowingly threaten[ed] [Skyla Bailey] . . . with imminent bodily injury by using and exhibiting a deadly weapon, namely, a firearm."^[6] The State then filed a motion to adjudicate Doyle's guilt in the underlying offense.

At the adjudication hearing, complainant Skyla Bailey testified that, on June 20, 2022, Doyle was driving her car, and she was riding in the front passenger seat. Bailey's two-year-old son, complainant K.K., was riding unrestrained in Bailey's lap. Bailey and Doyle, who were in a romantic relationship, got into a disagreement.

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Bailey testified that Doyle "had his gun" and that he "shot his gun through" the open passenger window next to her and "then pointed it at [K.K.]." Although they were traveling down a freeway at "probably more" than 50 miles per hour, Bailey felt that "[s]hooting the gun [was] threatening" her, and she opened the passenger door and jumped out of the car while holding K.K.

Doyle turned around, picked up Bailey and K.K., and drove them to Houston Methodist Hospital. The emergency room records admitted into evidence reflect that Bailey suffered "major trauma with hemorrhage" requiring "critical care," including multiple abrasions, contusions, and blunt trauma, as well as a laceration and hemorrhage of her right kidney. She was subsequently transferred to another hospital for a "trauma" care. And Bailey testified that she suffered a broken leg that required surgical repair.

The Methodist emergency room records also reflect that K.K. suffered contusions and abrasions to his head, chest, abdomen, and pelvis. He was also later transferred to another hospital.

Bailey further testified that, while she was at Methodist and alone in her room, she spoke with a police officer about what happened and told the officer that Doyle had a gun during the incident.

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Houston Police Officer A. Bennett testified that she interviewed Doyle and Bailey at Methodist on June 20, 2022. Doyle stated that Bailey was riding as a passenger in a car that he was driving and that she had "fallen out" of the car.

Officer Bennett testified that Bailey stated that Doyle was driving the car-a white Dodge Charger-and that she was riding as a passenger. She also stated that she had simply "fallen out" of the car with her son, but she seemed to be in shock.

Officer Bennett and another officer located the Charger in the hospital parking garage and saw blood smeared on the car. During a search of the car, Officer Bennett found a handgun "under the trunk underneath the flap-on top of the battery on the right-hand side of the car." There was an unfired cartridge in the chamber and live rounds in the magazine. The trial court admitted the firearm, magazine, and bullet into evidence over Doyle's objection.

After the hearing, the trial court found true the State's allegation that Doyle had committed a new law violation^[7] and adjudicated him guilty of the underlying offense of compelling prostitution by a child.

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Adjudication of Guilt

In his sole issue, Doyle contends that the trial court erred in admitting the firearm, magazine, and bullet into evidence, along with related testimony.^[8] He asserts that the officers' search of Bailey's vehicle "went well beyond the scope of what police theoretically would be permitted to do" and that they had "no reasonable belief that [he] committed a crime or that there would be evidence of a crime in the car."

Standard of Review

We review a trial court's decision to revoke community supervision and adjudicate guilt for an abuse of discretion. Hacker v. State, 389 S.W.3d 860, 865 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013). A trial court may revoke community supervision and adjudicate guilt when a preponderance of the evidence supports at least one of the State's alleged violations of the conditions of community supervision. See Leonard v. State, 385 S.W.3d 570, 576 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012). This standard is met when the greater weight of the credible evidence creates a reasonable belief that a defendant has violated a condition of his community supervision. Hacker, 389 S.W.3d at 865. The trial court is the sole judge of the witnesses' credibility. Id.

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We also review a trial court's decision to admit evidence for an abuse of discretion. Henley v. State, 493 S.W.3d 77, 82-83 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016). An abuse of discretion occurs if the trial court's decision falls outside the zone of reasonable disagreement. Id. at 83.

Analysis

We must first address the State's assertion that Doyle failed to preserve his issue for review. See Darcy v. State, 488 S.W.3d 325, 327-28 (Tex. Crim. App. 2016) (conviction may not be reversed without first addressing any issue of error preservation). Specifically, the State argues that Doyle's objection to the admission of the evidence at issue-the firearm, magazine, and bullet-was untimely because he failed to assert it as soon as the basis for such objection became, or should have become, apparent. In addition, Doyle failed to object to any of the testimony about the complained-of evidence. The State also argues that because the testimony about the evidence was properly admitted, any error in admitting the evidence itself was harmless.

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