Guajardo v. State
| Decision Date | 27 May 2016 |
| Docket Number | No. 05-15-00197-CR,05-15-00197-CR |
| Parties | GREGORY MOSES GUAJARDO, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
On Appeal from the 194th Judicial District Court Dallas County, Texas
Before Justices Fillmore, Stoddart, and Schenck
Opinion by Justice Schenck
Appellant Gregory Moses Guajardo appeals his conviction for the capital murder of his 6-month-old son, G.G. In three issues, appellant argues (1) the evidence is legally insufficient to establish he committed the offense, (2) the trial court abused its discretion in excluding impeachment evidence of appellant's girlfriend's prior conviction for burglary of a vehicle, and (3) the trial court abused its discretion in admitting autopsy photographs of G.G. By cross-appeal, the State argues the trial court erred in sentencing appellant to life imprisonment, rather than life imprisonment without parole. We affirm appellant's conviction as modified by this opinion. Because all issues are settled in law, we issue this memorandum opinion. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.4.
Appellant fathered three children with his girlfriend Shawnna: S.G., W.G., and G.G. Child Protective Services ("CPS") removed all of the children from their custody because Shawnna used cocaine while pregnant with S.G. and methamphetamine while pregnant with G.G. CPS placed the children with various family members.1 Against CPS placement rules, on occasion, family members allowed the children to be alone with appellant and Shawnna. The weekend of March 8, 2013, was such an occasion.
During that time, appellant and Shawnna were living with appellant's mother (Rachel) in a small two bedroom house. In the early morning hours of March 11, 2013, G.G. was fatally injured. He died two days later.
Police focused their initial investigation on appellant, Shawnna, and Rachel, as they were the only adults present when G.G. was fatally injured.2 Appellant told the police that he was the one who discovered G.G. was not breathing and that G.G. had fallen off the bed and bumped his head. Shawnna and Rachel denied any knowledge of how G.G. was injured or why he stopped breathing. Appellant was charged by indictment with the capital murder of G.G. He entered a plea of not guilty and was tried before a jury.
Both the State and appellant presented evidence at trial. In support of its case-in-chief, the State presented evidence that a wellness examination conducted just prior to G.G. arriving at Rachel's house on March 8, 2013, revealed he was perfectly healthy. Combined testimony from appellant, Shawnna, and Rachel confirmed that G.G. remained healthy until sometime after11:15 p.m. on Sunday March 10, 2013, when he sustained multiple and forceful blows to the head.
At trial, appellant, Shawnna, and Rachel confirmed the following. Just prior to 11:15 p.m., appellant and Shawnna were at a laundromat. While they were there, Rachel watched the children. Appellant and Shawnna returned home at around 11:15 p.m. at which time G.G. was awake, healthy, and happy. Shortly thereafter, appellant, Shawnna and the children went to bed. After appellant woke Rachel and Shawnna and told them G.G. was not breathing, Rachel drove Shawnna and G.G. to Dallas Regional Hospital while appellant stayed at the house with the other children. Rachel then returned home, picked up appellant, and they took the other children to appellant's cousin's house. Doctors at Dallas Regional Hospital ordered a CAT scan on G.G. The scan revealed G.G. had been hit in the head and had been severely injured. As a result, G.G. was CareFlighted to Children's Medical Center and the hospital staff contacted the police.
At trial, Detective Bird testified to the following. On March 11, 2013, he and his partner were dispatched to Dallas Regional Hospital to investigate a report of an injury to a child. Upon arriving, they learned the baby had been transported to Children's Medical Center. They proceeded to Children's Medical Center and made contact with the treating physician. The treating physician told them that the child had suffered severe trauma. As a result, Detective Bird and his partner conducted an interview of every adult who was present at the time of the injury. The initial interviews were conducted at Children's Medical Center. Detective Bird asked appellant to make a written statement about what had occurred during the previous night and the early morning hours and offered to take down his statement after discovering appellant did not write very well. Appellant accepted the offer, gave his statement, reviewed the statement as recorded, and signed it. The State offered the written statement into evidence, it was admitted, and published to the jury. The statement said:
Saturday, late afternoon, [G.G.]was dropped off, everything was good.3 Sunday, got up, fed, spent the day with us, about 8:30 fed him, changed and put to bed about 9:30. Me and Shawnna went to laundry mat to go wash clothes, got back at 11:15 p.m. [G.G.]was awake, so I made him a bottle, put him back to sleep. Me, Shawnna, and the other two girls went to sleep in the bed. About 1:30, 2:00 a.m., he woke up fussing. Picked him up, rocked him back to sleep. Laid him in the bed next to me. About 3:30 a.m., he almost rolled off the bed and hit his head on the bed rail. I caught him before he hit the floor. I rocked him back to sleep. At this time I put him in the [bassinette]to sleep. I laid down on the floor next to him. About half an hour to an hour later, I heard him making a gagging sound like he was throwing up. So I got up to check him. He seem not to have any throw-up on him. So I rolled him over. When I rolled him over, some milk and throw-up came out of his mouth. So I picked him up and patted him on his back. That's when rest of his throw-up came out. I stopped patting him on his back and noticed he wasn't breathing. I took him for the living room and started giving him CPR. I couldn't resuscitate, so I yelled for my mom and Shawnna. My mom came in and grabbed the baby from me and started to do CPR in the living room. I went into my mom's room and grabbed her so that I didn't wake up the two girls. That's when she went into the living room with me. She had the baby and I ran into the phone to get the phone to call 911. I dialed 911. By that time Shawnna was in the living room, so I hung up the phone and rush off to the hospital. I got the girls ready to go to my cousin's house. My mom left Shawnna at the hospital with the baby and came back and picked us up and drove to my cousin's house. She got the kids from there. And we went to the hospital.
Detective Bird testified that he and the treating physicians knew that G.G.'s injuries could not have been the product of simply rolling of a bed. Something severe had happened. As part of their investigation, the detective obtained a search warrant for the house. They executed the search warrant immediately after leaving the hospital. Their search of the house was video-taped, introduced into evidence, and published to the jury. The bassinette that appellant claimed he put G.G. in after he rolled out of bed was folded up, leaning against the wall, with chairs in front of it. Detective Bird said it did not make sense that in the midst of an emergency a person would take the time to fold up the bassinette and put it away. The detectives measured the height of the bed, it was 15 or 16 inches. Appellant pointed out the rail he claimed G.G. hit. It was located under the bed, less than a foot from the floor.
Rachel testified as a witness for appellant at trial. She generally testified that appellant was a good father and Shawnna was an indifferent mother who sometimes jerked her oldest daughter's arm when she was upset with her.4 Rachel also testified that Shawnna had been dangling G.G. in one arm and allowed him to hit the entrance door to the emergency room at the hospital. That testimony was later refuted by surveillance footage obtained from the hospital showing Shawnna exiting Rachel's car, carrying G.G. in both arms, in such a hurry that she left the passenger car door open. That surveillance footage was admitted into evidence at trial and published to the jury. As to the events of the early morning hours of March 11, 2013, Rachel testified she went to bed at 2:45 a.m. She claimed thereafter she saw Shawnna enter the bathroom. In her earlier written statements to the police, Rachel made no mention of Shawnna being awake at any time prior to the commotion following appellant's discovery that G.G. was not breathing.
At trial, appellant testified as follows. On Sunday March 10, 2013, he slept on and off during the day because he was scheduled to work construction all day Monday and needed to rest. When he and Shawnna returned home from the laundromat he played with the children for a while, watched television in their bedroom, and then they all went to sleep. He, Shawnna, S.G., and W.G. all slept in a full-size futon bed. He slept on the edge, Shawnna next to him, W.G. next to Shawnna, and S.G. closest to the wall. G.G. slept on a rectangular ottoman in the same bedroom. At around 1:00 or 1:30 a.m., G.G. was fussing so appellant picked him up and put him in the bed with him. A couple of hours later, G.G. rolled off the bed, hit his head on the bed frame, but did not hit the floor. Appellant then put G.G. in his bassinette, and a couple hours later he heard G.G. gagging, so he checked on him and discovered he was not breathing. He thenyelled for help, but Shawnna and Rachel did not respond. He had to wake them up. He woke his mother first, and she suggested going to the hospital rather than waiting for a response to a 911 call. Appellant admitted that he was not aware of anyone other than himself having gotten up during the night. Shawnna did not crawl over him or move him to get out of the bed. He did not hear...
To continue reading
Request your trial