In re I.M.

• Decision Date: 28 December 2022
• Docket Number: 10-22-00273-CV
• Parties: IN THE MATTER OF I.M., A JUVENILE
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

IN THE MATTER OF I.M., A JUVENILE

No. 10-22-00273-CV

Court of Appeals of Texas, Tenth District

December 28, 2022

From the 74th District Court McLennan County, Texas Trial Court No. 2022-80-J

Before Chief Justice Gray, Justice Johnson, and Justice Smith

MEMORANDUM OPINION

MATT JOHNSON JUSTICE

Appellant I.M., who was sixteen years of age at the time he allegedly committed the offenses for which he was arrested, appeals the trial court's order transferring his juvenile case to a criminal court. We will affirm.

Background

The testimony at the transfer hearing reflects that I.M. shot his sister's boyfriend, the father of her children, three times. The boyfriend was unarmed, although he had a history of domestic violence and had allegedly previously physically assaulted I.M. Some of the shots fired by I.M. went into the victim's residence, shooting out a

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television. I.M.'s sister and her two children, along with another woman, were in the residence when the shots were fired. The victim's residence was located on a mainly residential street, that also had a number of businesses close by.

Video surveillance reflected that the automobile in which I.M. was the front-seat passenger, maneuvered in front of the victim's residence so that the passenger side faced the front of the house where the victim was standing. After the shooting, the automobile, driven by I.M.'s girlfriend, drove quickly away. I.M. did not deny the offenses, but claimed he shot the victim in self-defense.

After I.M.'s arrest, the State filed a Petition for Discretionary Transfer to a Criminal Court, asserting that I.M. committed three offenses that would constitute felonies if committed by an adult: (1) aggravated assault while in a motor vehicle; (2) aggravated assault with a deadly weapon; and (3) deadly conduct.

After an evidentiary hearing, the juvenile court granted the State's petition and noted the following in its order of transfer:

The Court finds that the Respondent is a male child . . . and that he was 16 years of age at the time of the acts upon which the Petition is founded and is alleged to have occurred. No adjudication hearing has been conducted concerning such acts. At the present time, the child is 16 years of age

The Court finds that said acts would be a felony under the penal laws of the State of Texas if committed by an adult The Court finds that the alleged offenses are against a person

The Court finds that there is probable cause to believe that the Respondent before the Court committed the offenses alleged and that

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there is evidence upon which a Grand Jury may be expected to return an indictment regardless of the youthful age of the said [Respondent}.

The Court finds that the Respondent is of sufficient sophistication and maturity to be tried as an adult. The Court specifically finds that the Respondent is of sufficient sophistication and maturity to aid an attorney in his defense.

The Court finds that because of the record and previous history of the Respondent or because of the extreme and severe nature of the alleged offenses, the prospects of adequate protection for the public and the likelihood of reasonable rehabilitation of the Respondent by the use of the procedures, services, and facilities, which are currently available to the Juvenile Court, are in doubt.

The Court, after considering all of the evidence and exhibits, including law enforcement testimony, diagnostic studies, social evaluation, and full investigation, finds that it is

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