Murray v. State
| Decision Date | 14 August 2018 |
| Docket Number | NO. 01-17-00437-CR,01-17-00437-CR |
| Parties | WARREN JORDAN MURRAY, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
On Appeal from the 412th Judicial District Court Brazoria County, Texas
Early one morning, Warren Murray was sitting on the tailgate of his truck at a gas station in Manvel when he flagged down a uniformed, off-duty police officer and, as the officer approached, tossed a spent pistol casing at the officer and told him that he shot a woman in nearby Alvin. The off-duty officer contacted local law enforcement. Brazoria County Sheriff's Office investigators arrived and interviewed Murray. Meanwhile, police in Alvin were investigating the scene where Lindsey Canada had just been found lying on the edge of the road with gunshot wounds. Canada died days later, and Murray was charged with and later convicted of murder.1
Murray concedes that his statement to the off-duty officer that he had shot a woman was admissible. On appeal, he challenges the trial court's denial of his motion to suppress subsequent statements he made to two on-duty investigating officers. He also contends there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction and the trial court erred by denying his jury-charge request.
We affirm.
Because Murray challenges the trial court's ruling to deny his motion to suppress, we will divide the background section into what is known apart from Murray's challenged statements to the police and what was revealed only through those challenged statements.
Evidence exclusive of Murray's challenged statements to police
Canada had three young children. In the past, she and her children lived with Murray and his mother. More recently, they lived in an efficiency apartment withher mother. According to Canada's mother, Canada left the apartment with a backpack and her bicycle sometime between 10:30 p.m. and 4:00 a.m. on July 20, 2016.
Surveillance video obtained by police from the apartment complex shows a red truck pull into the parking lot at 2:23 a.m. and Canada place a bag into the cab of the truck, load a bicycle into the bed of the truck, and get into the passenger's seat. The truck leaves the apartment parking lot at 2:25 a.m. Murray drives a matching red Dodge truck.
Alvin Police Department received a phone call at 5:03 a.m. reporting that a man had discharged a weapon at Murphy's gas station and driven away with a woman in the vehicle. The police obtained surveillance video from Murphy's gas station. It shows Murray's red Dodge truck arriving at 4:54 a.m. with Canada's bicycle in the bed of the truck. Canada is with him. Murray has described what happens next in the video as a "fight" with Canada. Murray, who is wearing a grey shirt and shorts, gets out to pump gas, then leans into the truck's cab, looks around, walks to the passenger side of his truck, and continues looking around. Canada begins to do the same. It appears they are searching for something. Murray then stands at the driver's side door, holds up a gun, and fires the gun in the direction ofthe front, passenger-side tire.2 Based on this video and the condition of the truck later that morning, a law enforcement officer testified that it appears the bullet pierced his windshield.
Immediately after shooting the gun, Murray walks to the other side of the truck and pulls Canada from her seat. Murray then enters the truck through the passenger side door, closes the door behind him, and slides over to the driver's side. Meanwhile, Canada quickly climbs into the bed of the truck next to her bicycle. The truck begins to move right after Canada gets in the bed of the truck. The truck leaves the gas station at 4:59 a.m.
K. Anderson, who lives close to County Road 155 in Alvin, testified that she was leaving for work around 5:00 a.m. when she heard two nearby "pop" sounds—which sounded similar to fireworks exploding—followed by a scream and garbled words from a female's voice she described as "intense," followed by a third "pop" sound. There were no more screams after the third "pop."
Minutes later, at 5:09 a.m., the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office received an emergency call to report a woman's body on the side of the road on County Road 155 in Alvin. The location is approximately two miles from the Murphy's gas station where Murray and Canada were seen just ten minutes earlier.
Emergency medical personnel records indicate that the ambulance arrived within fifteen minutes, noted that Canada had a head wound and leg wound, and took her to the hospital. She died nine days later from a gunshot wound to her head.
When the police investigated the scene, they found several pieces of evidence a little farther down the road from where Canada was lying, including her bicycle, her purse (which later tested positive for having her blood on it), an owner's manual for a Dodge truck, and other personal items. They also recovered 9-millimeter Luger cartridge casings at the scene.
Around 7:00 a.m., M. McClanahan, who lives near County Road 1128 in nearby Manvel, saw a red truck in his driveway. The driver, Murray, asked to buy gasoline from him. McClanahan testified that the interaction was "bizarre." McClanahan repeatedly refused to sell Murray gas and, instead, gave him directions to a local gas station. Murray left.
Around 7:20 a.m., Lieutenant F. Hart with the Deer Park Police Department was driving through Manvel on his way to work. He was in his police uniform and driving a police-issued vehicle. Although his vehicle did not have any writing or symbols on the outside to indicate that it was a police vehicle, Hart testified that the vehicle had many of the same characteristics as a marked police car, includingan attached spotlight and "push bumper" in the front. As Hart drove through Manvel, he was off-duty and outside of his jurisdiction.
While at a stop light at the intersection of County Road 1128 and County Road 101 in Manvel, Hart saw Murray, who was sitting on the tailgate of a red truck in a gas station parking lot and motioning toward him in a way that indicated he needed Hart's assistance. Hart drove into the John's Countryette parking lot to offer assistance.
Hart asked Murray what he needed. Murray immediately tossed "a spent pistol casing toward" Hart and told him that he "just shot a woman in Alvin." Concerned that Murray might have a weapon behind him, Hart asked Murray to stand up, turn around, kneel, lie on the ground, and prepare to be handcuffed. Murray complied. Hart called his police department and asked that they contact Pearland police. As they waited for local law enforcement, Murray continued talking without prompting. Murray said that he shot a woman who was trying to rob him. Hart described Murray as having "erratic" speech and repeating himself often. Hart read Murray the Article 38.22 statutory warnings as they waited for local law enforcement.3 See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. art. 38.22 § 2(a).
Officers from the Pearland Police Department and the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office arrived at John's Countryette. They took Hart's statement, and Hart left to continue his drive to work. Investigator J. Mink with the Brazoria County Sheriff's Office questioned Murray and later took him to the Sheriff's Office for additional questioning.
While at John's Countryette, officers recovered a 9-millimeter Luger cartridge casing lying on the ground near Murray's truck. Another casing was observed in the crease of the driver's seat of his truck. And Murray's grey t-shirt was recovered from inside the toolbox in the bed of his truck.
John's Countryette surveillance video was admitted into evidence. It shows Murray at the gas station before and after Hart arrived. Murray is wearing different clothes than in the earlier Murphy's video. At first, Murray pumps gas, wipes his hands with a towel, and places the towel across his windshield, covering the bullet hole. He then sits on the tailgate of his red truck, looking toward traffic. Murray makes a circular, "come here" motion with his hands as he looks toward traffic, and Hart's white police vehicle pulls into the parking lot near him. Hart and Murray speak briefly, then Murray is seen complying with Hart's order to lie on the ground to be handcuffed.
Murray does not challenge the admissibility of any of the evidence already discussed, including his statement to Hart that he "just shot a woman in Alvin" and the casings in and near his truck where he was arrested and near where Canada was found. His challenge is to later statements he made to Brazoria County Investigators J. Mink and J. Waldrop, which will be discussed next.
Evidence of Murray's challenged statements to police
Mink was the first of the two investigators to arrive at John's Countryette. Before approaching Murray, Mink talked to Hart and other officers at the scene. He then approached Murray, who was sitting in the back of a patrol car, with handcuffs on his wrists and bags covering his hands so that they could be processed for residue that would indicate whether he had shot a firearm recently. Audio of the encounter was admitted into evidence.
Mink said, Murray responded, "I ain't never killed nobody before."
Mink stated, Murray then told Mink his name. Mink asked for additional identifying information, and Murray provided it.
About one minute into the interaction, Mink said, "So what happened tonight?" And Murray answered, "She stole some of my s—." Mink asked who, and Murray replied, "Lindsey Canada." Murray continued speaking:
I said get the f— out of my truck, you know, just f— get out, and she said you have all my s—, and you can have all your s—, and I stood up; just get the f— out of my truck. Go! So, I fired a shot up in the air with—she had dope...
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