Payne v. State
| Decision Date | 30 May 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 14-04-00876-CR.,14-04-00876-CR. |
| Parties | Tracy Lamar PAYNE, Appellant v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee. |
| Court | Texas Court of Appeals |
Brian W. Wice, Houston, for appellants.
Carmen Castillo Mitchell, Houston, for appellees.
Panel consists of Justice FOWLER, FROST, and GUZMAN.
In this case, appellant Tracy Lamar Payne asks us to evaluate the legal and factual sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for the murder of Billy Williams. He also asks us to determine whether the trial court erred when it submitted a jury charge that authorized the jury to convict appellant as either a principal or a party over appellant's objection that the record contains no evidentiary support for the charge. Because the evidence is legally and factually sufficient to sustain appellant's conviction, and because we find no reversible error in the jury charge, we affirm.
On the evening of May 2, 2003, Billy Williams went to a bar in Houston, Texas with several friends, including Sequinia Moore and Lonnie Harris. Appellant and his brother Taft were also at the bar that evening. Both appellant and Taft knew Williams and his friends. A disagreement arose between Taft and Williams and the two began arguing. At this point, the testimony of the prosecution and defense witnesses diverge; however, it is undisputed that Williams was killed during a fight in the parking lot of the bar sometime after this argument, and that his death was caused by multiple stab wounds accompanied by blunt impact trauma to the head.
In separate statements to police, Moore and Harris said that Taft, appellant, and Williams exited the bar and began fighting outside; that appellant struck Williams on the head, knocking him to the ground; that one of the two brothers yelled, "Let's go!"; that both brothers then fled the scene; and that Taft folded a knife and put it in his pocket as he fled. Bar patron Jimmy Wheeler identified appellant from a photo lineup. He told police appellant invited Williams to "go outside" where appellant and another man "jumped" Williams in the parking lot. Appellant and Taft were arrested and charged with murder.
Appellant presents six issues for our review. In his first two issues, he argues there is no evidence to support the jury charge permitting his conviction as a principal or a party in causing Williams's death with a knife. In issues three and four, appellant contends the evidence is legally insufficient to support his conviction as a principal or a party. In issues five and six, he challenges the factual sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction as a principal or a party.
Three purported eyewitnesses to the murder testified at trial. According to Moore, Taft and Williams had an argument in the bar and Williams's party decided to leave. As Moore waited outside, Taft exited the bar, followed by appellant and Williams. Moore described the events leading up to the fight in her testimony:
Moore testified that Williams then turned and fell on his back, and Taft and appellant continued to strike Williams as he lay on the ground. Taft struck Williams in the "upper head portion" of his body and on his chest, while appellant was on Williams's lower torso, striking Williams "all over." Within a few seconds, appellant ran to his vehicle, calling, "Let's go!" to his brother. Moore testified that she saw Taft fold a knife and put it in his pocket before getting into appellant's vehicle, and the two men fled the scene together. According to Moore, she was eight or nine feet away from Williams during the fight.
Harris testified that he saw Taft and Williams arguing in the bar. Harris further testified that he went to his car for cigarettes and witnessed the fight while he was walking back to the bar. Harris stated Williams, Taft, and appellant were standing in the parking lot, and Taft and Williams already had "exchanged blows" before appellant "came from behind" Williams and struck Williams in the head. Williams twisted and fell on his back, and Harris could see that Williams was bleeding. According to Harris, appellant and Taft then stopped attacking Williams, and Harris heard one of the brothers yell, "Let's go!" Harris did not know which of the two brothers spoke. Harris also testified that he saw Taft fold a knife and put it in his pocket, but he was unsure if the brothers fled together or in separate vehicles.
Jimmy Wheeler did not previously know Williams, Taft, appellant, or the other witnesses. Wheeler testified that just before the fight, he had been standing about one and one-half feet from Williams at the bar. According to Wheeler, Williams pointed out Taft and stated, Wheeler further testified that Taft approached Williams ten to fifteen seconds later, and Wheeler heard Taft whisper to Williams, According to Wheeler, Taft left the bar, and appellant approached Williams seconds later. Wheeler heard appellant say to Williams, "let's step outside," and watched Williams follow appellant out of the bar. Wheeler testified that appellant and Taft "jumped on [Williams] immediately." Wheeler stated that he ran outside and saw appellant and Taft run from the scene, and drive away in separate vehicles.
Dr. Dwayne Wolf, a deputy medical examiner for Harris County, testified about the medical findings. Autopsy photographs showed that Williams had ten stab wounds and a single blunt impact injury. Williams was stabbed three times in the chest, and the knife punctured his heart and both lungs. Another stab wound was located on Williams's left shoulder, and another was located high on Williams's forehead. All of the remaining five stab wounds were inflicted on the back of Williams's head and neck. The single blunt impact injury was located near the top of Williams's head, adjacent to the stab wound on his forehead. Dr. Wolf also testified that a knife is considered a deadly weapon; that a blunt object can be used as a deadly weapon; and that striking someone in the head is an act that can be considered clearly dangerous to human life.
Appellant offered the testimony of Shirley Moore,1 who testified there was no fight between Williams and the Payne brothers. She stated she was with Taft and appellant at the bar, and that the three of them left at the same time. She further testified that appellant walked her to her car, and that she and appellant each drove to her home in their respective vehicles.
Casimiur Johnson testified that when he arrived at the bar, Taft was leaving and held the door for Johnson. Johnson stated that appellant left at the same time. Johnson testified that he went to the pool table area of the bar and could not see through the windows into the parking lot. He further testified that about forty-five minutes after he arrived, people started yelling that there was a fight outside. Johnson stated he went outside and saw a man lying in a pool of blood. Johnson was unsure whether appellant and Taft were in the parking lot at that time. During the State's cross examination, Johnson agreed that a pool ball is a blunt object and that someone could have taken a pool ball from the bar and kept it in his hand.
Nicole Thompson testified that her husband left their home on May 2, 2003 and returned the following morning with a red substance on his shirt that appeared to be blood. Thompson stated that her husband claimed he had been in a fight at a bar and that the substance on his shirt was his opponent's blood. She observed cuts on her husband's hands, but stated that her husband denied using any weapon other than his fists. Thompson called police, who took her husband to the police station. A certified crime scene investigator testified that she analyzed the stain and concluded the red substance was not blood.
We begin our analysis by addressing appellant's third and fourth issues, in which he contends the evidence is legally insufficient to support his conviction as a principal or as a party. We may examine the sufficiency of the evidence under both theories together because the evidence is legally sufficient if it supports either theory. See Rabbani v. State, 847 S.W.2d 555, 558 (Tex.Crim.App.1992) (en banc) ().
When reviewing the legal sufficiency of the evidence, we examine the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S.Ct. 2781, 61 L.Ed.2d 560 (1979); Mason v. State, 905 S.W.2d 570, 574 (Tex.Crim.App.1995) (en banc).
A person commits murder if he intentionally or knowingly causes...
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