Rigsby v. State

• Decision Date: 24 March 1983
• Docket Number: No. C14-82-048CR,C14-82-048CR
• Citation: 654 S.W.2d 737
• Parties: Charles Lee RIGSBY, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee. (14th Dist.)
• Court: Texas Court of Appeals

Page 737

654 S.W.2d 737

Charles Lee RIGSBY, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.

No. C14-82-048CR.

Court of Appeals of Texas,

Houston (14th Dist.).

March 24, 1983.

John Fryer, Houston, for appellant.

Timothy Taft, Houston, for appellee.

Before JUNELL, MURPHY and SEARS, JJ.

SEARS, Justice.

Appellant was convicted of aggravated robbery by a jury and, upon finding the two-count enhancement true, punishment was assessed at life imprisonment in the Texas Department of Corrections. We affirm.

Appellant's first ground of error contends that the trial court erred in denying appellant's motion for production, thereby not allowing appellant to review exculpatory evidence the State had in its possession. We disagree. Appellant filed a motion for production requiring the State to produce the following:

(1) Copy of the arresting officer's report (2) Copy of complainant's report of his vehicle being stolen, to include the description he gave to the police of the person who allegedly stole his vehicle;

(3) Copy of the inventory as made by the arresting officers;

(4) Copy of complainant's statement as made to the Houston Police concerning a weapon allegedly found by the complainant under the seat of his vehicle after it was impounded by the Houston Police Department;

(5) Copy of inventory as made by the Houston Police Department upon receipt of the weapon turned into the police.

The motion for production did not state any reason for the request, nor did it show specifically what items were expected to be included in the foregoing that were of an exculpatory nature. A pre-trial hearing was held by the court on appellant's motion for production, and appellant again failed to show why he had any constitutional right to the production of the above, and/or what exculpatory evidence, if any, could be found therein. Appellant has no constitutional right to inspect the State's entire file. United States v. Agurs, 427 U.S. 97, 96 S.Ct. 2392, 49 L.Ed.2d 342 (1976). Further, there is no constitutional obligation of the trial court to peruse the prosecutor's file for any exculpatory evidence absent a specific request supported by some showing that such evidence exists. Ransonette v. State, 550 S.W.2d 36 (Tex.Cr.App.1976). There are many other grounds upon which the trial court ruling would be upheld; however, in the instant case, the requested reports, files, inventories and statements are not contained in the record on appeal. Appellant has made no effort to preserve them for review, and appellant has made no objections to the record. Therefore, appellant presents nothing for review by this court, and has waived any possible error by failing to include those items in the record. Villarreal v. State, 576 S.W.2d 51 (Tex.Cr.App.1978).

Appellant's second ground of error is that the trial court, in denying appellant's motion to suppress, allowed the introduction of evidence seized pursuant to an illegal, warrantless search and seizure, not based on probable cause. Appellant's ground of error is not specific enough to comply with Tex.Code Crim.Pro.Ann. art. 40.09, § 9 (Vernon Supp.1982-1983). Appellant has failed to direct this court to any items seized and introduced into evidence, and fails to direct this court to a page in the record wherein the error can be found. Therefore, appellant presents nothing for review. Cook v. State, 611 S.W.2d 83 (Tex.Cr.App.1981). See also Cherry v. State, 488 S.W.2d 744 (Tex.Cr.App.1972), cert. denied, 411 U.S. 909, 93 S.Ct. 1538, 36 L.Ed.2d 199 (1973). This ground of error is, therefore, overruled. This Court has, however, looked into the stop, arrest, search and seizure of the appellant herein and finds that the same was based on probable cause.

Appellant's third ground of error argues that the trial court committed reversible error in denying appellant's motion to dismiss all of the charges of the indictment, due to the State's failure to prove that complainant was the owner of the vehicle allegedly stolen. This ground of error is totally devoid of merit.

A review of the record reveals that complainant, Rory Aaronson, owned a 1977 Corvette Stingray automobile, and advertised said automobile for sale in a local newspaper. Appellant called complainant and asked to see the vehicle and to take it for a test drive. While driving the vehicle under the pretext of being a prospective buyer, appellant forced complainant out of the vehicle at gunpoint, and took the vehicle without the consent of the owner, the complainant herein. Appellant was stopped several months later by the Houston Police Department for having an expired inspection sticker on the vehicle and for having a loose license plate. The police at that time discovered appellant had a forged Louisiana driver's license under a name other than his own; that the license plate on the Corvette was issued to a vehicle other than the Corvette and that the Corvette was, in fact, a stolen vehicle. Appellant was arrested, the vehicle was searched, and police recovered from the vehicle pictures of the complainant standing by the Corvette. A few days later, the complainant went to the storage yard to pick up his vehicle. He noticed several articles in the vehicle that were not his, including a pistol under the front seat. The complainant immediately contacted a Mr. York, owner of the storage yard, who took the pistol from the vehicle and gave it to the Houston Police Department. The Houston Police Department conducted a routine check on the gun and discovered that the pistol...