Smith v. State
| Decision Date | 23 March 2012 |
| Docket Number | No. 05-10-01555-CR,05-10-01555-CR |
| Parties | ROSHAUN NICHOLAS SMITH, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee |
| Court | Court of Appeals of Texas |
AFFIRM and Opinion Filed March 23, 2012
On Appeal from the 292nd Judicial District Court
Dallas County, Texas
Before Justices Bridges, O'Neill, and Fillmore
Opinion By Justice Fillmore
A jury convicted Roshaun Nicholas Smith of murder and assessed punishment of forty-five years' imprisonment and a $10,000 fine. In three issues, Smith argues the evidence is insufficient to support the verdict, the trial court erroneously submitted a charge that allowed the jury to convict Smith without unanimously agreeing as to the manner and means of committing the crime, and the trial court erred by denying Smith's motion for mistrial after the State elicited testimony that violated a motion in limine. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
Brian Rhodes testified that, on January 31, 2009, Charles Harrison came to his house, and the two men smoked marijuana. Cordell Dallas was at Rhodes's house, visiting Rhodes's niece, Tonisha Davis. Harrison asked if Dallas could take them somewhere. Around 9:30 p.m., the three men left with Dallas driving, Rhodes in the front passenger seat, and Harrison in the back seat.
Dallas drove to Mesa Circle just a few blocks from Rhodes's house and began to reduce speed. According to Rhodes, Harrison said he owed money to someone in the Arlington Park area and told Dallas not to stop the car. Dallas, however, parked the car on Wayside Drive and got out of the car. Several people, including Rolando Bailey and Smith, came out of the house across the street.
Rhodes testified that Smith 1 reached into the back seat on the driver's side and "smacked" Harrison in the face with his hand. Harrison gave Smith twenty-two dollars and said, "Man, I'm going to pay you, I'm going to pay you." Harrison got out of the car on the passenger side and walked at a fast pace across the yard. According to Rhodes, Dallas then hit Harrison with a tree branch two or three times while Harrison was on the ground. Smith was "standing above" Harrison, "cutting him off." Rhodes did not see Smith assault Harrison. Rhodes was going to check on Harrison when he was hit in the side of the head and knocked out. Rhodes admitted he had been convicted of forgery and burglary and had been sentenced to the penitentiary three times.
Bailey testified he was at his house with Smith and other people when Dallas drove up and asked for Smith. Dallas then parked on a side street, and Smith went "over there." According to Bailey, "Trish" came over and said "they" were fighting and asked Bailey to "go get" Dallas. Bailey went to break up the fight and to get Dallas. Bailey testified that Smith was at the passenger side's back door of a car, and Harrison was in the back seat. Smith was hitting Harrison and trying to pull him out of the car. Dallas was attempting to get Rhodes out of the car.
While Bailey was separating Dallas and Rhodes, he saw Harrison fall out of the car and start running across the yard. Smith chased Harrison, and Dallas chased the two men. Bailey then heard the sound of three "hits." When he turned, he saw Smith holding Harrison in a "full nelson" and Dallas with a "nice-sized" stick in his hand. Bailey ran over and pulled Dallas away from Harrison. Bailey then heard people yelling to get Smith. Bailey turned and saw Harrison unconscious on the ground and Smith punching, kicking, and stomping Harrison. Bailey pulled Smith off Harrison. Bailey testified that Rhodes and Dallas then got "into it again." Dallas hit Rhodes twice in the face and knocked him out.
Davis testified that, in January 2009, she was living with Rhodes, who was her uncle, and her grandmother. Dallas, with whom Davis had an on-and-off relationship, came to her house on January 31, 2009. According to Davis, Rhodes and Harrison wanted to get some drugs, and Dallas agreed to take them "someplace" to get some drugs for them. A friend of Davis's later called her about Dallas "getting into trouble." Davis went to Mesa Circle and saw Smith "stomping" Rhodes in the head. According to Davis, Rhodes was unconscious, and Smith was kicking him in the head. Davis told Smith that Rhodes was her uncle. Smith responded that he did not know Rhodes was Davis's uncle, but the "other dude" owed Smith some money. Smith told Davis to "pick [Rhodes] up before I knock you out too." Someone with a truck helped Davis take Rhodes home.
Davis testified that later that night, Smith called her and said he did not hit her uncle and that Dallas knocked out her uncle. Smith also said he did not know Rhodes was Davis's uncle, but Harrison owed Smith some money. Davis took Smith's statement to mean that Smith was"jumping on him because he owed him some money." Dallas later told Davis that Rhodes was "trying to go in his pocket," so he knocked him out. Davis admitted she had been to prison for six counts of dealing drugs and was on parole until 2013. Davis had also been convicted of prostitution, criminal mischief, and resisting arrest.
Patricia Bledsoe testified that she goes by "Trish" and is Dallas's cousin. On January 31, 2009, Bledsoe was at Bailey's house. Dallas came to the house and told Smith that somebody wanted to talk to him. Both Dallas and Smith went outside. Bledsoe heard sounds of people arguing and went outside. She saw Smith trying to pull Harrison out of the back seat of a car. Harrison was struggling not to get out of the car, and Smith was kicking Harrison inside the car.
According to Bledsoe, Harrison got out of the car and started running. Dallas caught Harrison and was fighting him with fists. Dallas then kicked Harrison and got a long plank, similar to a plank from a door. Bledsoe heard Dallas hitting Harrison with the plank. Meanwhile, Smith was fighting Rhodes. Smith came over, and both Dallas and Smith kicked Harrison. Then, Smith started stomping on Harrison, and Dallas continued hitting Harrison with the plank. Harrison was "balled up" and not fighting back. Bledsoe admitted she was addicted to crack cocaine and had been in the Texas Department of Corrections on a "rehab thing." Bledsoe denied she used cocaine on January 31, 2009.
Officer Steve Hough testified he is assigned to the Crime Scene Section of the Dallas Police Department. He investigated the scene of the assault on Harrison. Hough did not retrieve a stick that was at the scene, and admitted he should have taken the stick. The stick was retrieved later.
Detective Michael Mendez testified he was assigned to the case after Harrison died. Both Rhodes and Davis identified Dallas and Smith as the perpetrators of the assaults on Harrison and Rhodes. Mendez interviewed Dallas after his arrest. Based on that interview, Mendez determined a tree branch or stick was used in the offense. He returned to the crime scene and found a stick two to three feet long that was broken into four pieces and appeared to have blood on it.
Mendez also interviewed Smith following his arrest. Smith said he was at Bailey's house when somebody came to the door and said Dallas wanted him outside. Smith went outside and talked to Dallas about plans for that evening. Rhodes came into the yard off the side street and asked Smith if he had any marijuana for sale. Smith indicated he only had enough marijuana for his personal use and did not have any for sale. Rhodes continued to ask Smith to sell him some marijuana and then grabbed Smith's pocket. Smith pushed Rhodes's hand away, and Rhodes slapped Smith's hand. The two "got into a little altercation." Dallas walked out of the yard, and Smith heard him saying something like, "you're wasting my time."
After further questioning, Smith revised his statement to admit his altercation with Rhodes involved pushing and "nudging." Smith then heard Dallas saying, "get out of my car" and saw Dallas pull Harrison out of the car and hit Harrison. Dallas "started going crazy" and hit Harrison with a piece of tree approximately two or two-and-a-half feet long. Smith said he also saw Dallas hit Rhodes. Smith admitted Davis might have seen him "doing things" to Rhodes and that he tried to explain to Davis why he "got into it" with her uncle.
After more questioning, Smith admitted he punched Harrison when Dallas was trying to get Harrison out of his car. He denied touching Harrison after Dallas began hitting him. Smith stated he hit Harrison in the face only one time while Harrison was in the car.
Mendez testified he believed Smith beat Harrison to death over some drugs or "drug money." Mendez does not believe Smith hit Harrison with the tree branch. He admitted the pieces of the tree branch were not in one place when Hough visited the crime scene. The pieces of the branch were together when Mendez returned to the scene after interviewing Dallas. In Mendez's opinion, somebody manipulated the crime scene by moving the pieces of the tree branch together.
Courtney Ferreira, a forensic biologist and DNA analyst with the Southwestern Institute of Forensic Sciences, testified Harrison's blood was on the tree branch. She did not find any other DNA on the branch.
Dr. Reade Quinton, a medical examiner for Dallas County, testified Harrison died from blunt force trauma to the head. Harrison had a number of injuries to his head that could have caused his death, including two lacerations on his forehead that went the thickness of the scalp to Harrison's skull and a skull fracture running from one ear to the other. According to Quinton, the two lacerations on Harrison's forehead were caused by a hard object, rather than a hand. Although these injuries could have caused the skull fracture, it was more likely that a stomp or kick to the side of Harrison's head caused the fracture. The blunt force trauma to the head caused a subdural hematoma, and Harrison died from this trauma. Quinton testified significant force...
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