U.S. Carnell Petetan v. State
| Decision Date | 08 March 2017 |
| Docket Number | NO. AP-77,038,AP-77,038 |
| Parties | US CARNELL PETETAN, JR., Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS |
| Court | Texas Court of Criminal Appeals |
ON DIRECT APPEAL FROM CAUSE NO. 2012-2331-C1 IN THE 19TH DISTRICT COURT McLENNAN COUNTY
Appellant was charged with the capital murder of his wife, Kimberly Petetan. The indictment alleged that he intentionally caused her death during the course of committing or attempting to commit the offenses of burglary, kidnapping (of Kimberly or her daughter A.W.), and retaliation.1A jury found appellant guilty of capital murder and answered the special issues in such a manner that appellant was sentenced to death. Appeal to this court is automatic.2 Appellant raises thirty points of error. We modify the judgment to reflect that appellant was convicted of a capital felony and otherwise affirm.
In point of error six, appellant contends that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he "murdered the complainant while in the course of committing or attempting to commit the offenses of burglary, kidnapping, or retaliation."
In conducting a sufficiency review with respect to a defendant's guilt, we view the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict to determine whether any rational trier of fact could have found the elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt.3 "When the record supports conflicting inferences, we presume that the jury resolved the conflicts in favor of the verdict, and we defer to that determination."4
Viewed in the light most favorable to the verdict, the evidence shows the following: Kimberly had been married twice and had three children (including a now-adult daughter namedKristen) before she entered into a relationship that ended because the couple became addicted to crack cocaine. During this relationship, Kimberly had a fourth child, a daughter we shall call "A.W."5 With the help of a treatment center, Kimberly overcame her addiction, and she felt that God had saved her and had called her to share her testimony. In 2009, Kimberly met appellant's brother at an auto repair shop, and she shared her recovery story. Appellant's brother suggested that Kimberly contact appellant, who was in prison, because her story might be inspiring for him. Kimberly became pen pals with appellant, and their correspondence developed into a romance that culminated in marriage by proxy in 2010.
In the spring of 2012, appellant first began living with Kimberly in her apartment in Waco. Almost immediately, the couple began having arguments and fights, which resulted in the police being called. Kimberly considered divorce, but she and appellant reconciled. During the time that he lived with her in Waco, appellant would often get angry and tell Nichlos Lampkin (a casual acquaintance), "Man, I'm going to kill that bitch." Appellant made a similar statement to Morris Evans, Lampkin's brother-in-law.
In August 2012, Kimberly and appellant had a falling out. Appellant moved to Port Arthur, and Kimberly moved to a different apartment in Waco. The next month, Kimberly moved in with appellant in Port Arthur, but she kept her apartment in Waco in case things did not work out.
On September 13, 2012, appellant, Kimberly, and A.W. were at a rap studio. The smoking at the studio bothered Kimberly, and she asked appellant to take her and A.W. back to his apartment. An argument ensued, but eventually, appellant reluctantly agreed to do so. When appellant began smoking inside the apartment, Kimberly asked him to smoke outside because A.W. had asthma.Becoming angry, appellant pushed Kimberly onto a couch and caused her to fall onto the ground. When Kimberly got up, appellant pushed her into some boxes. Kimberly tried to leave, but appellant pushed her up against a wall. She fell, and appellant grabbed a large kitchen knife. Holding the knife close to Kimberly, he said, Kimberly tried to call the police, but appellant took the phone away. Kimberly then ran to the bathroom and used a phone in there to call 9-1-1. While Kimberly was in the bathroom, appellant cut himself in the stomach with the knife, called the police, and then left.
That night, Port Arthur Police Officer Ryan Kidwell received a dispatch about a possible assault at appellant's apartment. Upon arriving at the apartment, Officer Kidwell spoke with Kimberly, who was scared and stressed. Kimberly told Officer Kidwell about her smoking complaint, the escalating argument, appellant taking the phone away, and his brandishing the knife and threatening her. Officer Kidwell saw a scratch on Kimberly's arm, and she complained of soreness. In consultation with Kimberly, Officer Kidwell filled out some forms that set up an assault case, indicating that the victim wished to press charges and that the assault was a felony charge.
The next day, Kimberly and A.W. took a U-Haul back to Kimberly's Waco apartment, stopping by Kristen's house on the way. Kimberly appeared to be "achey" and complained about being sore, and Kristen felt some knots on Kimberly's head. Kimberly told Kristen that, after being threatened in front of A.W., she was "completely done" with appellant and was going to file for divorce and pursue criminal charges against him. In fact, it was Kristen's understanding that "criminal charges had actually started."6
On September 23, 2012, appellant approached Adrian Miller about going to Waco to get some drugs. Seventeen-year-old Kerrie Mouton, a relative of appellant's, told Miller that he wanted to come along because he felt that something was wrong and that appellant was trying something. The three of them traveled in appellant's white Suburban and got to Waco around noon. Appellant rented a room at the C & E Motel.
While at the motel, appellant, Miller, and Kerrie met a woman with an autistic son. Appellant offered her money to give him a ride somewhere. He told Kerrie that he was going to "check the scene out." Leaving Miller and Kerrie at the motel, appellant and the woman drove off.7 Appellant later returned to the motel and drove his own vehicle to Kimberly's apartment complex. Cornelius Jefferson was washing clothes when he saw appellant hunched over in front of Kimberly's apartment door.8 At appellant's request, Jefferson knocked on the door. A.W. looked out the window, but she saw Jefferson, not appellant. When Kimberly answered the door, appellant forced his way into the apartment.
Appellant then pulled a gun out of his pocket and started waving it around. He told Kimberly to get dressed and come with him. Kimberly asked, "Where are we going?" Appellant responded, "Shut up." Kimberly then asked again, Appellant then responded, "We're going to Port Arthur, and you're going to tell the cops what happened." After Kimberly got dressed, the three of them got into Kimberly's truck, and, at appellant's instruction, Kimberly droveto the C & E Motel. During the drive, Kimberly once accidentally made a wrong turn and appellant said, "Get your ass over there and turn this way."
When they got to the motel, appellant told Kimberly to honk her horn, and Miller and Kerrie got into the truck. At appellant's direction, they stopped at a store. A.W. needed to use the restroom, so Kimberly told appellant this and opened her door. Appellant cussed at her and directed that they go instead to the apartment complex where Kimberly and appellant used to live. When they arrived at the apartment complex, Kimberly, A.W., and appellant got out of the truck and met their friend Jeanetta. When Jeanetta said "hi" to appellant, he told her to shut up. They stayed only a short time and then returned to Kimberly's current apartment. All of the occupants of the truck—appellant, Kimberly, A.W., Miller, and Kerrie—went into Kimberly's apartment.
Kimberly was nervous. At one point, appellant grabbed her head and forced her to kiss him. Miller was hungry, so Kimberly told him to heat up a pizza. Then she said, "After you eat, I want you all to leave." After that, Kimberly remarked several times that she wanted appellant to leave, and Miller also began telling appellant, "Let's go." At some point, Kimberly told appellant, When A.W. later told Kimberly that she needed to use the restroom, Kimberly asked appellant, and appellant said, "Yeah, Bitch, go." Kimberly then grabbed her shoes, grabbed A.W.'s wrist, and acted as if both of them were heading up the stairs to the bathroom on the second floor. Instead, Kimberly opened the front door, which was next to stairs. Upon seeing this, appellant ran to the front door, slammed it shut, and pushed Kimberly up against a wall. Appellant then told her to stand on the stairs and said, "It's time to dust away." Appellant then shot Kimberly three times.
Kerrie grabbed A.W. and took her out the back door. He told her it would be ok, but they soon reentered the apartment and saw appellant grabbing everyone's cell phones.9 Appellant, Miller, Kerrie, and A.W. got into appellant's Suburban, with Miller as the driver, appellant in the front passenger seat, and Kerrie and A.W. in the back. A.W. and Kerrie were both scared. They stopped at a gas station, and appellant took out three twenty-dollar bills and rubbed them all over his hands. Smirking, he handed the money to Miller and told him to go pay for the gas.10 Later, they stopped again, and appellant wrapped up his gun and threw it over a fence into a wooded area.
That day, Kristen received a call from A.W., who said she was at the corner store near Kristen's house and needed to be picked up. On the way to the corner store, Kristen received a call from the manager of her apartment...
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