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 2018-08

Shaquitta Deanna Horton v. State ( 2018 )


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  •                         COURT OF APPEALS
SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS
FORT WORTH
NO. 02-18-00302-CR
NO. 02-18-00303-CR
SHAQUITTA DEANNA HORTON                                             APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS                                                       STATE
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FROM CRIMINAL DISTRICT COURT NO. 2 OF TARRANT COUNTY
TRIAL COURT NOS. 1406350D, 1406619D
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MEMORANDUM OPINION 1
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Shaquitta Deanna Horton has filed pro se notices of appeal from the trial
court’s judgments adjudicating her guilty of credit-card abuse and fraudulent use
or possession of fewer than five items of identifying information. See Tex. Penal
Code Ann. §§ 32.31, 32.51 (West 2016). In each case, the trial court sentenced
her to 14 months’ confinement (with the sentences to run concurrently) pursuant
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See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4.
to an agreement in which Horton pleaded true to one of the allegations in the
State’s motion to adjudicate guilt in exchange for the State’s 14-month
punishment recommendation. Horton signed written plea admonishments in each
case that included a waiver of the right of appeal.
The trial court’s certifications of Horton’s right to appeal in each case state
that this “is a plea-bargain case, and the defendant has NO right of appeal” and
that “the defendant has waived the right of appeal.” See Tex. R. App. P.
25.2(a)(2). Based on the certifications, we notified Horton through her court-
appointed attorney that her appeals would be dismissed unless, within ten days,
she or any party desiring to continue the appeals filed a response showing
grounds for continuing them. See Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(a)(2), (d), 44.3. More than
ten days have passed, and we have received no response.
Rule 25.2(a)(2) does not restrict a defendant’s right of appeal when she
pleads true to one or more allegations in a motion to adjudicate. See Tex. R.
App. P. 25.2(a)(2); Hargesheimer v. State,
    182 S.W.3d 906
    , 911–12 (Tex. Crim.
App. 2006) (concluding that a case in which a defendant pleads true to
allegations in a motion to adjudicate is not a plea-bargain case under rule
25.2(a)(2)); see also Dears v. State,
    154 S.W.3d 610
    , 613 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005)
(“[Rule 25.2(a)(2)] refers only to plea bargains with regard to guilty pleas, not
pleas of true on revocation motions.”). But if, as here, a defendant pleads true
and signs a waiver of the right of appeal in exchange for the State’s punishment
recommendation––and the trial court follows the recommendation––the waiver is
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binding. See Blanco v. State,
    18 S.W.3d 218
    , 219–20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000);
Jackson v. State,
    168 S.W.3d 239
    , 242–43 (Tex. App.––Fort Worth 2005, no
pet.); cf. Ex parte Delaney,
    207 S.W.3d 794
    , 797–98 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006)
(explaining that when defendant waives right of appeal in exchange for
recommended sentence that trial court subsequently follows, “[a]ny possible
source of error” during sentencing is removed). Because Horton waived her right
to appeal the trial court’s adjudication judgments, we dismiss her appeals. See
Tex. R. App. P. 25.2(d), 43.2(f);
    Jackson, 168 S.W.3d at 243
    ; see also Salazar v.
State, No. 02-18-00004-CR,
    2018 WL 1324487
    , at *1 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth
Mar. 15, 2018, no pet.) (mem. op., not designated for publication).
/s/ Elizabeth Kerr
ELIZABETH KERR
JUSTICE
PANEL: KERR, PITTMAN, and BIRDWELL, JJ.
DO NOT PUBLISH
Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b)
DELIVERED: August 16, 2018
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