Dywan Brooks v. State ( 2016 )


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  •                                      In The
    Court of Appeals
    Ninth District of Texas at Beaumont
    ____________________
    NO. 09-15-00290-CR
    NO. 09-15-00291-CR
    NO. 09-15-00292-CR
    NO. 09-15-00293-CR
    ____________________
    DYWAN BROOKS, Appellant
    V.
    THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
    On Appeal from the 253rd District Court
    Liberty County, Texas
    Trial Cause Nos. CR31009, CR31010, CR31011, and CR31012
    MEMORANDUM OPINION
    After the trial court denied his motion to suppress evidence, appellant
    Dywan Brooks (Brooks) pleaded guilty to one count of evading arrest, one count
    of tampering with evidence, and two counts of possession of at least one gram but
    less than four ounces of a controlled substance. The trial court found the evidence
    supported a finding of guilt on all counts and assessed punishment on each count at
    1
    twenty years’ confinement, with the sentences to run concurrently. Brooks raises
    three issues on appeal. We affirm the trial court’s judgments.
    FACTUAL BACKGROUND
    Brooks was indicted for one count of evading arrest, one count of tampering
    with evidence, and two counts of possession of at least one gram but less than four
    grams of a controlled substance. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. §§ 37.09(a), (c)
    38.04(a), (b)(1), (West Supp. 2015); Tex. Health & Safety Code Ann. § 481.115(c)
    (West 2010).1 The indictment included enhancements for prior convictions. See
    Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 12.42 (West Supp. 2015). On or about April 8, 2015,
    Brooks filed a motion to suppress, which alleged, in relevant part, that Brooks
    . . . was pulled over without reasonable suspicion for an alleged
    unsafe lane change in violation of the Texas Traffic Code and
    changing lanes prior to one hundred feet of intersection. As to the
    unsafe lane change, the officer does not state any specific traffic code
    violation nor ticket Mr. Brooks for it. Furthermore, changing lanes
    100 feet prior to the intersection is not a violation in Texas, nor did
    the officer ticket Mr. Brooks for it.
    The motion further argued that, because the officer who made the stop “did not
    have reasonable suspicion that Mr. Brooks violated a traffic offense[,] the evidence
    in this matter must be suppressed.” The trial court conducted a hearing on the
    1
    We cite to the current version of statutes in this opinion inasmuch as any
    amendments subsequent to the date of the offense do not affect our analysis of this
    case.
    2
    motion on July 6-7, 2015. At the hearing on the motion to suppress, the State
    presented testimony from four witnesses. The trial court also heard arguments from
    the State and from Brooks. Thereafter, the trial court denied the motion to
    suppress.
    Testimony of Deputy Taylor Wells
    Liberty County Sheriff’s Deputy Taylor Wells (Wells) testified that he was
    on duty on March 27, 2014, working “high drug volume[] areas.” He stated that he
    works in the Criminal Interdiction Unit, and he agreed that, on that date, he was by
    himself and he was “out looking for drug activity[.]”
    Wells testified that Brooks was driving westbound in the middle lane on
    Highway 90, another vehicle was slightly behind Brooks in the right lane, and
    Wells was about four-to-five car lengths behind Brooks. Wells saw Brooks use a
    turn signal and pull into an Exxon station just past the intersection of Highway 90
    and Bowie Street, and that in the process, Brooks cut off the vehicle in the right
    lane. According to Wells, both drivers had to slam on their brakes to keep from
    hitting one another. Wells agreed that he regarded Brooks’s lane change from the
    middle lane and across the right lane as unsafe and that Brooks’s car could have
    collided with the vehicle in the right lane.
    3
    Wells explained that, after he observed Brooks’s actions, Wells slowed
    down, turned on the emergency lights, and followed Brooks onto the Exxon
    property in an attempt to stop Brooks. He also stated that he had to make “an
    evasive lane change” himself in order to get behind Brooks to make the traffic
    stop. After both his vehicle and Brooks’s vehicle were stopped, a woman exited
    Brooks’s vehicle and was trying to go into the Exxon station, and Wells called out
    to her and told her that she needed to come back to the car. Wells testified that he
    found it “extremely suspicious[]” that a person got out of a vehicle he had just
    stopped. Wells stated that “[t]ypically when something like that happens, it leads
    [him] to believe . . . something suspicious is going on and perhaps they’re trying to
    hide something or get rid of something. It definitely raised [his] suspicion as to the
    chain of events.”
    Wells further explained that he identified himself to Brooks and stated to
    Brooks the reason for the stop. Wells was talking with Brooks while Brooks was
    still seated inside of Brooks’s vehicle. At that time, Wells observed “in plain view,
    in the cup holder, a plastic bag that had been tied-up with a crystalline-like
    substance that [Wells] believed to be methamphetamine.” According to Wells,
    when he observed the bag, he asked Brooks to step out of the vehicle. Wells
    explained that he believed the substance in the bag was methamphetamine based
    4
    on   his   training,   experience,   and       involvement   with   methamphetamine
    investigations. Wells testified that he asked Brooks what was in the bag in the
    center console of his car. Wells explained that Brooks then “reached in, in between
    [Wells] and the car, grabbed the bag, held it directly in front of [Wells’s] face and
    took off running.”
    Wells testified that Brooks ran north and that Wells “continued to chase
    [Brooks] on foot continuously yelling to stop.” Wells said he lost his footing and
    fell when crossing some train tracks, but he then continued to chase Brooks and
    eventually caught Brooks. Wells explained to the court that, as a result of his fall,
    he received a three-inch laceration to one leg, his badge bent in half, and his
    ballistic vest ripped. According to Wells, once he fell on the train tracks, he was
    able to use his radio to call for assistance and other deputies also arrived. On cross-
    examination, Wells said that when Deputy Young arrived, Young told Wells that
    they were “hot,” meaning the events were then being recorded. Wells denied
    searching Brooks at that time, and Wells explained that after he had put Brooks in
    hand restraints and other deputies had arrived, he retraced his steps and located “a
    clear plastic baggie with a crystalline-like substance” that he believed was
    methamphetamine.
    5
    Wells testified that the video camera in his vehicle was not operating at that
    time, and there was no video of the events leading up to his interaction with
    Brooks at the Exxon station. On cross-examination, Wells agreed he had asked the
    Exxon station for surveillance video and that he had received a copy, but Wells
    could not “recall exactly” whether he obtained video from the store clerk on the
    day of the incident because, at the time, he was “still dazed and confused from
    hitting the train tracks[.]” On redirect, Wells admitted he was mistaken about
    having acquired recordings of video surveillance cameras at the Exxon property.
    Wells agreed that his report of the incident, written four days after the
    incident, stated that when Brooks observed Wells driving behind him, Brooks
    “immediately traveled across one lane of traffic, cutting off the vehicle in the lane
    next to them.” And Wells also agreed that Brooks made a right turn from the
    middle lane, knowing that an officer was behind him. Wells testified that he pulled
    Brooks over for an unsafe lane change and for changing lanes prior to 100 feet of
    an intersection. On cross-examination, Wells agreed that changing lanes prior to
    100 feet of an intersection is “not a Traffic Code violation[.]” Wells also agreed
    that he did not give Brooks a ticket for an unsafe lane change or for changing lanes
    prior to 100 feet of an intersection.
    6
    Testimony of Peggy Bourgeois
    Peggy Bourgeois (Bourgeois) testified that she is the custodian of evidence
    for the Liberty County Sheriff’s Department. Bourgeois testified that no cds, dvds,
    or digital recordings from surveillance cameras at an Exxon station were in the
    evidence locker associated with this case. She explained that she did receive a cd
    of audio/video from Deputy Paul Young, but that she did not receive anything
    from Deputy Wells.
    Testimony of Deputy Paul Young
    Deputy Paul Young (Young), with the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office,
    testified that he works in narcotics enforcement and that he was on duty on March
    27, 2014. Young stated that, while he was at the county fuel pumps, he heard a
    radio call that Wells was on foot chasing a subject near the Exxon station on
    Highway 90, and Young responded to the call. Young explained that when he
    arrived, Brooks was in hand restraints, and lying face down on the ground. Young
    assisted Brooks to stand up and Young conducted a search of Brooks. Young
    testified as follows:
    A. I just began to pat him down to check his pockets. At one point I
    found his wallet in the back of his pocket that identified him as
    Dywan Brooks. From there, continued with the search of his pockets.
    And as I got down to his right pants leg, the -- I noticed a clear plastic
    bag hanging out under his pants leg there that contained I guess
    numerous -- what we know as crack rocks.
    7
    Q. Did you recognize these to be crack rocks based on training and
    experience?
    A. Yes.
    ....
    . . . . when I advised [Deputy Fasolino] to get the camera, Mr.
    Brooks began becoming belligerent and started shaking his leg and
    trying to kick it off. And at that point some of the rocks started falling
    onto the ground and he started trying to stomp them with that right
    leg. We had to try to detain his right leg and then put him back across
    the hood to keep him from destroying anymore [sic] of the evidence.
    Eventually another deputy came along and put him in a wrist hold and
    made him stop. We were able to remove him from that, collect the bag
    from him, and then photograph and collect the crack rocks from the
    ground.
    Young identified State’s Exhibit 1 as a copy of an accurate audio and video
    recording of the conversation and images detected and recorded by the camera in
    Young’s patrol unit that day. After the recording was played, Young identified
    Brooks in the courtroom as the person depicted in the recording. Young also
    explained that his vehicle had a newer recording system than Wells’s vehicle, and
    that Young had not experienced any failures with the system in his own vehicle.
    On cross-examination, Young testified that when he arrived at the scene,
    Deputy Wells was “worked up, frustrated[]” and he agreed that when he told Wells
    “we’re hot[]” it meant they were on audio and video. Young also agreed that the
    officers moved Brooks out of the way of the camera, but he explained that Brooks
    8
    had to be moved because “he was trying to destroy the evidence.” Young agreed
    that at the end of the recording contained on State’s Exhibit 1, Young can be heard
    stating “that it was a good lick[]” and he explained that meant “it was a good lick,
    a good bust.”
    Testimony of Sergeant Brett Audilet
    Sergeant Brett Audilet (Audilet) testified that he was the fleet manager with
    the Liberty County Sheriff’s Office and that his responsibilities included
    purchasing and maintenance. Audilet agreed he knew that the camera system in
    Wells’s vehicle had problems but that it was not cost-effective to repair the “old
    and outdated” camera systems.
    Brooks did not offer any witnesses. After hearing evidence and argument,
    the trial court denied the motion to suppress, stating as follows:
    The Court concludes that based on the testimony and evidence
    that the officer -- Officer Wells in this case had probable cause to stop
    the defendant. When the defendant grabbed what appeared in plain
    view to the officer to be illegal narcotics, the officer had every right to
    pursue the defendant. He did and had every right to arrest him.
    The Motion to Suppress is denied.
    Thereafter, the State moved to dismiss paragraphs four and five of the indictments
    in all four cause numbers, which the court granted. Brooks pleaded “guilty” to the
    remaining charges in all four cause numbers and pleaded “true” to the
    enhancement paragraphs. The court found the evidence supported a finding of guilt
    9
    as to all charges and assessed punishment at twenty years for each charge, with the
    sentences to run concurrently. Brooks timely filed a notice of appeal.
    ISSUES ON APPEAL
    In his first issue, Brooks argues that the trial court erred by finding Deputy
    Wells’s testimony “trustworthy.” In his second issue, Brooks argues that the trial
    court erred in admitting over objection certain testimony pertaining to events
    alleged to have occurred after the initial traffic stop. And in his third issue, Brooks
    contends the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress because Wells
    lacked probable cause to make the initial traffic stop.
    STANDARD OF REVIEW
    We review a trial court’s ruling on a motion to suppress under a bifurcated
    standard of review. Valtierra v. State, 
    310 S.W.3d 442
    , 447-48 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2010). We review the trial court’s factual findings for an abuse of discretion, but
    review the trial court’s application of the law to the facts de novo. Turrubiate v.
    State, 
    399 S.W.3d 147
    , 150 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013). At a suppression hearing, the
    trial court is the sole trier of fact and judge of the credibility of the witnesses and
    the weight to be given their testimony, and a trial court may choose to believe or to
    disbelieve all or any part of a witness’s testimony. 
    Valtierra, 310 S.W.3d at 447
    ;
    Wiede v. State, 
    214 S.W.3d 17
    , 24-25 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (quoting State v.
    10
    Ballard, 
    987 S.W.2d 889
    , 891 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999)); State v. Ross, 
    32 S.W.3d 853
    , 855 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000).
    In reviewing a trial court’s ruling, the appellate court does not engage in its
    own factual review. St. George v. State, 
    237 S.W.3d 720
    , 725 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2007). We give almost total deference to the trial court’s determination of
    historical facts, “especially if those are based on an assessment of credibility and
    demeanor.” Crain v. State, 
    315 S.W.3d 43
    , 48 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010). We give
    the same deference to the trial court’s conclusions with respect to mixed questions
    of law and fact that turn on credibility or demeanor. State v. Ortiz, 
    382 S.W.3d 367
    , 372 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012). We review purely legal questions de novo as
    well as mixed questions of law and fact that do not turn on credibility and
    demeanor. 
    Crain, 315 S.W.3d at 48
    . We also review de novo “whether the totality
    of [the] circumstances is sufficient to support an officer’s reasonable suspicion of
    criminal activity.” 
    Id. at 48-49.
    In the absence of any findings of fact, either because none were requested or
    none were spontaneously made by the trial court, an appellate court must presume
    that the trial court implicitly resolved all issues of historical fact and witness
    credibility in the light most favorable to its ultimate ruling. State v. Elias, 
    339 S.W.3d 667
    , 674 (Tex. Crim. App. 2011) (citing 
    Ross, 32 S.W.3d at 857
    ); see also
    11
    Aguirre v. State, 
    402 S.W.3d 664
    , 667 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (Cochran, J.,
    concurring) (“in the absence of specific findings, an appellate court’s hands are
    tied, giving it little choice but to ‘view the evidence in the light most favorable to
    the trial court’s ruling and assume that the trial court made implicit findings of fact
    that support its ruling as long as those findings are supported by the record’”). 2 We
    afford the prevailing party the strongest legitimate view of the evidence and all
    reasonable inferences that may be drawn from that evidence. State v. Duran, 
    396 S.W.3d 563
    , 571 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013). We will uphold the trial court’s ruling if
    it is reasonably supported by the record and is correct on any theory of law
    applicable to the case. State v. Story, 
    445 S.W.3d 729
    , 732 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014);
    Arguellez v. State, 
    409 S.W.3d 657
    , 662-63 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013).
    WITNESS CREDIBILITY
    In his first issue, Brooks argues that the trial court abused its discretion in
    finding Wells’s testimony to be “trustworthy” because the testimony was
    2
    The majority in Ross stated that a non-prevailing party on a motion to
    suppress should attempt to get the trial judge to provide the rationale for his ruling.
    See State v. Cullen, 
    195 S.W.3d 696
    , 698 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (discussing State
    v. Ross, 32, S.W.3d 853, 855 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000)). The trial court should
    provide factual findings supporting the denial of a motion to suppress when the
    losing party requests such findings. 
    Id. at 698-99.
    In the case at bar, Brooks did not
    request the trial court to enter findings of fact and conclusions of law.
    Nevertheless, we note that the trial court made a verbal statement regarding the
    basis for its ruling in the reporter’s record.
    12
    inconsistent and lacked specific articulable facts to justify the traffic stop. In
    particular, Brooks questions whether Wells actually wrote the report and contends
    that Wells’s testimony conflicted with Deputy Young’s testimony. He also argues
    that Wells was inconsistent regarding whether he obtained a video from Exxon,
    whether Brooks crossed a lane of traffic, the date of the incident, the road
    conditions at the time of the incident, and the make of the vehicle Brooks was
    driving.
    Brooks had an opportunity at the suppression hearing to cross-examine or
    impeach Wells. Other witnesses also testified on behalf of the State, and Brooks
    offered no witnesses of his own. In overruling the motion to suppress, the trial
    court stated on the record that the court found that Deputy Wells “had probable
    cause to stop the defendant[]” and “had every right to arrest” Brooks. Although the
    trial court made no explicit finding that it regarded Wells and the other officer’s
    testimony as “trustworthy,” we assume that the trial court made such implicit
    findings of fact that support its ruling as long as those findings are supported by the
    record. See Ex parte Moore, 
    395 S.W.3d 152
    , 158 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013) (citing
    Torres v. State, 
    182 S.W.3d 899
    , 902 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005)). Given the record
    before us, we conclude that Deputy Wells’s testimony at the suppression hearing
    supports the trial court’s rulings. See Keehn v. State, 
    279 S.W.3d 330
    , 334 (Tex.
    13
    Crim. App. 2009) (holding that appellate court must consider all evidence in
    record, viewed in favor of trial court’s fact findings, and determine whether it
    supports trial court’s finding). The trial court was the sole and exclusive trier of
    fact and judge of the credibility of the witnesses. See Maxwell v. State, 
    73 S.W.3d 278
    , 281 (Tex. Crim. App. 2002). The record before us supports the trial court’s
    implicit finding that Wells was a credible witness. We overrule Brooks’s first issue
    on appeal.
    ADMISSION OF EVIDENCE
    In his second issue, Brooks complains that the trial court erred in admitting
    over objection certain testimony pertaining to events that occurred after the initial
    traffic stop. Brooks argues that a suppression hearing pertains only to the
    admissibility of certain evidence and not its sufficiency. See State v. Marquez, 
    281 S.W.3d 56
    , 60 (Tex. App.—El Paso 2008, pet. stricken) (“a pretrial motion to
    suppress evidence is not a proper venue for litigating any or all of the elements of
    an offense”); see also State v. Iduarte, 
    268 S.W.3d 544
    , 551-52 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2008) (“[T]he statutes authorizing pre-trial proceedings do not contemplate a
    ‘mini-trial’ on the sufficiency of the evidence to support an element of the
    offense.”) (citing Woods v. State, 
    153 S.W.3d 413
    , 415 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005)
    14
    (“The purpose of a pre-trial motion is to address preliminary matters, not the merits
    of the case itself.”)).
    Brooks contends that during Deputy Wells’s testimony, Brooks objected to
    Wells’s testimony concerning what Wells observed while standing at the driver’s
    window of Brooks’s vehicle after having stopped Brooks. According to the record,
    Brooks lodged an objection that the testimony was not relevant and that the
    testimony was “outside the scope of this suppression hearing.” The trial court
    overruled the objections without comment. Brooks also objected to State’s Exhibits
    2 and 3, which the State described as “demonstrative drawings.” Brooks objected
    that the two exhibits were “outside the scope of the suppression hearing.” The
    court overruled the objection and admitted the evidence. Brooks also objected to
    “any testimony” by Deputy Paul Young, before Young testified, asserting that “He
    arrived on the scene way after the fact, way after the initial stop, and has no
    personal knowledge as to the -- the initial stop in this case.” The trial court
    indicated it would allow Deputy Young’s testimony, explaining “we’ll see what he
    has to say. You can object as he testifies, if you wish.” After the State asked
    Deputy Young about what he observed upon arriving at the location where Deputy
    Wells and Brooks were, Brooks objected that such testimony was beyond the scope
    15
    of the suppression hearing and that Young was “at the county fuel pumps at the
    time of the initial stop.” The trial court overruled the objection and stated:
    Overruled. I mean, it bears. The officer testified that Mr.
    Brooks ran.
    ....
    And if -- if Deputy Young saw them away from the gas station,
    well, that bears on the credibility of the -- of the arresting officer that
    he wasn’t just sitting at the car, you know, if he was at a different
    location where the stop occurred. There are a lot of things it’s relevant
    to, so your objection is overruled.
    When the State asked whether Deputy Young could identify the voices on
    the recording made by the camera in his vehicle, Brooks objected that such
    testimony was outside the scope of the initial stop. The court overruled the
    objection and explained:
    The objection is overruled. I mean, it bears on -- you know, a
    stop, true. The officer has to have probable cause to stop and then, you
    know, he needs to proceed with the -- the reason for the stop with
    haste, basically. But if somebody runs immediately upon being
    stopped, this video potentially would show or depict evidence that --
    that would indicate that the officer was telling the truth, that he ran,
    and show where -- where they were, that they were in close proximity.
    And so this is highly probative of the issues at hand for this Court. So
    your objection is overruled.
    Brooks’s final complaint relates to when the State asked Deputy Young about the
    location where he encountered Deputy Wells and Brooks. At that point, Brooks
    16
    objected that the testimony was not relevant and outside the scope of the
    suppression hearing. The court expressly overruled the objection.
    In general, we review a trial court’s admission of evidence under an abuse of
    discretion standard. Davis v. State, 
    329 S.W.3d 798
    , 803 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010)
    (citing Walters v. State, 
    247 S.W.3d 204
    , 217 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007)). We
    consider the ruling in light of what was before the trial court at the time the ruling
    was made, and we will uphold the ruling of the trial court if it lies within the zone
    of reasonable disagreement. Billodeau v. State, 
    277 S.W.3d 34
    , 39 (Tex. Crim.
    App. 2009). On the record before us, we conclude that it was within the zone of
    reasonable disagreement for the trial court to allow the complained-of testimony
    and evidence. We cannot say the trial court abused its discretion. We overrule
    Brooks’s second issue.
    THE INITIAL TRAFFIC STOP
    In his third issue, Brooks argues that the trial court erred in denying his
    motion to suppress because Deputy Wells lacked probable cause to make the initial
    traffic stop. Brooks argues that the trial court erred because of the inconsistencies
    17
    in Wells’s testimony, and because one of the reasons for the stop, changing lanes
    within 100 feet of an intersection, “is not probable cause.” 3
    “An officer may make a warrantless traffic stop if the ‘reasonable suspicion’
    standard is satisfied.” Jaganathan v. State, 
    479 S.W.3d 244
    , 247 (Tex. Crim. App.
    2015). “[A]n officer is generally justified in briefly detaining an individual on less
    than probable cause for the purposes of investigating possibly-criminal behavior
    where the officer can ‘point to specific and articulable facts, which, taken together
    with rational inferences from those facts, reasonably warrant [the] intrusion.’”
    Carmouche v. State, 
    10 S.W.3d 323
    , 328 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000) (quoting Terry v.
    Ohio, 
    392 U.S. 1
    , 21 (1968)). “Reasonable suspicion exists if the officer has
    specific, articulable facts that, when combined with rational inferences from those
    facts, would lead him to reasonably conclude that a particular person actually is,
    has been, or soon will be engaged in criminal activity.” Ford v. State, 
    158 S.W.3d 488
    , 492 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). This is an objective standard that disregards the
    subjective intent of the officer and requires only some minimal level of
    justification for the stop. 
    Terry, 392 U.S. at 21-22
    ; Wade v. State, 
    422 S.W.3d 661
    ,
    668 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013); Foster v. State, 
    326 S.W.3d 609
    , 614 (Tex. Crim.
    App. 2010). However, the officer must have more than an inarticulable hunch or
    3
    Brooks does not raise any argument or challenge concerning the search of
    his person or a search (if any) of his vehicle
    18
    mere good-faith suspicion that a crime was in progress. 
    Crain, 315 S.W.3d at 52
    (quoting Williams v. State, 
    621 S.W.2d 609
    , 612 (Tex. Crim. App. 1981)). In
    deciding whether an officer had a reasonable suspicion, we examine the facts that
    were available to the officer at the time of the investigative detention. 
    Terry, 392 U.S. at 21-22
    ; Davis v. State, 
    947 S.W.2d 240
    , 243 (Tex. Crim. App. 1997). This
    determination is made by considering the totality of the circumstances, giving the
    factfinder almost total deference to the determination of historical facts, and
    reviewing de novo the trial court’s application of law to facts not turning on
    credibility. 
    Ford, 158 S.W.3d at 492-93
    .
    An unsafe lane change is a traffic violation. See Tex. Transp. Code Ann.
    § 545.060 (West 2011); Dunn v. State, 
    478 S.W.3d 736
    , 742 (Tex. App.—Fort
    Worth 2015, pet. refused) (affirming denial of motion to suppress where officer
    initiated the traffic stop based on violation of section 545.060(a) and the officer’s
    testimony established that defendant drifted into officer’s lane, requiring the officer
    to slow down to avoid a collision, and that the defendant then drifted the other
    direction, topping the broken white line and prompting a driver in the adjacent lane
    to brake); Tyler v. State, 
    161 S.W.3d 745
    , 748 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2005, no
    pet.). In this matter, Deputy Wells testified that he observed Brooks turn right from
    the middle lane across a lane of traffic and in front of another car, and that both
    19
    drivers had to slam on the brakes to avoid a collision. Wells said that he stopped
    Brooks for two suspected traffic violations—an unsafe lane change and changing
    lanes prior to 100 feet of an intersection—although Wells admitted at trial that the
    latter reason is no longer a traffic violation.
    Based on the totality of the circumstances, we conclude on the record before
    us, that the hearing contains sufficient “specific articulable facts,” when combined
    with rational inferences from those facts, from which the trial court could have
    reasonably concluded that the Deputy’s initial detention of Brooks was objectively
    reasonable, that the Deputy had a good-faith suspicion that Brooks had engaged in
    a traffic violation, and that probable cause existed to support the initial traffic stop.
    
    Crain, 315 S.W.3d at 52
    . We therefore conclude that the trial court did not err in
    overruling the motion to suppress. We overrule Brooks’s third issue.
    Having overruled all issues on appeal, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.
    AFFIRMED.
    _________________________
    LEANNE JOHNSON
    Justice
    Submitted on May 25, 2016
    Opinion Delivered June 15, 2016
    Do Not Publish
    Before Kreger, Horton and Johnson, JJ.
    20