Enrique Sanchez Salazar v. State ( 2015 )


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  •                                                                                                  ACCEPTED
    13-14-00563-CR
    THIRTEENTH COURT OF APPEALS
    CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
    7/2/2015 4:58:41 PM
    CECILE FOY GSANGER
    CLERK
    13-14-00563-CR
    RECEIVED       -     IN
    IN THE COURT OF APPEALS13th COURT   ---OF APPEALS
    ----
    CORPUS CHRISTI/EDINBURG, -                    TEXAS
    ----s
    - - - - -    s       - - ----
    FOR THE THIRTEENTH                    7/2/2015
    -
    - ID
    JUDICIAL DISTRICT                4:58:41
    - -          PM
    ---- VO ------
    CECILE      - -     FOY       GSANGER
    ----
    ----                 Clerk
    CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
    _________________________________
    FILED IN
    ENRIQUE SANCHEZ SALAZAR,
    13th COURT OF APPEALS
    CORPUS
    Appellant       CHRISTI/EDINBURG, TEXAS
    7/2/2015 4:58:41 PM
    vs.                       CECILE FOY GSANGER
    Clerk
    THE STATE OF TEXAS,
    Appellee
    _________________________________
    ON APPEAL FROM THE 156TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT
    OF LIVE OAK COUNTY, TEXAS
    CAUSE NUMBER: L-14-0025-CR-B
    _________________________________
    BRIEF FOR THE APPELLEE
    THE STATE OF TEXAS
    ________________________________
    EDWARD F. SHAUGHNESSY, III
    ATTORNEY-AT-LAW
    206 E. LOCUST
    SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78212
    (210) 212-6700
    (210) 212-2178 (fax)
    SBN 18134500
    Shaughnessy727@gmail.com
    ORAL ARGUMENT REQUESTED               ATTORNEY FOR THE APPELLEE
    TABLE OF CONTENTS
    PAGE (S)
    Table of Contents ...................................................................................................... i
    Table of Interested Parties ....................................................................................... ii
    Table of Authorities................................................................................................. iii
    Brief for the Appellee ................................................................................................5
    Summary of the Argument ...................................................................................... 6
    Response to Appellant’s First and Second Points of Error ...................................... 7
    Response to Appellant’s Third Point of Error…………………………………………………12
    Response to Appellant’s Fourth Point of Error………………………………………………13
    Response to Appellant’s Fifth Point of Error………………………………………………….18
    Conclusion and Prayer ........................................................................................... 20
    Certificate of Service ............................................................................................... 21
    Certificate of Compliance…………………………………………………………………………….21
    i
    TABLE OF INTERESTED PARTIES
    Mr. James Sales
    Mr. Jon West                               State’s Trial Counsel
    Assistant District Attorneys
    Live Oak County
    156th Judicial District
    111 S. St. Mary’s No. 203
    Beeville, Texas 78102
    Ms. Michelle Ochoa
    Ms. Rachel Cook                            Trial Counsel
    Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid
    331A N. Washington
    Beeville, Texas 78102
    Honorable Starr Bauer                      Trial Court Judge
    Judge Presiding
    156th Judicial District Court
    Live Oak County, Texas
    Edward F. Shaughnessy, III                 Appellee’s Counsel
    Attorney at Law
    206 E. Locust Street
    San Antonio, Texas 78212
    (210) 212-6700
    Bar No: 18134500
    Abner Burnett                              Appellant’s Counsel
    Attorney at Law
    331A North Washington
    Beeville, Texas 78102
    ii
    TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
    PAGE (S)
    STATE CASE (S)
    Adetomiwa v. State, 
    421 S.W.3d 922
    (Tex. App.-Fort Worth, 2014)…………..……18
    Brooks v. State, 
    990 S.W.2d 278
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1999)………………………..………13
    Broxton v. State, 
    909 S.W.2d 912
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1995)……………………………….13
    Castro v. State, 
    914 S.W.2d 159
    (Tex. App.-San Antonio, 1995, pet. ref’d.)……….13
    Cavazos v. State, 
    382 S.W.3d 377
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2012)………………….…………..10
    Freda v. State, 
    704 S.W.2d 41
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1986)……………………………………17
    Goad v. State, 
    354 S.W.3d 443
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2001)………………………..………..11
    Hall v. State, 
    225 S.W.3d 524
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2007)………………………….………..11
    Hampton v. State, 
    109 S.W.3d 437
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2003)…………………..……….11
    Hobbs v. State, 
    175 S.W.3d 777
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2005)…………………………….…..11
    Human v. State, 
    749 S.W.2d 832
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1988)………………………..……..17
    Jordan v. State, 
    256 S.W.3d 286
    , 292 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008)………………….……16
    McKithian v. State, 
    324 S.W.3d 582
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2010)…………………………..11
    Mims v. State, 
    434 S.W.3d 265
    (Tex. App.-Houston [1st], 2014)………………..…….18
    Pena v. State, 
    285 S.W.3d 459
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2009)…………………………………..13
    Peterson v. State, (No. 07-13-00155-CR, Tex. App.-Amarillo, February 10, 2014,
    
    2014 WL 546948
    )………………………………………………………………………………..……..18
    Powell v. State, 
    206 S.W.3d 142
    (Tex. App.-Waco, 2006, pet. ref’d)…………….....11
    Rhodes v. State, 
    778 S.W.2d 187
    (Tex. App.-Beaumont 1989)…………………………16
    Rice v. State, 
    333 S.W.3d 140
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2011)…………………………………....11
    iii
    Rooks v. State, 
    576 S.W.2d 615
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1978)…………………………………..17
    Rousseau v. State, 
    855 S.W.2d 666
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1993)…………………………….10
    Scott v. State, (No. 10-13-00159-CR, Tex. App.-Waco, March 27, 2014, 
    2014 WL 127175
    6)…………………………………………………………………………………………………….18
    Skinner v. State, 
    956 S.W.2d 532
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1997)……………..………………..11
    Sneed v. State, 
    351 S.W.3d 63
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2011)…………………………………….11
    Sneed v. State, (No. 09-14-00232-CR, Tex. App.-Beaumont, September 24, 2014,
    
    2014 WL 475550
    2)………………………………………………………………………………..…...18
    Wise v. State, (No. 11-13-0005-CR, Tex. App.-Eastland, September 24, 2014,
    
    2014 WL 281009
    7)……………………………………………………………………………………..18
    Young v. State, 
    14 S.W.3d 748
    , 750 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000)……………..…………..16
    STATUTE (S) AND CODE (S)
    Rule 503(b)(2), Tex. Rule Evid…………………………………………………………..………..12
    Tex. Penal Code Ann. 12.31, et seq. (West 2015)…………………………………………….16
    Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 12.42(d) (West 2013)……………………………………………..…15
    Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.02(a)(2)……………………………………………………………..15
    iv
    NO. 13-14-00563-CR
    ENRIQUE SANCHEZ SALAZAR,                 §            IN THE COURT OF
    Appellant
    §            APPEALS, THIRTEENTH
    v.                                       §            JUDICIAL DISTRICT
    THE STATE OF TEXAS,                      §            CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS
    Appellee
    BRIEF FOR THE APPELLEE
    THE STATE OF TEXAS
    To the Honorable Thirteenth Court of Appeals:
    Now comes, the State of Texas, by and through Edward F. Shaughnessy,
    III, and Attorney-at-Law, designated attorney for the District Attorney for 156th
    Judicial District and files this brief in cause number 13-14-00563-CR. The
    appellant was indicted by a Live Oak County grand jury for the offense of
    Evading Arrest by Vehicle (Habitual) in cause number L-14-0025-CR-B. (C.R.1-
    6) Following a jury trial, the appellant was found guilty of the offense as charged
    in the indictment. (C.R.1-117) The Court found the two enhancement allegations
    to be true and assessed punishment at thirty-eight (38) years of confinement in
    the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division. (C.R.1-130)
    Notice of appeal was filed and this appeal, alleging five points of error, has
    followed. (C.R.1-129)
    5
    SUMMARY OF THE ARGUMENT
    ON BEHALF OF THE APPELLEE
    The appellant’s assertion that he was entitled to a charge to the jury on the
    lesser-included offense is without merit because the facts as brought forth at
    trial due not support the submission of such a charge. Consequently the
    appellant’s initial two allegations of jury charge error are without merit.
    The appellant’s assertion, that the trial Court erred in allowing for the
    admission of testimony from the appellant’s prior attorney in violation of Tex. R.
    Evid. 503 (b) (2), is not preserved for purposes of review by this Court.
    Consequently, the appellant’s third point of error does not present reversible
    error on the part of the trial Court.
    The appellant’s assertion that the offense which formed the basis for his
    conviction (Evading Arrest by Vehicle) is properly a State Jail Felony and not a
    Third Degree Felony is not supported by precedent and as a consequence
    present nothing that warrants any type of relief from this Court.
    The appellant’s assertion that the failed to prove a valid felony for
    purposes pf sentencing the appellant as a habitual offender is not supported by
    the evidence presented by the State at the punishment phase and should be
    overruled.
    6
    RESPONSE TO APPELLANT’S
    FIRST AND SECOND POINTS OF ERROR
    (Appellant’s Brief, Pages 22 & 32)
    In his first point of error the appellant asserts the trial Court erred in
    failing to submit a charge to the jury on the lesser-included offense of Evading
    Arrest.1
    In his second point of error the appellant contends that the failure to
    submit the lesser-included offense of Evading Arrest was not harmless error.
    Due to the nature of the two allegations of error the State will combine its
    response to the two points.
    APPLICABLE FACTS
    On March 6, 2014 the appellant was indicted by a Live Oak County grand
    jury for the offense of Evading Arrest or Detention with a Vehicle. (C.R.1-6) The
    indictment alleged in pertinent part as follows: “Enrique Sanchez Salazar ….on
    or about the 19th day of July, A.D., 2013, ….did then and there while using a
    vehicle, intentionally flee from A. Carrion a person the defendant knew was a
    peace officer who was attempting to lawfully arrest the defendant….”. (C.R.1-6)
    During the course of the trial’s guilt phase the prosecution brought forth
    the testimony of five witnesses in order to establish the allegations in the
    indictment. Four of those witnesses were members of law enforcement and they
    1
    Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 38.04 (West 2013)
    7
    provided testimony regarding the actions of the appellant on the day of the
    offense.
    ALBERTO CARRION
    The State initially brought forth the testimony of Officer Alberto Carrion
    of the Three Rivers Police Department. (R.R.2-90) According to Carrion, during
    the early evening hours of July 19, 2013 he was patrolling the city of Three
    Rivers when he came in contact with a green van, which was being operated at
    an excessive speed on U.S. Highway 181 in the city of Three Rivers. (R.R.2-90,
    91) In response, Carrion began a pursuit of the vehicle. (R.R.2-92, 93) That
    pursuit continued for a short period of time during which the suspect vehicle
    disregarded four stops signs before ultimately coming to a halt as a result of a
    crash. (R.R.2-93, 94) Before the suspect vehicle came to a complete halt the
    driver thereof exited the vehicle and fled the location on foot. (R.R.2-93) The
    passengers who were unable to flee the scene of the crash were detained by
    Carrion as other members of law enforcement sought to apprehend the
    remaining suspects/actors. (R.R.2-94) Carrion discovered that the five
    occupants of the vehicle who had been unable to flee the scene of the accident
    were undocumented aliens. As a consequence, Carrion notified the Border
    Patrol authorities, who thereafter made the scene. (R.R.2-96, 97) Other
    members of law enforcement were able to perfect an arrest of the appellant who
    8
    was thereafter returned to the scene of the accident. (R.R.2-96) The appellant
    was subsequently released to the custody of the federal authorities. (R.R.2-96)2
    NOAH LEUCHNER
    Leuchner was another member of the Three Rivers Police Department
    who testified on behalf of the prosecution at the trial’s guilt phase. (R.R.2-114)
    According to Leuchner on the evening of July 19, 2013 he was assisting with an
    investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash of a vehicle and the
    subsequent flight of some of the occupants of that vehicle. (R.R.2-114, 115)
    During the course of that investigation Leuchner found and arrested the
    appellant who was hiding along a fence line away from the scene of the crash.
    (R.R.2-115)
    ROBERTO GUTIERREZ
    Gutierrez was a member of the United States Border Patrol who
    participated in the investigation of the events that surrounded the crash in Three
    Rivers. (R.R.2-121) Gutierrez related that on the evening in question he
    identified the passengers of the van as illegal aliens. He also arrested the
    appellant at the time for the offense of alien smuggling. According to Gutierrez
    the appellant was thereafter indicted in federal court and charged with that
    offense in cause number C-1-707. (R.R.2-123)
    2
    During the testimony of Carrion the State offered and the trial Court admitted a video
    recording of the chase that was captured on the officer’s on-board video. (R.R.2-98)
    9
    RAY MEDRANO
    The final member of law enforcement to testify at the guilt phase of the
    trial was Officer Ray Medrano also of the Three Rivers Police Department.
    (R.R.2-127) According to Medrano, he had a conversation with the appellant at
    the time of the apprehension at which time the appellant informed Medrano that
    the driver of the van had been wearing a maroon shirt. (R.R.2-128) 3
    The appellant rested and closed following the State’s case without calling
    any witnesses or offering any evidence.
    At the conclusion of the evidentiary phase of the trial the appellant
    requested that the trial Court submit a charge to the jury authorizing them to
    consider the lesser-included offense of “evading arrest on foot”. (R.R.2-132) That
    request was denied by the trial Court. (R.R.3-10) The appellant asserts that the
    trial Court committed error in denying that request.
    STANDARD OF REVIEW
    In passing upon the propriety of a trial court’s denial of a charge on a
    lesser-included offense a reviewing court is to employ the Aguilar/Rousseau
    analysis. Cavazos v. State, 
    382 S.W.3d 377
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2012); Rousseau v.
    State, 
    855 S.W.2d 666
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1993). Initially a reviewing court is
    required to ascertain if the proof required to establish the charged offense, also
    3
    This testimony was apparently brought forth to demonstrate that the appellant was being
    deceptive regarding the events in question as evidenced by the contents of the video recording
    when contrasted with his statements to Medrano.
    10
    encompasses the lesser offense. Sneed v. State, 
    351 S.W.3d 63
    (Tex. Crim. App.
    2011); McKithian v. State, 
    324 S.W.3d 582
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2010). If that initial
    threshold element is demonstrated, then the court must ascertain whether there
    is some record evidence supporting a claim that if the accused is guilty of an
    offense, he is guilty of only the lesser offense. Rice v. State, 
    333 S.W.3d 140
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2011); Hall v. State, 
    225 S.W.3d 524
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2007).
    It is not sufficient that the jury may reject evidence regarding the charged
    offense; rather there must be evidence before the jury directly relevant to the
    lesser offense for the jury to consider before the submission of the lesser offense
    is mandated. Goad v. State, 
    354 S.W.3d 443
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2001); Hampton
    v. State, 
    109 S.W.3d 437
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2003); Skinner v. State, 
    956 S.W.2d 532
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1997).
    Initially the State would concede that the first prong of the two-part test
    has been satisfied; that is the offense of Evading Arrest is a lesser-included
    offense of Evading Arrest by Vehicle. See: Powell v. State, 
    206 S.W.3d 142
    (Tex.
    App.-Waco, 2006, pet. ref’d).
    The State would submit that the appellant’s request for the submission of
    that lesser offense was properly denied by the trial court because the record is
    wholly devoid of any evidence that affirmatively demonstrated that if guilty of an
    offense the accused was guilty of only that lesser offense. See: Hobbs v. State,
    
    175 S.W.3d 777
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2005).
    11
    The appellant’s first and second points of error are without merit and
    should be overruled
    RESPONSE TO APPELLANT’S
    THIRD POINT OF ERROR
    (Appellant’s Brief, Page 33)
    In his third point of error the appellant asserts that the trial Court erred in
    allowing his former attorney to testify regarding facts that came to his
    knowledge through the attorney-client relationship in violation of Rule
    503(b)(2), Tex. Rule Evid.
    APPLICABLE FACTS
    The initial witness called by the prosecution at the trial’s guilt-innocence
    phase was Jacir Heil. During the course of his testimony Heil related that he
    had served as an attorney for the appellant in United States District Court where
    he was charged with the federal offense of alien smuggling arising out of the
    series of events that led to his conviction in the instant case. (R.R.2-72 thru 82)
    During the course of his testimony Heil authenticated four documents that were
    associated with the appellant’s plea in federal court, which tended to implicate
    the appellant in the Evading by Vehicle prosecution that was the basis for the
    instant conviction.4 The appellant voiced an objection to that testimony in the
    trial court. Specifically, he objected to the testimony of Heil on the grounds that
    the prosecution had failed to designate Heil as an expert witness prior to the
    4
    State’s exhibits 1, 2, 3, & 4.
    12
    onset of the trial. (R.R.2-73) At no time did the appellant raise, in the trial court,
    an objection that the testimony of Heil would constitute a violation of Rule
    503(b)(2), 
    id. as he
    now asserts as error on the part of the trial Court. This
    allegation of error is not properly before this Court for purposes of review
    because it was never presented to the trial court in a timely and specific fashion.
    Pena v. State, 
    285 S.W.3d 459
    (Tex. Crim. App. 2009); Brooks v. State, 
    990 S.W.2d 278
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1999); Broxton v. State, 
    909 S.W.2d 912
    (Tex.
    Crim. App. 1995); Castro v. State, 
    914 S.W.2d 159
    (Tex. App.-San Antonio,
    1995, pet. ref’d.).
    The appellant’s third point of error is not preserved for purposes of review
    and should be overruled.
    RESPONSE TO APPELLANT’S
    FOURTH POINT OF ERROR
    (Appellant’s Brief, Page 35)
    In his fourth point of error the appellant contends that he was illegally
    sentenced as a habitual offender because one of the prior convictions utilized by
    the State of Texas to enhance his sentence to that of a habitual offender was in
    fact a State-Jail offense which could not properly be employed to elevate the
    offender to the status of a habitual offender.
    13
    APPLICABLE FACTS
    As noted above, the appellant was indicted by a Live Oak County grand
    jury for the offense of Evading Arrest or Detention by Vehicle, as a habitual
    offender. (C.R—6) One of the “enhancement” paragraphs contained in the
    indictment alleged as follows: “…on the 4th day of June A.D., 2009, in cause
    number 2009-CRM-000050-D3 in the 341st District Court of Webb County,
    Texas, the defendant was finally convicted of the felony offense of Aggravated
    Assault With a Deadly Weapon.” The appellant entered a plea of “not true” to
    that particular allegation. (R.R.3-34) The State subsequently offered and the
    trial Court admitted into evidence, State’s exhibit number 8 which included,
    among other things, a judgment of the 341st District Court of Webb County in
    cause number 2009-CRM-000050-D3. The trial Court after hearing the
    evidence and considering the exhibits found both of the alleged “enhancement”
    paragraphs to be true and assessed the appellant’s punishment at thirty-eight
    (38) years of confinement in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department
    of Criminal Justice.
    It should be noted that at no time did the appellant voice the objection to
    the Aggravated Assault conviction on the grounds now alleged as error. No
    motion to quash the allegation was filed. Moreover, the appellant did not object
    to the admission of the exhibit on the grounds that it failed to demonstrate a
    conviction for a felony level offense that could be utilized to support a finding
    that the appellant was a “habitual” or “repeat” offender. In short, it appears that
    14
    the gist of the appellant’s point of error is a matter of the sufficiency of the
    evidence to demonstrate that the State’s allegation in the second “enhancement”
    paragraph was in fact a felony conviction that was of a nature that it could be
    alleged and proven so as to the trial Court to assess an enhanced punishment.
    The judgment in question reflects that Enrique Sanchez was convicted
    following a plea of guilty on June 4, 2009 in the 341st District Court of Webb
    County. The plea was entered pursuant to a plea bargain agreement with the
    State and resulted in a four year term of confinement in the Texas Department of
    Criminal Justice-Institutional Division. The offense in question having been
    committed on January 23, 2008 and resulting in a violation of Tex. Penal Code
    Ann. § 22.02(a)(2). The judgment labeled the degree of the offense as a “State
    Jail Felony”.
    The appellant contends that the sentence imposed is illegal and hence void
    because the applicable sentencing provision prohibited the State from employing
    a State Jail for purposes of alleging and proving a prior felony for purposes of
    enhancement as was done in the instant case. See: Tex. Penal Code Ann. §
    12.42(d) (West 2013).
    An examination of the statutory provision, cited in the judgment, reveals
    that it is a felony of the second degree at a minimum, and can be elevated to a
    first degree felony under certain inapplicable enhancement provisions. See: Tex.
    Penal Code Ann. § 22.02 (West 2015). The four-year sentence imposed is one
    15
    that is authorized only for felony level offenses above the State Jail felony level.
    See: Tex. Penal Code Ann. 12.31, et seq. (West 2015).
    The appellant apparently is asserting that because the judgment labeled
    the offense in question as a “State Jail Felony”, that it cannot qualify as a prior
    conviction under the habitual offender statute regardless of the other recitals
    contained in the document. The State would submit that the question presented
    to this court is whether the evidence is legally sufficient to support the trial
    Court’s finding that the allegation in the enhancement paragraph was true. The
    burden on the trial Court in a scenario is to engager in a deductive fact-finding
    process to determine if the enhancement allegation is true. Jordan v. State, 
    256 S.W.3d 286
    , 292 (Tex. Crim. App. 2008). In determining whether the State has
    properly sustained its burden of proof regarding an enhancement allegation a
    reviewing court is to compare the evidence presented in support of the allegation
    to a “hypothetically correct jury charge” and determine if the evidence is legally
    sufficient. Young v. State, 
    14 S.W.3d 748
    , 750 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000). The
    purpose of an enhancement allegation is solely to provide an accused with
    sufficient notice of prior conviction that the State was seeking to employ to
    obtain a higher possible punishment than that provided by the charged offense.
    Rhodes v. State, 
    778 S.W.2d 187
    (Tex. App.-Beaumont 1989).
    In the case the judgment offered, and admitted into evidence by the
    trial Court, contains proof that is consistent with the date of the enhancement
    allegation, the cause number of the prior offense, the court of conviction of the
    16
    prior conviction, the name of the offense for which the appellant was convicted
    along with the fact that the conviction was a felony. The sole variance between
    the allegation in the indictment is that the indictment alleged the conviction for
    a “felony offense” whereas the judgment in question refers to degree of offense
    as a “State Jail Felony” (Apparently in error based upon the remainder of the
    recitals in that judgment.) The variance between the allegation and the proof
    has not been shown, to have deprived the appellant of adequate notice regarding
    that enhancement, consequently putative variance does not render the evidence
    of the enhancement insufficient or the sentence ultimately assessed void. See:
    Freda v. State, 
    704 S.W.2d 41
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1986); Rooks v. State, 
    576 S.W.2d 615
    (Tex. Crim. App. 1978).
    The appellant’s fourth point of error is without merit and should be
    overruled.
    17
    RESPONSE TO APPELLANT’S
    FIFTH POINT OF ERROR
    (Appellant’s Brief, Page 40)
    In his fifth and final point of error the appellant contends that the offense
    of Evading Arrest or Detention by Vehicle is not a valid third degree felony, but
    rather is a State-Jail Felony and the subsequent assessment of a thirty-eight year
    sentence under the habitual offender statute is void.
    The essence of the argument advanced by the appellant is that the 82nd
    Session of the Texas Legislature enacted conflicting provisions regarding the
    offense of Evading Arrest or Detention by Vehicle and as a consequence the
    offense in question is properly a State-Jail felony and not a third degree felony.
    The appellant then posits that because he was properly convicted of only a State-
    Jail felony he was not eligible to be punished as a habitual offender.
    The argument advanced by the appellant had been rejected by each of the
    appellate courts of this state that have been called upon to consider the claim.
    Mims v. State, 
    434 S.W.3d 265
    (Tex. App.-Houston [1st], 2014); Adetomiwa v.
    State, 
    421 S.W.3d 922
    (Tex. App.-Fort Worth, 2014); Wise v. State, (No. 11-13-
    0005-CR, Tex. App.-Eastland, September 24, 2014, 
    2014 WL 281009
    7); Sneed
    v. State, (No. 09-14-00232-CR, Tex. App.-Beaumont, September 24, 2014, 
    2014 WL 475550
    2); Scott v. State, (No. 10-13-00159-CR, Tex. App.-Waco, March 27,
    2014, 
    2014 WL 127175
    6); Peterson v. State, (No. 07-13-00155-CR, Tex. App.-
    Amarillo, February 10, 2014, 
    2014 WL 546948
    ).
    18
    The State would submit that the arguments advanced by the appellant
    regarding this point of error have been considered and rejected by the cases
    cited above. The State would urge this Court to adopt the holdings set forth
    above and reject the appellant’s final point of error.
    19
    CONCLUSION AND PRAYER
    Wherefore premises considered the appellee, the State of Texas would
    respectfully request that this Court affirm the judgment of the lower court in all
    respects.
    Respectfully submitted,
    ________/s/__________
    Edward F. Shaughnessy, III
    Attorney at Law
    206 E. Locust
    San Antonio, Texas 78212
    (210) 212-6700
    (210) 212-2178 (fax)
    SBN 18134500
    Shaughnessy727@gmail.com
    Attorney for the appellee
    The State of Texas
    20
    CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
    I, Edward F. Shaughnessy, III, attorney for the appellee hereby certify that
    a true and correct copy of the instant brief was delivered to Abner Burnett, 331A
    North Washington, Beeville, Texas 78102, counsel for the appellant, by use of
    the United States Postal Service on the 24 day of June , 2015.
    ____________/s/_____________
    Edward F. Shaughnessy, III
    CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE
    I, Edward F. Shaughnessy, III attorney for the appellee certify that the
    instant document contains 3898 words.
    ________/s/_______________
    Edward F. Shaughnessy, III
    21