IN THE INTEREST OF R.C.H AND A.R.H, CHILDREN--Appeal from 343rd District Court of San Patricio County

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State: Texas

Court: Texas Northern District Court

Docket No: 13-02-00308-CV

Case Date: 10/03/2002

Plaintiff: Juan Manuel Gomez

Defendant: The State of Texas--Appeal from 299th District Court of Travis County

Preview:NO. 07-07-0178-CR, 07-07-0179-CR and 07-07-0186-CR IN THE COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE SEVENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS AT AMARILLO PANEL A JANUARY 4, 2008 ______________________________ JUAN MANUEL GOMEZ, APPELLANT V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE _________________________________ FROM THE 299TH DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY; NO. D-1-DC-06-300050, D-1-DC-06-300153, D-1-DC-06-300049; HONORABLE CHARLES F. BAIRD, JUDGE _______________________________

Before CAMPBELL and HANCOCK and PIRTLE, JJ.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant Juan Gomez appeals three convictions and sentences committing him to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division, for the offenses of aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, and robbery. In two of the appeals appellant presents an argument on the merits, but in the third case his counsel filed an Anders brief1

1

See Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744-745, 87 S.Ct. 1396, 18 L.Ed.2d 493

(1967).

and motion to withdraw. For the reasons that follow, we affirm the judgments of the trial court in each case and grant counsel's motion to withdraw.

Background

Testimony showed that, about 10:00 p.m. on December 20, 2005, appellant and two other men approached Ester Maldonado and her adult daughter Tomi Cepeda in an Austin laundromat. One of the three pulled a gun on Maldonado and Cepeda and demanded money. Another frisked Cepeda, who was eight months pregnant. When Cepeda asked the trio to leave because she was pregnant, appellant, who apparently frisked Cepeda, convinced the gunman they should depart. The trio then left the laundromat.

Testimony also showed that during the early morning of January 4, 2006, appellant and two men approached Jeremiah Murphy near the entry of his girlfriend's Austin apartment. One of the three brandished a gun and ordered Murphy to the ground. On discovering he had no cash but an ATM card, they took the keys to his vehicle and forced him to leave the apartment grounds with them. In the vehicle, appellant, seated in the passenger seat, held a gun on Murphy. Another member of the trio drove and the third rode in the bed of the truck. Unbeknownst to the kidnappers, Murphy's girlfriend witnessed the events from her apartment and summoned police. Outside the apartment complex a police cruiser gave chase.

2

Appellant was subsequently apprehended and indicted for the aggravated robbery2 and aggravated kidnapping3 of Murphy and the aggravated robbery of Maldonado. The State filed these allegations as separate offenses in cause numbers D-1-DC-06-300153, the robbery of Maldonado; D-1-DC-06-30049, the aggravated kidnapping of Murphy; and D-1-DC-06-30050, the aggravated robbery of Murphy.4 Appellant plead guilty to each offense although by agreement the charge of aggravated robbery of Maldonado was reduced to the lesser offense of robbery.5 Unable to reach a punishment agreement with the State, appellant elected to have the court set punishment. The court accepted appellant's guilty pleas but deferred sentencing for preparation of a pre-sentence investigation report.

Appellant testified during the punishment hearing, as did his father and girlfriend. By his testimony, appellant admitted his involvement in the offenses.

The court sentenced appellant to concurrent terms in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division of twenty years for the robbery of Maldonado, fifteen years for the aggravated kidnapping of Murphy, and thirty years for the aggravated robbery of Murphy.

2

Tex. Penal Code Ann.

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