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Alexander v. State3/5/1996
a ride to his mother's home because Alexander's wife's car had broken down. Alexander's children later arrived at Alexander's mother's house with Alexander's mother and Tiffany, who cried for her father.
Ermatinger further testified that in an interview with Ronnie Dean, Dean told him that Alexander's niece and nephew were at Alexander's on February 1, 1992. Ermatinger stated that Dean told him the reason Tiffany spent the night with the Alexanders was so that she could play with Alexander's niece and nephew.
Ermatinger further testified that he showed Tiffany Robbins a photographic lineup containing a picture of Alexander on March 16, 1993. Ermatinger testified that Tiffany picked out Alexander as someone she knew and said that Alexander had "shot dad." Gregory Sanders, Alexander's brother-in-law, testified that on the evening of February 1, 1992, he received a telephone call on his answering machine from his wife, Stephanie Sanders. He tried to return her call, left a message with his mother, and Stephanie returned his call at 10:54 p.m.
Tiffany Robbins testified that, on the day of the murder, she and Robbins were at Alexander's home and she was playing with three children. She testified that Alexander went to the closet and got a gun. She testified that Robbins broke the coffee table by throwing it to the ground, Robbins ran out of the apartment, and Alexander followed him with a gun. Tiffany testified the gun was black and small.
Tiffany further testified she heard two gunshots while she was in Alexander's apartment. She then ran outside and saw her father lying in the parking lot with blood on his knees and forehead. She testified she then began crying and did not remember where she spent the night. Alexander contends that the evidence is insufficient to prove that Alexander fired the shots that killed Robbins because no one saw the offense occur. Homicide, however, may be proven by circumstantial evidence. See Harris v. State, 738 S.W.2d 207, 220 (Tex. Crim. App. 1986), cert. denied, 484 U.S. 872, 108 S.Ct. 207, 98 L.Ed.2d 158 (1987). The standard of review in a circumstantial case is no different from the standard for direct evidence. Christian v. State, 686 S.W.2d 930, 934 (Tex. Crim. App. 1985); Taylor v. State, 684 S.W.2d 682, 684 (Tex. Crim. App. 1984); Martinez v. State, 880 S.W.2d 72, 77 (Tex. App.-Texarkana 1994, no pet.). The question, therefore, is whether a rational jury could have found that Alexander intentionally or knowingly caused Robbins's death.
In the present case, there was evidence that Robbins was at Alexander's home for a barbecue just before his death; that Robbins broke Alexander's coffee table and ran from the apartment; that Alexander followed Robbins in the direction of the parking lot with a gun in his hand; that shortly thereafter, two gunshots were heard by several different witnesses; that after the shots were fired, Tiffany Robbins found Robbins in the parking lot with gunshot wounds; and that a witness saw a man standing over a body in the parking just after the gunshots were fired. Based on these facts, a rational jury could have determined that Alexander intentionally or knowingly caused the death of Robbins. Additionally, based on all of the evidence, the conviction is not so against the great weight of the evidence as to be manifestly unjust. This point of error is overruled.
By his next point of error, Alexander contends the trial court erred in permitting prejudicial impeachment of a witness to the effect that Stephanie Sanders refused to appear to testify in an earlier proceeding despite reasonable efforts by the State. A trial court has wide discretion in determining the admissibility of evid
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