Alejandro Barrientes v. State
13-14-00297-CR
| Tex. App. | Apr 2, 2015Background
- Appellant Alejandro Barrientes pleaded guilty to evading arrest and endangering a child in Cameron County, Texas.
- The State sought to substantiate the guilty plea with evidence beyond the plea itself under Article 1.15 Tex. Code Crim. Proc.
- The record included Barrientes’s sworn judicial confession (C.R. p. 40) admitting all indictment allegations.
- Three officers testified to observing the offenses and to Barrientes’s drive at high speed with a minor passenger in the vehicle.
- Officer Garza testified at sentencing that Barrientes evaded arrest and drove dangerously with a minor present.
- The court concluded the combined evidence sufficed to support the plea and guilt.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the evidence suffices beyond the plea to support guilt | Barrientes | State: evidence supports guilt | Sufficient evidence established guilt |
| Whether Barrientes’s judicial confession alone suffices under Art. 1.15 | Barrientes’s plea should be sustained by confession | State relies on multiple evidentiary items | Judicial confession alone can sustain a conviction; combined evidence also supports it |
| Whether officer testimony corroborates the plea | Barrientes | State’s officers corroborate guilty plea | Officer statements sufficient to corroborate guilt under Article 1.15 |
| Whether sentencing testimony supports the guilty-plea findings | Barrientes | Sentencing testimony corroborates guilt | Testimony at sentencing corroborates and sustains the plea findings |
Key Cases Cited
- Adam v. State, 490 S.W.2d 189 (Tex. Crim. App. 1973) (judicial confession supports conviction under article 1.15)
- Armitage v. State, 637 S.W.2d 936 (Tex. Crim. App. 1982) (police authority to detain a driver who violated traffic law)
- Dinnery v. State, 592 S.W.2d 343 (Tex. Crim. App. 1980) (judicial confession alone suffices to sustain conviction)
- Edwards v. State, 835 S.W.2d 660 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1992) (support for plea sufficiency in guilty-plea context)
- Evers v. State, 576 S.W.2d 46 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1978) (exhibition of acceleration as basis for detention/stop)
- Menefee v. State, 287 S.W.3d 9 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009) (Art. 1.15 requires independent evidence of guilt beyond plea)
- Stewart v. State, 12 S.W.3d 146 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2000) (courts may rely on complex evidence to support guilty plea)
- Staggs v. State, 314 S.W.3d 155 (Tex. App.—Houston [1st Dist.] 2010) (guilty-plea sufficiency under art. 1.15 requires elements shown)
- Fox v. State, 657 S.W.2d 449 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 1983) (written stipulations and witnesses’ testimony admissible evidence)
- Jones v. State, 373 S.W.3d 790 (Tex. App.—Houston [14th Dist.] 2012) (guilty-plea sufficiency considerations)