Jacobe Dante Payton v. the State of Texas, 14-20-00175-CR

Background

A white four-door Pontiac driven by Jacobe Dante Payton collided with Latoyia Jarmon-Thomas’s car; after the collision a different white Pontiac pulled up and someone fired multiple shots into Thomas’s car, fatally wounding her 7‑year‑old daughter.
Witnesses placed a slender person with shoulder‑length hair/dreadlocks and a left‑handed shooter at the scene; tow‑truck and party witnesses tied Payton (nicknamed “Cobe”) to the incident and to the vehicle type.
Payton admitted he drove the white four‑door Grand Prix that night, saw the accident, heard shots, and later told a friend, “I don’t know; I just started shooting.” He demonstrated shooting with his left hand.
Forensic testing linked four shell casings from the scene and a casing found under Payton’s driver seat to an unusual army‑green 9mm handgun recovered months later from another person; gunshot residue was found near Payton’s driver‑side door.
At trial the jury convicted Payton of murder (lesser‑included murder verdict) and sentenced him to 78 years. On appeal Payton challenged (1) sufficiency of evidence, (2) use of the “wrong” alternate juror, (3) exclusion of an ATF affidavit concerning the person found with the gun, and (4) denial of a manslaughter instruction.

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (State)	Defendant's Argument (Payton)	Held
Sufficiency of the evidence to prove identity and intent	Evidence (confessions, witness ID, matching casings, GSR, weapon description) supports conviction	Evidence insufficient: primary ID was a female; no direct physical proof linking Payton as shooter; intent not proven	Affirmed: circumstantial and forensic evidence plus admissions sufficed to show identity and intent
Wrong alternate juror deliberated	Trial court followed procedure; parties had opportunity and did not timely object	Wrong (first) alternate was excused and second alternate deliberated; request for mistrial warranted	Error forfeited: Payton failed to timely object or move for mistrial; no preserved error
Exclusion of ATF affidavit (evidence that another person possessed the gun)	Trial court properly excluded irrelevant/prejudicial portions; defense questioned Green’s convictions and pending matters via investigator	Exclusion violated right to present a complete defense; affidavit should be admitted to show alternative shooter	Affirmed: Payton did not preserve a constitutional claim at trial (never invoked right to present defense); only evidentiary grounds were argued
Denial of manslaughter (lesser‑included) instruction	N/A (State opposed lesser instruction)	Payton argued his statement (“I just started shooting”) showed recklessness not intent, meriting manslaughter instruction	Denied: no affirmative evidence of recklessness; evidence supported intentional/knowing conduct, so no manslaughter instruction required

Key Cases Cited

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
Alabama v. White, 496 U.S. 325 (1990) (when anonymous tips can support reasonable suspicion)
Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (Jackson sufficiency review framework in Texas)
Cavazos v. State, 382 S.W.3d 377 (Tex. Crim. App. 2012) (two‑step test for lesser‑included offense instruction)
Golliday v. State, 560 S.W.3d 664 (Tex. Crim. App. 2018) (preservation of constitutional complaints when excluding defensive evidence)
Young v. State, 137 S.W.3d 65 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004) (preservation: objection, request to disregard, then mistrial sequence)
Threadgill v. State, 146 S.W.3d 654 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004) (firing a weapon at a person in a vehicle supports intent to cause serious bodily injury)
Guevara v. State, 152 S.W.3d 45 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004) (matching casings in defendant’s car to scene can connect defendant to weapon)
Holmes v. South Carolina, 547 U.S. 319 (2006) (constitutional right to present a meaningful opportunity to present a complete defense)