State v. Victor Manuel Gallegos, 08-14-00271-CR

Gallegos was tried with a co-defendant for multiple offenses arising from vehicle break‑ins at a bar parking lot on June 26, 2011; this appeal concerns cause no. 20120C00815 (criminal mischief).
The information charged class‑A misdemeanor criminal mischief, alleging damage to a Mazda door handle with pecuniary loss $500–$1,500.
Evidence showed Acosta broke into cars while Gallegos acted as a lookout; owner Leos testified his handle was intact before entering the bar and cost $120 to repair.
The jury convicted Gallegos of class‑A misdemeanor criminal mischief; the court received the verdict and discharged the jury.
Three weeks later at punishment, the trial court granted Gallegos’s renewed motion for a directed verdict and entered a judgment of acquittal on the criminal mischief charge, effectively overriding the jury verdict.
The appellate court treated the post‑verdict directed‑verdict as the functional equivalent of a new‑trial/JNOV issue, found the evidence legally insufficient to support the class‑A damage range but sufficient for class‑B mischief, reformed judgment to class‑B conviction, and remanded for punishment.

Issue	State's Argument	Gallegos's Argument	Held
Whether a trial court may grant a directed verdict (JNOV) after receiving a jury guilty verdict	Trial court lacked authority to enter a different verdict after receiving jury verdict; post‑verdict acquittal was improper	Trial court effectively acted to correct legally insufficient evidence (new trial) and did not abuse discretion	Court held post‑verdict directed verdict was unauthorized; treated it as a new‑trial/JNOV equivalent and reviewed for abuse of discretion
Whether conviction should be reformed to a lesser‑included offense (class‑B misdemeanor)	Jury’s guilty verdict on class‑A necessarily found elements of class‑B; State entitled to lesser‑included instruction and conviction when evidence shows lesser offense only	Gallegos sought acquittal based on insufficiency for any involvement or for class‑A range	Court held evidence insufficient for class‑A (damage $120) but sufficient for class‑B; reformed judgment to class‑B and remanded for punishment

State v. Lewallen, 927 S.W.2d 737 (trial court directed verdict defined)
State v. Savage, 933 S.W.2d 497 (Crim. App. rule: trial court may not grant JNOV in criminal case)
Combes v. State, 286 S.W.2d 949 (trial court may not enter judgment different than jury verdict)
Dunn v. State, 176 S.W.3d 880 (same principle prohibiting post‑verdict directed verdict)
Chafin v. State, 95 S.W.3d 549 (same; court cannot grant directed verdict after guilty verdict)
Thornton v. State, 425 S.W.3d 289 (when jury necessarily finds elements of lesser offense, appellate court must reform judgment to lesser included)
Grey v. State, 298 S.W.3d 644 (State entitled to lesser‑included instruction without amending information)
State v. Evans, 843 S.W.2d 576 (reviewing trial court’s ruling as functional equivalent when labeled differently)
State v. Zalman, 400 S.W.3d 590 (standard: trial court’s grant of new trial reviewed for abuse of discretion)