Tony Dwayne Erskine v. State, 10-16-00261-CR

Defendant Tony Erskine was convicted by a jury of criminal mischief for breaking the windows of Staci Norman’s car without her consent.
Norman testified she had an intimate relationship with Erskine, that he returned to her apartment intoxicated and belligerent on April 22, 2013, and that she personally observed Erskine use the butt of a baseball bat to make holes in her car windows.
Norman chased Erskine as he fled; he left in a truck driven by Jeremy Borders along with his brother Vincent Sargent.
Jeremy Borders testified he did not see or hear Erskine damage the car.
GEICO’s auto damage supervisor testified that the estimated repair cost for the car was $2,028.
On appeal, Erskine challenged only the sufficiency of the evidence as to identity, arguing mere presence was insufficient to prove he committed the damage.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence to prove identity for criminal mischief	State: Norman’s eyewitness ID and the damage estimate support conviction	Erskine: Presence at scene and Borders’s testimony create reasonable doubt; no direct evidence he caused damage	Affirmed: Jury could credit Norman’s eyewitness ID; evidence sufficient under Jackson standard

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for sufficiency review—view evidence in light most favorable to verdict)
Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (appellate standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
Clayton v. State, 235 S.W.3d 772 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (permitting reasonable inferences from combined evidence)
Garcia v. State, 563 S.W.2d 925 (Tex. Crim. App. 1978) (positive eyewitness identification can support conviction)
Chambers v. State, 805 S.W.2d 459 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991) (resolving conflicts in testimony is for the jury)