Tony Gonzales v. State
01-15-00914-CR
| Tex. App. | Oct 11, 2016Background
- Tony Gonzales and Juan Carlos Leiva-Delgado, friends and former romantic rival over a woman, drank in Leiva’s car in a bar parking lot; about an hour later Leiva was found dead from multiple stab wounds and blunt head trauma.
- Surveillance video showed Leiva exit the car, fall between two vehicles after a 14-second off-camera struggle, and Gonzales leaving the scene; Gonzales was later found hiding in bushes with blood on his shirt and a broken knife handle in his pocket.
- Gonzales testified he acted in self-defense, claiming Leiva lunged at him with a knife, he disarmed Leiva, and then stabbed him; he could not recall whether he stomped on Leiva.
- Medical evidence showed seven stab wounds consistent with the knife and a patterned contusion to the head consistent with an object such as a shoe sole; no shoe-pattern analysis was done.
- Jury convicted Gonzales of murder (rejecting self-defense) and the trial court sentenced him to 65 years; the judgment erroneously included a deadly-weapon finding listing a firearm.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument (State) | Defendant's Argument (Gonzales) | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether evidence was legally insufficient to reject self-defense | Evidence (video, injuries, motive) supports that Gonzales was aggressor and not acting in self-defense | Self-defense was supported by his testimony (Leiva attacked first with a knife); verdict should be acquittal | There was legally sufficient evidence for a rational jury to reject self-defense and find guilt beyond a reasonable doubt (issue overruled) |
| Whether the judgment’s deadly-weapon finding ("firearm") is erroneous | Concedes "firearm" is erroneous; supports keeping a deadly-weapon finding consistent with indictment (knife) | Judgment should be corrected to remove the firearm finding | Modify judgment to delete "firearm" and replace with "knife"; affirm as modified |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
- Brooks v. State, 323 S.W.3d 893 (Tex. Crim. App. 2010) (applying Jackson standard in Texas)
- Laster v. State, 275 S.W.3d 512 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009) (reviewing sufficiency under Jackson)
- Clayton v. State, 235 S.W.3d 772 (Tex. Crim. App. 2007) (consideration of reasonable inferences in sufficiency review)
- Tibbs v. Florida, 457 U.S. 31 (1982) (acquittal required if evidence insufficient)
- Zuliani v. State, 97 S.W.3d 589 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003) (defendant must produce some evidence of self-defense; State must disprove beyond a reasonable doubt)
- Saxton v. State, 804 S.W.2d 910 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991) (State’s burden to persuade beyond a reasonable doubt when self-defense raised)
- French v. State, 830 S.W.2d 607 (Tex. Crim. App. 1992) (appellate modification of judgment to reflect jury deadly-weapon findings)