JAMES ALLEN HUDSON, Appellant v. STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

AFFIRMED and Opinion Issued December 18, 1996
 
 
S
In The
Court of Appeals
Fifth District of Texas at Dallas
............................
No. 05-95-01842-CR
............................
JAMES ALLEN HUDSON, Appellant
V.
STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
..............................................................
On Appeal from the 283rd Judicial District Court
Dallas County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. F95-02936-T
..............................................................
O P I N I O N
Before Justices Lagarde, Kinkeade, and Maloney
Opinion By Justice Maloney
        The trial court convicted James Allen Hudson of possession of a firearm by a felon and assessed a twenty-five year sentence. In one point of error, appellant argues there is no evidence to support his conviction. We affirm the trial court's judgment.
BACKGROUND
        The grand jury indicted appellant for unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. The indictment alleged this possession occurred on or about April 7, 1995. In two enhancement paragraphs, the indictment further alleged that appellant previously had been convicted of burglary of a habitation and of escape. Appellant pleaded guilty to the possession of a firearm by a felon and true to the two enhancement paragraphs without benefit of a plea bargain. The trial court accepted appellant's plea, convicted appellant, and assessed a twenty-five year sentence.
SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE
        In appellant's sole point of error, he contends the evidence is insufficient to support his guilty plea. Specifically, appellant argues that the record contains no judicial confession showing evidence of each and every element of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. The State responds that the record contains evidence of appellant's guilt.
1. Applicable Law
        In a bench trial, a plea of guilty will not support a felony conviction unless the State introduces sufficient evidence to support the plea. See Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 1.15 (Vernon Supp. 1997); Dinnery v. State, 592 S.W.2d 343, 351 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op.] 1979) (op. on reh'g). A judicial confession alone, however, will sustain a conviction of a guilty plea. Dinnery, 592 S.W.2d at 353. A judicial confession admitted into evidence and not found in the statement of facts, but contained in the transcript, is sufficient to prove appellant's guilt. Pitts v. State, 916 S.W.2d 507, 510 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). In addition, a defendant's sworn testimony is a judicial confession. See Davenport v. State, 858 S.W.2d 1, 3 (Tex. App.--Dallas 1993, no pet.); Jones v. State, 857 S.W.2d 108, 110-11 (Tex. App.--Corpus Christi 1993, no pet.).
2. Application of Law to Facts
        At trial, appellant entered a plea of guilty to the charges alleged in the indictment. The State offered, and the trial judge admitted, appellant's judicial confession as State's exhibit number one and the plea of true and stipulation of evidence to the second and third paragraphs as State's exhibit number two. Appellant did not object. The transcript contains State's exhibit numbers one and two and, therefore, they are part of the appellate record. See Pitts, 916 S.W.2d at 510.
        Additionally, the transcript contains a document entitled Waiver of Jury/Felony Plea of Guilty/Nolo Contendere/Indictment/Information. In this document, appellant judicially confessed that he was guilty of "the offense of possession of a firearm by felon exactly as alleged in the charging instrument . . . ." This second confession is included in the same type of document that the Pitts court found sufficient evidence to support a plea of guilty. See Pitts, 916 S.W.2d at 509-510.
        Moreover, appellant testified that he was guilty of the charge of felony possession of a firearm and that he had freely and voluntarily entered a plea of guilty because he was guilty. Appellant's sworn testimony that he was guilty as charged, without elaboration, was sufficient to sustain the trial court's finding of guilt. We overrule appellant's sole point of error.         We affirm the trial court's judgment.
 
 
                                                          
                                                          FRANCES MALONEY
                                                          JUSTICE
 
Do Not Publish
Tex. R. App. P. 90
 
 
 
 
 
File Date[12-17-96]
File Name[951842F]