ANDRES GARCIA LOPEZ v. THE STATE OF TEXAS--Appeal from 103rd District Court of Cameron County

NUMBER 13-00-205-CR

COURT OF APPEALS

THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS

CORPUS CHRISTI

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ANDRES GARCIA-LOPEZ , Appellant,

v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS , Appellee.

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On appeal from the 103rd District Court

of Cameron County, Texas.

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O P I N I O N

Before Justices Hinojosa, Ya ez, and Kennedy (1)

Opinion by Justice Kennedy

Appellant was charged with aggravated robbery. Subsequently, the state gave notice to appellant that it intended to seek punishment of fifteen to ninety-nine years confinement based upon a prior conviction of theft in Harris County. Thereafter, appellant pleaded guilty to the lesser included offense of robbery. This was an open plea, that is, there was no agreement to what punishment appellant would receive. The record shows that he was fully admonished of his rights by the court. The court, prior to assessing sentence, ordered a pre-sentence investigation. The court then sentenced appellant to twelve years confinement.

Appellant filed a motion for new trial based upon his claim that his trial attorney told him he would receive a minimum sentence of two years if he pleaded guilty. The trial court heard evidence to this effect from appellant and appellant's sister and also heard evidence from his trial attorney to the contrary. After he heard all of this testimony, the trial judge denied the motion for new trial.

Appellant's brief brings two points of error which, together, allege that the trial court erred in denying the motion for new trial. In effect, he argues that the trial court should have accepted appellant's version of the events. We overrule both points and affirm the judgment of the trial court. In a bench trial, the judge is the exclusive trier of facts, the credibility of the witnesses, and the weight to be given their testimony. Flanagan v. State, 675 S.W.2d 734, 746 (Tex. Crim. App. 1984).

NOAH KENNEDY

Retired Justice

Do not publish .

Tex. R. App. P. 47.3(b).

Opinion delivered and filed

this the 28th day of June, 2001.

1. Retired Justice Noah Kennedy assigned to this Court by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Texas pursuant to Tex. Gov't Code Ann. 74.003 (Vernon 1998).