Armando Rios Jr. v. The State of Texas Appeal from 371st District Court of Tarrant County (memorandum opinion per curiam)
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COURT OF APPEALS SECOND DISTRICT OF TEXAS FORT WORTH NO. 02-17-00217-CR ARMANDO RIOS JR. APPELLANT V. THE STATE OF TEXAS STATE ---------FROM THE 371ST DISTRICT COURT OF TARRANT COUNTY TRIAL COURT NO. 1446091D ---------- MEMORANDUM OPINION 1 ---------Appellant Armando Rios Jr. pled guilty to burglary of a habitation and true to the enhancement allegation, and the trial court convicted him and sentenced him to twenty years’ confinement. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. §§ 12.42(b), 30.02(a)(1), (3), (c)(2) (West Supp. 2017). Appellant timely appealed. 1 See Tex. R. App. P. 47.4. Appellant’s court-appointed counsel has filed a motion to withdraw as counsel and a brief in support of that motion. In the brief, counsel avers that, in his professional opinion, this appeal is frivolous. Counsel’s brief and motion meet the requirements of Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744–45, 87 S. Ct. 1396, 1400 (1967), by presenting a professional evaluation of the appellate record demonstrating why there are no arguable grounds for relief. See Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 510–11 & n.3 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). In compliance with Kelly v. State, counsel (1) notified Appellant of his motion to withdraw; (2) provided him a copy of both the motion and brief; (3) informed him of his right to file a pro se response; (4) informed him of his pro se right to seek discretionary review should this court hold the appeal frivolous; and (5) took concrete measures to facilitate his review of the appellate record. See 436 S.W.3d 313, 319 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014). This court afforded Appellant the opportunity to file a response on his own behalf, but he did not do so. The State likewise declined to file a brief. After an appellant’s court-appointed counsel files a motion to withdraw on the ground that an appeal is frivolous and fulfills the requirements of Anders, this court is obligated to undertake an independent examination of the record to see if there is any arguable ground that may be raised on his behalf. See Stafford, 813 S.W.2d at 511. Only then may we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw. See Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 82–83, 109 S. Ct. 346, 351 (1988). Because Appellant entered an open plea of guilty, our independent review for potential 2 error is limited to potential jurisdictional defects, the voluntariness of his plea, error that is not independent of and supports the judgment of guilt, and error occurring after entry of the guilty plea. See Monreal v. State, 99 S.W.3d 615, 619–20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003); Young v. State, 8 S.W.3d 656, 666–67 (Tex. Crim. App. 2000); see also Faisst v. State, 98 S.W.3d 226, 227 (Tex. Crim. App. 2003). We have carefully reviewed counsel’s brief and the appellate record. We agree with counsel that this appeal is wholly frivolous and without merit; we find nothing in the appellate record that arguably might support this appeal. See Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 827–28 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005); see also Meza v. State, 206 S.W.3d 684, 685 n.6 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006). Accordingly, we grant counsel’s motion to withdraw and affirm the trial court’s judgment. PER CURIAM PANEL: PITTMAN, MEIER, and GABRIEL, JJ. DO NOT PUBLISH Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b) DELIVERED: May 24, 2018 3
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