Harold Lee Cox v. The State of Texas--Appeal from 13th District Court of Navarro County

IN THE

TENTH COURT OF APPEALS

No. 10-92-240-CR

HAROLD LEE COX,

Appellant

v.

THE STATE OF TEXAS,

Appellee

From the 13th District Court

Navarro County, Texas

Trial Court # 24,430

O P I N I O N

Harold Lee Cox was convicted by a jury of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. 19.02 (Vernon 1989). His sole point is that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction. We will affirm.

STANDARD OF REVIEW

Evidence will sustain a conviction if, viewing it in the light most favorable to the verdict, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 318-19, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 2788-89, 61 L. Ed. 2d 560 (1979); Matson v. State, 819 S.W.2d 839, 843 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). Under the Jackson standard, we do not position ourselves as a thirteenth juror in assessing the evidence; rather, we position ourselves as a final, due-process safeguard ensuring only the rationality of the factfinder. See Moreno v. State, 755 S.W.2d 866, 867 (Tex. Crim. App. 1988). We have only the discretion to determine if any rational trier of fact, considering the evidence admitted at trial, could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. See Rodriguez v. State, 819 S.W.2d 871, 873 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). We do not make our own myopic determination of guilt from reading the cold record. See Moreno, 755 S.W.2d at 867. We do not disregard, realign, or weigh evidence. See id. The trier of fact is the sole judge of the weight and credibility of the witnesses and may believe or disbelieve all or any part of any witness' testimony. Williams v. State, 692 S.W.2d 671, 676 (Tex. Crim. App. 1984). We do not resolve any conflict in fact or evaluate the credibility of the witnesses. See Juarez v. State, 796 S.W.2d 523, 524 (Tex. App. San Antonio 1990, pet. ref'd).

EVIDENCE

On January 16, 1989, the body of Tim Webb was found approximately one-half mile off Highway 287 near Corsicana. Webb had been shot three times in the chest with a .22 revolver, and his body had been bound with red and white ski rope. Webb and Cox were roommates in a trailer home. Police searched the premises on January 19 and found blood stains in a storage shed behind the trailer home. Red and white ski rope and a tarp that appeared to be bloodstained were also recovered from the shed. Police found that Cox's wallet contained Webb's Phillips 66 gasoline card and his automatic teller machine card. They also found two gas receipts, from January 14 and 17, and an automated-teller withdrawal receipt from January 15. On Cox's nightstand was $745 in cash, which Cox said belonged to his girlfriend, Linda Talley. Cox told police that Webb had left for California with a rich woman named Vivian in the woman's truck. He also told police that he was unemployed and that Webb had given him permission to use the gas and automated teller cards.

Police examined Webb's Camaro Z-28 automobile on January 20. Scrapings of blood from carpet in the hatch area of the car were identified as human blood, but the scrapings were not sufficient for further analysis. Blood found in the dirt near the storage shed was identified as human, but could not be further analyzed. The bloodstains on a board from the shed were "consistent" with Webb's blood, but could not be positively identified as being his. The blood on the board was, however, similar to that of thirty-five percent of all Caucasians. The tarp could not be analyzed.

Paula Davis, a teller at Webb's bank, testified that Webb and another man came to the drive-thru window around 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, January 12, and withdrew $1000. Eula McCloud, a paralegal with a Dallas law firm, testified that she met with Webb who was in the process of filing a Chapter 7 bankruptcy after 5 p.m. on January 12 to discuss the bankruptcy. McCloud told Webb that, because the bankruptcy was to be filed soon, he was not to use his credit cards. She said Webb was accompanied by his roommate.

Tina Douglas testified that Webb telephoned her around 6:45 p.m. on Friday, January 13, asking her for a date to the movies. Webb was to pick her up at 7:15 p.m., but he never arrived. Douglas called Webb's house, but got the answering machine. She tried again the next day without success. Cox finally answered the phone on January 18, telling Douglas that Webb had left town with a woman.

Linda Talley testified that she saw Cox on January 17 and that he had a lot of cash, which he said had come from the sale of his motorcycle. Cox called her on January 19, telling her that the police had been to his home, that an investigator was on the way to her home, and asking her to tell the investigator that the cash found on his nightstand was hers.

Brett Jones testified that Cox was driving Webb's Camaro on January 13. Cox said that Webb had filed for bankruptcy and left for California. Cox told Jones that Webb had left him his car, gas cards, and automatic teller card. Cox also said that Webb had given him a .22 revolver that had been a gift from Webb's father. At 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, January 14, Cox showed up at Jones' apartment in Webb's car but asked to borrow Jones' truck. Cox told Jones he needed to drive over to Palestine. Cox returned at 10:30 a.m. with a basket of Webb's belongings, including a camera and video games. Jones testified that Cox had not been gone long enough to get to Palestine and back. Cox said that he and Webb had unloaded a "bunch" of Webb's clothing in a dumpster although Cox had previously told Jones that Webb had left for California. On Wednesday, January 18, Jones found Webb's class ring in the bed of his truck. On January 20, Cox called Jones and asked him to be his alibi for January 13. Jones went to the police with the class ring.

Lana Smith testified that Cox was driving a Camaro Z-28 on January 14 around 6 p.m. She and a friend rode around with Cox for about half-an-hour. Cox called her on January 26 and told her that his roommate's body had been found, shot in the chest and tied with ski rope. Police officers had previously testified that the fact that the body was tied with ski rope had not been released either to Cox or the news media.

Larry Vice, an employee of a gas station in Angus, testified that around 4 p.m. on January 15, he found books and other belongings with Webb's name on them in the dumpster of the gas station. He called the sheriff's department which found Webb's cancelled checks at the bottom of the dumpster.

Donna Webb, Webb's ex-wife, testified that on January 16 she learned that Cox was driving Webb's Camaro. She became concerned because she knew Webb's insurance required all drivers to be 25 years old and she knew Cox was not. When she talked to Cox by phone on January 17, he told her that Webb had left for California. She testified that Webb owned a .22 revolver that had been a gift from his father. She identified the items recovered from the dumpster as belonging to Webb.

John Rogers, Webb's co-worker, testified that Webb was scheduled to work the morning of Saturday, January 14. Webb did not arrive at work, which Rogers said was very unusual. He also did not show for work on January 15 or 16, at which time Rogers called Webb's home. A man identifying himself as Webb's roommate answered the phone and told Rogers that Webb's bed was empty and his car was gone, so he was probably on the way to work. When Webb did not appear later that morning, Rogers called again. This time he was told that Webb might be picking up breakfast or might be with his girlfriend Veronica "having a good time." When Webb did not appear at work on January 17, Rogers called again and was told that Webb was probably having a "fling" and would show up at work after the fling ended, or that he might be in California. By January 18, Rogers became aware that Cox was driving Webb's car. He called Cox and confronted him about the discrepancies in his stories, but Cox did not reply.

Jackie Lunceford moved near Cox's trailer home. In March 1989, he spoke with Cox about Cox's dogs that were running loose in the trailer park. Cox told Lunceford that the dogs had been that way because they had seen their owner killed. Randy Self, a friend of Cox's, testified that he and Cox were driving around drinking in the latter part of 1989. Cox told Self varying stories of killing his roommate. Cox said he and his roommate had been driving around when Cox pulled over to the side of the road and shot his roommate several times with a .22 revolver. He said he wrapped the body in a tarp and dropped it off Highway 287 and threw the gun down a well shaft. Cox told Self that he had killed Webb because he was about to be evicted. Self reported the stories to the police.

J.C. Moore, a seventy-three-year-old cattleman, testified that Cox worked for him. In March 1990, he and Cox were riding together on Highway 287 when Cox said, "Right down there is where I killed a fellow." Moore, who did not know of Webb's death, reported the conversation to authorities. Tracy Daniel, a prison inmate, testified that Cox told him that he had killed his roommate and dumped the body in the trash. Robert Casper, also a prison inmate, testified that Cox told him that the authorities were wrong in thinking the murder had taken place in the shed. Cox said that the murder had taken place in the house, then the body had been moved to the shed and then to his roommate's car before it was dumped in the country.

CONCLUSION

Based on the facts recited, we find that any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Matson, 819 S.W.2d at 843.

BILL VANCE

Justice

Before Chief Justice Thomas,

Justice Cummings, and

Justice Vance

Affirmed

Opinion delivered and filed April 7, 1993

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