Joel Fuentes v. The State of Texas Appeal from 94th District Court of Nueces County (memorandum opinion)

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NUMBER 13-17-00434-CR COURT OF APPEALS THIRTEENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS CORPUS CHRISTI - EDINBURG ____________________________________________________________ JOEL FUENTES, Appellant, v. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee. ____________________________________________________________ On appeal from the 94th District Court of Nueces County, Texas. ____________________________________________________________ MEMORANDUM OPINION Before Justices Chief Justice Valdez and Justices Contreras and Hinojosa Memorandum Opinion by Justice Contreras Appellant, Joel Fuentes, attempted to perfect an appeal from a conviction for aggravated robbery. We dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. The trial court imposed sentence in this matter on February 4, 2000. On July 25, 2017, appellant filed a motion for arrest of judgment and a notice of appeal. On August 8, 2017, the Clerk of this Court notified appellant that it appeared that the appeal was not timely perfected and that the appeal would be dismissed if the defect was not corrected within ten days from the date of receipt of the Court’s directive. Appellant has not filed a response to the Court’s directive. Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 26.2 provides that an appeal is perfected when notice of appeal is filed within thirty days after the day sentence is imposed or suspended in open court unless a motion for new trial is timely filed. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(1). Where a timely motion for new trial has been filed, notice of appeal shall be filed within ninety days after the sentence is imposed or suspended in open court. TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(2). The time within which to file the notice may be enlarged if, within fifteen days after the deadline for filing the notice, the party files the notice of appeal and a motion complying with Rule 10.5(b) of the Texas Rules of Appellate Procedure. See TEX. R. APP. P. 26.3. A motion for arrest of judgment must be filed no later than thirty days after the date the trial court imposes or suspends sentence in open court. See TEX. R. APP. P. 22.3. This Court's appellate jurisdiction in a criminal case is invoked by a timely filed notice of appeal. Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 522 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). Absent a timely filed notice of appeal, a court of appeals does not have jurisdiction to address the merits of the appeal and can take no action other than to dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). 2 Appellant’s notice of appeal, filed more than seventeen years after sentence was imposed, was untimely, and accordingly, we lack jurisdiction over the appeal. See Slaton, 981 S.W.2d at 210. Appellant may be entitled to an out-of-time appeal by filing a post-conviction writ of habeas corpus returnable to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals; however, the availability of that remedy is beyond the jurisdiction of this Court. See TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 11.07, § 3(a) (West, Westlaw through 2015 R.S.); see also Ex parte Garcia, 988 S.W.2d 240 (Tex. Crim. App. 1999). The appeal is DISMISSED FOR WANT OF JURISDICTION. DORI CONTRERAS Justice Do not publish. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b). Delivered and filed the 28th day of September, 2017. 3

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