Opinion issued December 8, 2016

In The

Court of Appeals 

For The 

First District of Texas 

————————————

NO. 01-16-00705-CR

NO. 01-16-00706-CR

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FRANKIE BARTOLO MERCADO, Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 262nd District Court

Harris County, Texas

Trial Court Case Nos. 1431364 & 1431388

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appellant, Frankie Bartolo Mercado, pleaded guilty to two counts of the firstdegree felony offense of aggravated robbery—deadly weapon, in the underlying trial 

court cause numbers 1431364 and 1431388.

1

 Pursuant to plea bargains in both cases, 

 

1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 29.03(a)(2), (b) (West Supp. 2016).
2

the State agreed to recommend that appellant’s punishment be assessed concurrently 

at fifteen years’ confinement. On February 1, 2016, in accordance with the terms of 

his plea bargains with the State, the trial court found appellant guilty and assessed 

his punishment at fifteen years’ confinement in each case, with the sentences to run 

concurrently.

2

 Appellant did not file his pro se combined notice of appeal for both 

cases until August 23, 2016. Appellant also filed several pro se letter-motions, 

including for bail and for an extension of time to file his brief, and his pro se

appellant’s brief, in this Court. We dismiss these appeals for want of jurisdiction 

and dismiss the motions as moot.

A criminal defendant’s notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after 

the sentence is imposed, if the defendant has not filed a motion for new trial. See

TEX. R. APP. P. 26.2(a)(1). A notice of appeal that complies with the requirements 

of rule 26 is essential to vest the court of appeals with jurisdiction. See Slaton v. 

State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998); Olivo v. State, 918 S.W.2d 519, 

522–23 (Tex. Crim. App. 1996). If an appeal is not timely perfected, a court of 

appeals does not obtain jurisdiction to address the merits of the appeal. See Slaton, 

981 S.W.2d at 210.

Here, the trial court signed appellant’s judgments of conviction in both cases 

on February 1, 2016, and imposed the concurrent sentence on that date. Appellant 

 

2 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 12.32(a) (West Supp. 2016).
3

did not timely file a motion for new trial or extension of time to file a notice of 

appeal, making his notice of appeal due by March 2, 2016. See TEX. R. APP. P.

26.2(a)(1). Appellant’s combined notice of appeal was not filed until August 23, 

2016, more than six months after the judgment was signed. See id. Thus, under 

these circumstances, we can take no action other than to dismiss these appeals for 

want of jurisdiction.3 See Slaton, 981 S.W.2d at 210; Olivo, 918 S.W.2d at 526.

Accordingly, we dismiss these appeals for want of jurisdiction. See TEX. R.

APP. P. 43.2(f). We dismiss all pending motions as moot.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Justices Keyes, Higley, and Lloyd.

Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).

 

3 Moreover, even if appellant had timely appealed, these appeals must be dismissed 

because the trial court’s certifications state that these are plea-bargained cases and 

that he has no right of appeal in either case. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2), (d). The 

special clerk’s records, filed in this Court on November 15, 2016, in each case, 

support the trial court’s certifications. See Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610, 615 

(Tex. Crim. App. 2005).