Case Name: Welton THOMAS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee
Court: Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
Jurisdiction: Texas
Decision Date: 1972-03-22
Citations: 477 S.W.2d 881
Docket Number: No. 44981
Parties: Welton THOMAS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
Judges: ODOM, J., joins in this concurrence.
Reporter: South Western Reporter Second Series
Volume: 477
Pages: 881–885

Head Matter:
Welton THOMAS, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
No. 44981.
Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas.
March 22, 1972.
Gilbert M. Spring, Lufkin, for appellant.
Jim D. Vollers, State’s Atty., and Robert Huttash, Asst. State’s Atty., Austin, for the State.

Opinion:
OPINION
DALLY, Commissioner.
The conviction is for robbery by firearms. The State did not seek the death penalty. The punishment assessed by the jury after appellant's plea of guilty was thirty years imprisonment.
On June 25, 1970, at about 6:15 p. m., appellant and another individual entered the Nuway Grocery in Lufkin. After making a cursory inspection of the premises, appellant grabbed one of the two employees in the store and pointed a pistol at the other, saying, "Man, this is a holdup." His coprincipal revealed a pistol and told one of the employees to empty the contents of the cash register, whereupon the employee placed $272.00 in the paper sack he had been given. Within minutes police arrived at the scene. A dispatch was broadcast over the police radio for the arrest of "two or three men" in a "'62 or '63 light blue Ford." At the time the dispatch was made it was believed that a third man, "the driver," had remained with the vehicle. Shortly thereafter, the appellant and two other individuals were arrested in Diboll in a car matching that description. A sack containing $272.00 was found in the automobile.
Appellant entered a plea of guilty before a jury. A bifurcated trial was held. This was unnecessary. The punishment to be assessed is the only issue when a plea of guilty is entered before a jury and a bifurcated trial is not needed. See Allen v. State, 474 S.W.2d 480 (Tex.Crim.App.1971); Ring v. State, 450 S.W.2d 85 (Tex.Crim.App.1970).
Appellant's only complaint on appeal is concerned with the cross-examination of the appellant and the questioning of a witness about charges for other offenses pending against the appellant in Harris County, because it showed extraneous offenses for which appellant had been charged but not convicted.
During the hearing on punishment, the appellant testified as to his remorse for having participated in the offense and his prior good conduct in an appeal for the jury to grant his application for probation. During direct examination the appellant was asked if he did not think that he was entitled to probation because he had never been in trouble. In cross-examination of appellant the prosecutor interrogated him concerning whether there were pending felony charges against him in Harris County. The prosecutor also interrogated a police officer concerning pendency of other felony charges against the appellant in Harris County. Thereafter, appellant's counsel placed the prosecutor on the stand and questioned him about his knowledge of pending charges in Harris County. All of this occurred in the presence of the jury.
It would appear that the interrogation of the appellant and his testimony may have been an invitation for such cross-examination of the appellant and the testimony elicited from the police officer. See Alexander v. State, Tex.Cr.App., 476 S.W.2d 10 (1972) and Orozco v. State, 164 Tex.Cr.R. 630, 301 S.W.2d 634 (1957).
The error, if any, was not properly preserved. On cross-examination of the appellant the following occurred:
Questions by Prosecutor:
"Q. Okay. I believe you said you— how old are you ?
"A. 27.
"Q. Are you the same Welton Thomas who was charged in Cause Number 337388 Robbery by Firearms and Assault with Intent to Murder in Harris County, in Harris County Justice Court Precinct One?
"A. I know nothing of that sir.
"Q. You know nothing about those charges ?
"A. No sir.
"Q. If there was such a warrant, it wouldn't be true, is that right ?
"A. Right sir.
"Q. You are telling this jury you have never been charged with anything ?
"A. No sir.
(DEFENSE COUNSEL): "Your honor, I object to him asking what he has been charged with. It is a matter of proof.
"Q. Your honor, he has submitted himself to cross examination, the door is wide open.
"THE COURT: He has already testified, he said he didn't and it was not true and so you will have to go from there.
"Q. You are telling this jury you have never been charged with anything in Harris County, is that correct ?
(DEFENSE COUNSEL): "Your honor, that question has already been answered.
"A. Not that I know of sir.
"Q. And you never spent time in jail ?
"A. That's right."
The appellant did not make a timely objection. The question was answered and other questions were asked and answered before any objection was made. Burton v. State, 427 S.W.2d 886 (Tex.Crim.App.1968); Melancon v. State, 383 S.W.2d 604 (Tex.Crim.App.1964), and see Greer v. State, 474 S.W.2d 203 (Tex.Crim.App.1971); 5 Tex.Jur.2d, Sec. 39, pp. 65-66. The objection was general and not on the grounds now urged.
The appellant failed to secure a ruling of the court, therefore, no error is preserved. Austin v. State, 451 S.W.2d 491 (Tex.Crim.App.1970) and Bell v. State, 442 S.W.2d 716 (Tex.Crim.App.1969).
During the direct examination of Officer Clark by the prosecutor, the following occurred:
"Q. Officer Clark, are [you] familiar with some warrants that were sent to the Lufkin Police Department from Harris County ?
(DEFENSE COUNSEL): "Your honor, I object to them, that line of questioning. I don't know why he wants to display warrants.
"THE COURT: Well, in the first place, are you familiar with them, yes or no?
"A. Yes sir, I have seen the warrants.
"Q. What were those warrants for?
"A. Four warrants for Robbery by Firearms and one warrant for assault to murder.
"Q. And where did those warrants come from ?
"A. From Harris County.
"Q. And I believe Harris County at the present time has a hold on this defendant, is this correct ?
"A. That is my understanding.
"O. I believe that's all."
There was no objection to part of the testimony and the objection made was not on the grounds now urged. A ruling by the trial court was not obtained. No error is shown. Austin v. State, supra, and Bell v. State, supra.
The appellant had filed a motion in limine and had obtained an order of the court precluding the prosecutor from going into these matters. Appellant's argument that the error is preserved by the court's order is not sound. Gonzales v. State, 172 Tex.Cr.R. 556, 361 S.W.2d 393 (1962); Padgett v. State, 364 S.W.2d 397 (Tex.Crim.App.1963) and Gentry v. State, 105 Tex.Cr.R. 629, 290 S.W. 543 (1926).
The judgment is affirmed.
Opinion Approved by the Court.