Opinion ID: 487424
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The Shootist

Text: 14 De La Rosa claimed he entered the Astro Lounge in order to sell his pick-up truck to the owner of the bar. He stated that he removed the pistol from the glove compartment and put it in his pocket while cleaning out the truck that morning. The owner of the bar was not present and De La Rosa decided to wait for him. When Joe Lee, Jr. and his friend Juan Mata entered the bar through the rear door, De La Rosa left to avoid any trouble. 15 Later that afternoon De La Rosa returned to the bar for the stated purpose of seeing if the owner had returned. De La Rosa testified that when he returned to the bar he was threatened by Lee who said he would kill De La Rosa. As Lee said this, Lee began to rise from his chair with his arms near his side. No one else heard Lee threaten De La Rosa. Because of Lee's shooting of De La Rosa's daughter, physical attacks on De La Rosa, and other violent acts of which De La Rosa was aware, De La Rosa alleges he was in reasonable fear for his life. 9 De La Rosa argues that Lee's words and acts, when combined with Lee's violent nature, intensified his fear to a level of terror which was adequate cause for the jury to find sudden passion. De La Rosa then pulled his gun from his pocket and fired in Lee's direction from approximately eight feet away. 16 The number of shots De La Rosa fired is in dispute. De La Rosa claims he fired only one shot. He claims a second shot was fired during the ensuing struggle when the gun was pointed at the ceiling. The Rodriguez boy's aunt recalled hearing shots but does not recall how many. Juan Mata testified that De La Rosa fired a total of three shots, two before the struggle, and one during the struggle. 17 Juan Mata who was sitting close to Lee, rushed at De La Rosa when De La Rosa produced the gun. Mata began struggling with De La Rosa over the gun and Lee joined in the struggle. The Rodriguez boy's aunt returned to the barroom, dragged the boy behind the bar, and entered the fray striking De La Rosa with a cue stick. Mata obtained possession of the gun and shot De La Rosa two times underneath the pool table. Mata went around the pool table, pointed the gun at De La Rosa's head, and pulled the trigger two more times, but the gun did not fire. Mata struck De La Rosa over the head with the butt end of the gun. With Lee and the Rodriguez boy dead on the floor, Mata peacefully left the bar. 18 From the testimony we can conclude that a total of five shots were fired. De La Rosa entered the bar and fired two shots at Lee. Mata and Lee rushed at De La Rosa and struggled over the gun. A third shot was fired during the struggle. Mata took the gun from De La Rosa and shot him twice. He tried to shoot De La Rosa again, but the gun would not fire, so he struck De La Rosa in the head with the gun. Irreconcilable Differences 19 The State now contends that the jury in the Rodriguez case could have found that the first shot struck Lee and the second shot was fired at Lee out of sudden passion resulting from the struggle but killed Rodriguez. This is contrary to the position taken by the State during the Rodriguez trial and is an improper basis for sudden passion under Texas law. 20 The State argued at the Rodriguez trial that the first shot struck Rodriguez. In support of this argument the State offered the testimony of Rodriguez's aunt that when she came back into the bar after hearing the shots, she saw a man standing in the door with a gun in his hand and that John David collapsed into her arms (implying he was shot before the struggle). She then dragged him over behind the bar to protect him from further injury and joined in the struggle. Tony Mendoza, another patron in the bar, testified that when the first shot went off he saw Juan Mata moving toward De La Rosa and the little boy falling down. He thought that Mata had knocked him down on his way toward De La Rosa. During the struggle between Mata, Lee, and De La Rosa, Mendoza saw the boy's aunt already dragging him behind the bar. Although Mata did not know when Lee was hit or when the boy was hit, he testified that De La Rosa shot three times, twice before he got to him and once during the struggle. Mata further testified that during the struggle, the boy's aunt had a cue stick and was striking and yelling at De La Rosa. Dr. Rupp, the coroner, testified that, in his opinion, Rodriguez was probably standing upright and was shot in the back. The State used this testimony to bolster their theory during final argument that the first shot fired by De La Rosa struck Rodriguez and the second shot struck Lee. 21 De La Rosa argued that he acted in self-defense and that the shot that killed Rodriguez may have been fired by Mata when Mata shot De La Rosa from underneath the pool table. At no time did De La Rosa or the State argue that the struggle which ensued after De La Rosa initiated the attack on Lee was the cause of sudden passion. 22 The State offered virtually identical evidence at De La Rosa's trial for the murder of Lee. The State made no effort to distinguish De La Rosa's state of mind between the two shootings nor was the jury ever informed of the results in the prior trial. 23 De La Rosa appealed both convictions. In the Rodriguez shooting, the Texas Court of Appeals affirmed De La Rosa's conviction for voluntary manslaughter, holding that there was sufficient evidence that De La Rosa fired the shot that killed Rodriguez. 10 The Court of Appeals emphasized testimony that Rodriguez was falling to the ground while Mata rushed toward De La Rosa and that the boy's aunt saw a man standing in the doorway with a gun in his hand after Rodriguez collapsed in her arms. 11