Court Opinion

ID: 9769315
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 14:44:50.017029+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:00.237928
License: Public Domain

PHILLIPS, Chief Justice
(dissenting).
I respectfully dissent.
When Torres was killed, Guerrero, Ma-chado, Carmona and three other band members were in the room. The latter three were asleep.
Torres was in the habit of playing with the pistol. He was also in the habit of pointing it at others and scaring them. The testimony disclosed that on the night of his death (or actually in the early morning) he took four bullets out of the gun, put them on the bed and continued to wave the gun about “clicking” it and even pointing it at one or more of the band members in the room and “clicked” it at them. He laughed when he succeeded in scaring someone.
Guerrero testified that at the time of the shooting, he did not see Torres actually point the gun at himself. Nor did he actually see him pull the trigger. “I just saw *413his hand go up to the air. As it was going up, I heard a shot and he fell, and that is all.”
Machado testified that he saw Torres take the gun from the bed. He saw Torres take the bullets out and “I thought he did not leave any bullets in the gun. That is what everybody thought because he emptied the gun on the bed.” Machado further testified that when he heard the shot he turned around. He did not see Torres shoot himself nor did he see anyone else shoot him. Machado stated several times in his testimony that Carmona had tried to stop Torres from playing with the gun immediately before the shot, and then went into the bathroom.
Carmona testified that “I just got his hand and told him don’t be playing around with it.” He thought that the gun “clicked” at that time. He did not know whether Torres heard the click or not. It was just a few seconds later that Torres shot himself.
Suicide was ruled out of the case with the jury’s answer to the only special issue submitted. Without going into specifics, I find ample testimony to support this finding.
Appellee then submitted a substantially correct issue on the question of accident which the court refused to submit to the jury. The court, apparently, thought a finding on this issue unnecessary.
Under the evidence before us, there is no question but that Torres himself caused the pistol to discharge the fatal shot. He either intended to shoot himself or did so accidentally. Since suicide has been ruled out, only the latter possibility remains. There isn’t a scintilla of evidence to the contrary. Consequently, it would have been useless to ask the jury to pass on the question.
I would hold that the omitted issue was deemed to have been found in support of the judgment. Rule 279, Texas Rules of Civil Procedure; and, I would affirm the judgment.