Court Opinion

ID: 9618977
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 05:20:15.843747+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:04:34.699634
License: Public Domain

OPINION
Opinion by
KAREN ANGELINI, Justice.
Jesse P. Magana was convicted by a jury of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He was sentenced to eight years imprisonment. On appeal, Magana claims the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the jury’s verdict because the pocket knife he used was not a deadly weapon as defined by the Texas Penal Code. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 1.07(a)(17)(A), (B) (Vernon 2003).
Factual and Procedural Background
Jesse and Veronica Magana, although married for about eight years, had an “off and on” relationship. According to Veronica, on the evening of September 28, 2003, during a period of separation, the couple met to get something to eat. Veronica picked Jesse up from his sister’s house, and they went to Jack-in-the-Box. The two began arguing because Jesse wanted to get a room so he and Veronica could sleep together. Veronica parked and tried to get out of the car, but Jesse prevented her from doing so and ordered her to drive the ear. As she drove, they continued to argue. When Jesse was preoccupied by a call on his cell phone, Veronica parked the car and went to use a pay phone. She was upset because Jesse was keeping her in the car and she wanted to go home.
As Veronica was trying to use the pay phone, Jesse came toward her. They began fighting, and he stabbed her with a small, black pocket knife. As he stabbed her, he told her “[t]hat he wished that [she] would die.” He stabbed her four times: two times on her shoulder, once on her chest and once on her hand. He then forced her into the back seat of the car. Jesse proceeded to pick up his sister and *413brother-in-law and they drove around for a while trying to decide what to do. Eventually, they took Veronica to the hospital where she was treated for her stab wounds. She was released from the hospital after an hour or two.
According to Jesse, Veronica was very angry when she came to pick him up that evening. He got into the car and they began arguing about getting a room to spend some time together. Veronica stopped the car, they both got out, and she became violent. Then, according to Jesse, Veronica got a knife from her purse and sliced him on the finger. He took the knife away, but later returned it to her. Veronica tried to swing at him again with the knife, so Jesse grabbed the knife, which he described as a little, black pocket knife, and stabbed Veronica in self-defense. Jesse testified he then put Veronica in the back seat of the car, drove to his sister’s house, and took Veronica to the hospital.
While Veronica was at the hospital emergency room, she was treated by Dr. Larry Sands. Dr. Sands testified Veronica had four knife wounds — two on her shoulder, one over her left breast, and one on her hand. Dr. Sands stated he considered a knife, specifically, a small pocket knife, to be a deadly weapon. He also stated a small pocket knife is capable of causing serious bodily injury or death. Dr. Sands testified that, although Veronica’s wounds were superficial, he ordered a chest x-ray because he was concerned about the location and multiplicity of the wounds. In particular, Dr. Sands was concerned about the proximity of the wounds to Veronica’s lungs, heart and major vessels. Dr. Sands further stated he believed the wound to Veronica’s hand was a defensive wound.
After hearing the evidence, the jury convicted Magana of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Magana was sentenced to eight years imprisonment.
Discussion
In two issues, Magana argues the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to sustain the conviction because the pocket knife he used was not a deadly weapon as defined by the Texas Penal Code. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 1.07(a)(17)(B).
In a legal sufficiency review, we view all the evidence in the light most favorable to the verdict and then determine whether a rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. Prible v. State, 175 S.W.3d 724, 729-30 (Tex.Crim.App.), cert. denied, 546 U.S. 962, 126 S.Ct. 481, 163 L.Ed.2d 367 (2005). In a factual sufficiency review, we view all of the evidence in a neutral light and will set the verdict aside only if the evidence is so weak that the verdict is clearly wrong and manifestly unjust, or the contrary evidence is so strong that the standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt could not have been met. Id. at 730-31.
The Texas Penal Code provides that a person commits an assault if he intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly causes bodily injury to another. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.01(a)(l)(Vernon Supp.2006). The assault becomes aggravated when the person causes serious bodily injury to another or uses or exhibits a deadly weapon during the commission of the assault. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 22.02(a)(1), (2)(Vernon Supp. 2006). The Penal Code includes in its definition of “deadly weapon” “anything that in the manner of its use or intended use is capable of causing death or serious bodily injury”. Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 1.07(a)(17)(B). Further, “serious bodily injury” is defined as “bodily injury that creates a substantial risk of death or that *414causes death, serious permanent disfigurement, or protracted loss or impairment of the function of any bodily member or organ.” Tex. Penal Code ANN. § 1.07(a)(46) (Vernon 2003).
And while it is well settled that a knife is not a deadly weapon per se, it can be a deadly weapon if the person using it intends to use it in a way in which it would be capable of causing death or serious bodily injury. Williams v. State, 575 S.W.2d 30, 32 (Tex.Crim.App.1979). When no actual injury is sustained by the victim, the prosecution must introduce evidence of other factors to establish that the knife is a deadly weapon. Victor v. State, 874 S.W.2d 748, 751-752 (Tex.App.-Houston [1st Dist.] 1994, pet. ref'd). The factors to consider include the size, shape, and sharpness of the knife; the manner of its use or intended use; the nature or existence of inflicted wounds; evidence of the knife’s life-threatening capabilities; the physical proximity between the victim and the knife; and any words spoken by the one using the knife. See e.g., Thomas v. State, 821 S.W.2d 616, 619-620 (Tex.Crim.App.1991); Fortenberry v. State, 889 S.W.2d 634, 636-37 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 1994, pet. ref'd); Revell v. State, 885 S.W.2d 206, 209 (Tex.App.-Dallas 1994, pet. refd). The State does not have to introduce the knife into evidence to prove the knife was a deadly weapon. See Morales v. State, 633 S.W.2d 866, 868 (Tex.Crim.App.1982).
In this case, the knife was not introduced into evidence. Further, Veronica’s injuries from the knife were superficial and therefore do not rise to the level of “serious bodily injury.” Thus, we look at the evidence to determine whether the knife was, in the manner of its use or intended use, capable of causing death or serious injury.
Although the two versions of the events vary in some details, there is evidence in the record that Jesse came toward Veronica while she was using a pay phone and stabbed her with a pocketknife four times. As he stabbed her, he told her “[t]hat he wished that [she] would die.” Although the evidence shows it was a small knife, it was sharp enough to cause the superficial wounds Veronica suffered. Further, the location and number of wounds were of such concern to the emergency room doctor that he ordered an x-ray to check Veronica’s lungs, heart and major vessels. The doctor testified that, although he did not see the knife, he considered a small pocket knife to be a deadly weapon and that it is capable of causing serious bodily injury or death.
We hold that the evidence, when viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, supports a determination that the knife was a deadly weapon. Thus, we overrule Magana’s legal insufficiency issue. Prible, 175 S.W.3d at 729-30.
We further hold that the evidence, when viewed in a neutral light likewise supports a deadly weapon finding. Id. at 730-31. We cannot say that the great weight and preponderance of the evidence contradicts the jury verdict. Id. Therefore, we overrule Magana’s factual sufficiency issue.
Conclusion
Accordingly, we overrule appellant’s issues and affirm the trial court’s judgment.
Dissenting opinion by STEVEN C. HILBIG, Justice.