Court Opinion

ID: 9910698
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-12-18 10:10:09.340589+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T12:53:59.286450
License: Public Domain

In the
        Court of Appeals
Second Appellate District of Texas
         at Fort Worth
     ___________________________

          No. 02-23-00089-CR
     ___________________________

JAMES ANDREA PHAYAR ABURU, Appellant

                    V.

          THE STATE OF TEXAS

  On Appeal from the 372nd District Court
         Tarrant County, Texas
       Trial Court No. 1606182D

     Before Kerr, Bassel, and Walker, JJ.
   Memorandum Opinion by Justice Walker
                          MEMORANDUM OPINION

      A jury convicted Appellant James Andrea Phayar Aburu of two counts of

aggravated sexual assault of a child and one count of indecency with a child by

contact. The jury assessed his punishment at 60 years’ confinement on each of the

sexual-assault counts and 20 years’ confinement on the indecency count, but it did not

assess any fines. The trial court orally sentenced Aburu in accordance with the jury’s

assessment and ordered that the terms of confinement be served consecutively. No

fine was assessed in open court. However, the written judgment for count one

includes a $100 fine, which is also reflected in the order to withdraw funds from

Aburu’s inmate trust account.1 In two issues, Aburu argues that the $100 fine was

improperly assessed against him and that we should delete it from both the written

judgment on count one and the order to withdraw funds. The State agrees with

Aburu and so do we.

      A defendant’s sentence, which includes any fine imposed, must be pronounced

orally in his presence. Taylor v. State, 131 S.W.3d 497, 500 (Tex. Crim. App. 2004);

Lewis v. State, 423 S.W.3d 451, 459 (Tex. App.—Fort Worth 2013, pet. ref’d). “When

there is a conflict between the oral pronouncement of sentence and the sentence in

the written judgment, the oral pronouncement controls.” Taylor, 131 S.W.3d at 500.

      1
        The written judgment for count one assessed a $100 fine, $290 in court costs,
and $55 in reimbursement fees, for a total of $445. The order to withdraw funds
directs that $445 be withdrawn from Aburu’s inmate account. The district clerk’s bill
of cost, however, reflects that only $345 had been assessed against Aburu.

                                          2
       Because a fine was not assessed by the jury or orally pronounced by the trial

court, we sustain both of Aburu’s issues. We modify both the judgment in count one

and the order to withdraw funds to delete the $100 fine, and we affirm the judgment

of the trial court as modified.

                                                   /s/ Brian Walker

                                                   Brian Walker
                                                   Justice

Do Not Publish
Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b)

Delivered: December 14, 2023

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