Court Opinion

ID: 9681496
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-24 07:51:30.921555+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:17:34.239769
License: Public Domain

KENNEDY, Justice,
dissenting.
I respectfully dissent from the portion of the majority opinion which holds that there is no evidence to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that appellant was attempting to enter the building since every other reasonable hypothesis had not been excluded. The reasoning to support this holding by the majority is that appellant, though caught in the act of doing something unlawful, could just as reasonably have been attempting to vandalize the building or even to have been in the process of stealing an air-conditioner as to have been attempting burglary.
The majority cite Wilson v. State, 654 S.W.2d 465 (Tex.Crim.App.1983). This was a case where, as in most circumstantial evidence cases I am aware of, appellant was either guilty of the crime charged or he was not guilty of any crime at all. In the instant case, it is beyond dispute that appellant was attempting some unlawful act. The majority reasoning, carried to conclusion, would hold that when a miscreant is interrupted in his criminal activity at a point where it is impossible, short of an evidentiary windfall such as a confession, to determine if the conclusion of his activity would have resulted in Crime A, Crime B, or Crime C, then the circumstantial evidence of his intent will always fall short.
Although, it was testified that a man appellant’s size could carry the air-conditioner, common knowledge tells us that it is difficult for a single person to carry such an appliance for a very long distance. And if appellant had vandalism in mind, he was passing up several golden opportunities in the glass windows and doors of the building in order to vent his feelings on the support beams of the air-conditioner.
I would hold that from all of the evidence the jury could reasonable deduce that appellant was attempting to enter the building. Otherwise, in any interrupted burglary it would be impossible to prove that the person apprehended was attempting to enter the building.
*55I agree with the majority holding with regard to the remaining grounds of error and I would affirm the conviction.