Court Opinion

ID: 9771520
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-29 16:46:07.34329+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:31:32.254486
License: Public Domain

DOUGLAS, Judge
(concurring in part and dissenting in part).
The judgments are reversed because no instruction was given on the presumption of the use of the gun by the deceased. There was evidence by the defense that the deceased committed an unprovoked attack on Baugh with a gun. Had we been jurors, we might not have believed this testimony, but that was a matter for the jury to decide with the aid of a proper instruction.
However, the judgment against Baugh should not be reversed on the ground of sufficiency of the evidence. The Court should consider all of the facts and circumstances to determine if the evidence is sufficient to show the two acted as principals.
Baugh was Baldridge’s uncle. The Baugh family was upset about a survey which showed a small strip of land was determined to be that of Helen Cassel. Baugh was digging post holes on a line claimed by the Baughs when Officer Douglas arrived.
Albertha Lee, who was related to the Baughs, testified that at about 6:40 p.m. on May 15, 1973, she was at Helen Cassel’s house when Officer Douglas drove up. Murray Baugh was digging post holes. Leo Vernon (Jim) Baldridge and his mother had arrived some five minutes earlier and she drove an iron “stob” in the driveway. Douglas talked to Mrs. Cassel who had called the sheriff’s office. He then asked Murray to drop the post hole digger. Murray dropped the digger and said the land had been theirs for 33 years and he had rather die and go to hell than lose it. Bal-dridge started digging with the post hole digger and the officer told him to stop. Murray then grabbed the officer by the collar and Baldridge’s mother then told Mrs. Cassel to stay out of it. Mrs. Cassel left. The officer pushed to keep Murray off of him and Murray grabbed the officer’s blackjack. A clipboard that the officer was holding fell out of his hand. The officer grabbed his pistol and in no way was trying to shoot Murray. They were scuffling and Murray had the officer’s arms pinned to his *644body. The officer got his pistol “and he started trying to keep Murray back.” Bal-dridge stayed within six feet there with his hand in his right pocket. Shots were fired and Pearl Baldridge saw the officer run toward his car. He fell down with his hand on his chest. She testified that Murray hit the first Ück and the officer pulled his gun and was shooting into the ground to keep Murray off of him. Murray kept coming at him.
Cleveland Lee, 79 years of age, testified that he was at the Baugh house in Old Ocean on the day in question and saw Murray digging post holes. He gave a different version as to who struck the first blow. Pearl Baldridge, the sister of Murray and the mother of Leo Vernon Baldridge, was there.
Clarence E. Edwards, a deputy sheriff of Brazoria County, testified that on the day before the homicide he and Pearl Baldridge went to the sheriff’s office and said that Selkirk Harris was trying to take of some of her mother’s land. Sheriff Gladney sent Edwards to see if he could straighten it out. Deputy Edwards and Selkirk Harris went by and picked up Pearl Baldridge at her cafe, the Lincoln Drive Inn, and went to talk to Helen Cassel to find out what the facts were.
On the day of the homicide Helen Cassel called the sheriff’s office because Murray Baugh was digging the post holes. The officer told Murray that he did not come out there to take sides.
Tom Baugh, a brother of Murray Baugh and Pearl Baldridge, was at the home at the time of the homicide. When Officer Douglas arrived, Tom told him that “nobody was violating the law and nobody called him there” and that he was disturbing the peace there, and “I told him he couldn’t handle those boys, Murray killed a man.” After an objection, the court instructed the jury not to consider the last statement. Later Tom Baugh, without objection, testified as follows:
“A I told him he couldn’t handle those boys unless he called for help.
“Q Did you tell the officer if he fought Murray, Jim (Leo Vernon) would kill him?
“A I told him if he gets in it, Jim will kill him.
“Q And Jim did kill him?
“A Yes.”
The record shows that Officer- Douglas was shot four times with an automatic .25 caliber pistol. From the ejection pattern of the spent shells, Baldridge moved to several different spots to fire.
Pearl Baldridge testified that on May 11 (four days before the homicide) Selkirk Harris, who had sold the property adjoining her mother’s and surveyed the property on the 14th of May, went with Deputy Edwards to Sheriff Gladney’s office to tell him about Selkirk Harris’ surveying the property because her mother was upset about the survey. They drove to her mother’s place. Murray lived with their mother. Vernon took her to her mother’s the day of the homicide. When they arrived, they saw the police car at Helen Cassel’s. They walked over to Murray and asked what he was doing, and he said, “ ‘Digging holes’ ” and, “I didn’t say any more.” She did not talk to Murray because the officer could do better because they had an agreement the day before not to do anything about a fence until the matter was settled. Her testimony that she had not talked to Murray about not starting a fence was impeached when it was shown that she had previously said that she told him not to do anything about a fence until the boundary line could be established.
Pearl and Leo Vernon were in a hurry to get to the property the afternoon in question. Vernon got ahead of the others at the service station to buy $2.00 worth of gas and stated that he was in a hurry.
There were sufficient facts and circumstances for the jury to conclude that both appellants were acting together to do anything to prevent Officer Douglas from stopping the post hole digging, just as there were sufficient facts and circumstances for Tom Baugh to conclude that if a fight started the officer would be killed.
*645Where two are charged as acting together, the case assumes the nature, to some extent, as with a conspiracy. A conspiracy is an agreement manifesting itself in words or deeds by which two or more persons confederate to an unlawful act. See Young v. State, 150 Tex.Cr.R. 378, 201 S.W.2d 46 (1947).
With the reasoning adopted by the majority to the effect there is no evidence that Murray knew of the intention of Leo Vernon, the convictions for one driving the getaway car in a robbery case could not be affirmed absent proof that the driver knew of the intent to rob.
A conspiracy may be shown by circumstantial evidence. See Morgan v. State, 519 S.W.2d 449 (1975); Kay v. State, 489 S.W.2d 861 (Tex.Cr.App.1973), and Mutscher v. State, 514 S.W.2d 905 (Tex.Cr.App.1974).
An agreement does not have to be made in words. A nod of the head or other gesture could be enough to manifest assent.
We should hold the evidence sufficient to support the conviction.