Timmons v. State
Timmons v. State
Opinion of the Court
This is a circumstantial evidence case. After finding appellant guilty of felony theft the jury assessed punishment at ten years confinement in the Texas Department of Corrections and a fine of $5,000.00. Appellant appeals.
We affirm.
Appellant brings one ground of error asserting “the evidence adduced at the trial was insufficient to support a conviction.” The State in its case in chief had two witnesses, James Morris (the owner of the M & M Service Station and the money alleged to have been stolen at said station in Lindale, Texas), and Danny Alexander the Lindale policeman who investigated the theft. The testimony as given by Morris can be summarized as follows: The day in question, December 8,1980, was a cold and rainy day.
Alexander, a police officer for the city of Lindale, testified that he was involved in the investigation of this case and identified appellant as the man he arrested. Moreover, Alexander testified that on December 8, 1980, the day in question, Norman Tire Company was not closed during lunchtime as appellant had purportedly told Morris. At the close of such evidence the State rested its case and appellant made his motion for an instructed verdict of not guilty contending that the State had wholly failed to prove its case and that the State had not ruled out every possibility of theft that could have possibly occurred on that date and thus the evidence is insufficient. The court overruled such motion. The defense then waived its right to make an opening statement and rested without calling any witnesses.
The ease was submitted to the jury with an instruction on circumstantial evidence. It is appellant’s contention that the proof and evidence adduced at trial amounted to only a strong suspicion or mere probability, and that every other reasonable hypothesis that another person could have taken the money was not ruled out. Appellant contends that his mere presence at the scene of an offense is not sufficient to obtain a conviction based on circumstantial evidence.
A conviction based on circumstantial evidence must exclude every other reasonable hypothesis except the guilt of the accused. Wilson v. State, 654 S.W.2d 465 (Tex.Cr.App. 1983); Carlsen v. State, 654 S.W.2d 444 (Tex.Cr.App. 1983); Moore v. State, 640 S.W.2d 300 (Tex.Cr.App. 1982); Autry v. State, 626 S.W.2d 758 (Tex.Crim.App. 1982); Flores v. State, 551 S.W.2d 364 (Tex.Cr.App. 1977). It is not required that the circumstances should, to a moral certainty, actually exclude every hypothesis that the act may have been committed by another person, but that the hypothesis is a reasonable one consistent with the circumstances and facts proved. Carlsen, Moore, Autry, and Flores, all supra. Each fact need not point directly and independently to the guilt of the accused, as the cumulative effect of all the incriminating facts may be sufficient to support the evidence. Carlsen, supra, Stogsdill v. State, 552 S.W.2d 481 (Tex.Cr.App. 1977); Flores, supra. However, proof which amounts only to a strong suspicion or mere probability is insufficient.
In ascertaining whether the guilt of the accused has been established to a moral certainty, [we] will review the evidence in light of the presumption that the accused is innocent. [We] will not presume any acts against the accused that are not shown to have been committed by him. Furthermore, a conviction will not be sustained on appeal if the evidence does not sufficiently establish all material elements of the offense charged.
Moreover, in determining whether incriminating circumstances are sufficient, each case must be tested on its own facts. Flores, supra.
We find the evidence is sufficient to sustain a conviction based on circumstantial evidence. There is no other reasonable hypothesis in this case except that of the defendant’s guilt. Appellant’s ground is overruled.
Judgment is affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.