Dismissed and Memorandum Opinion filed May 14, 2009.

In The

Fourteenth Court of Appeals

____________

NO. 14-09-00352-CR

____________

JAMES RICHMOND BARLEY, JR., Appellant

V.

THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 268th District Court

Fort Bend County, Texas

Trial Court Cause No. 50,120

M E M O R A N D U M   O P I N I O N

A jury convicted appellant of indecency with a child and assessed his punishment at confinement for twenty years in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and assessed a fine of $10,000.  On February 17, 2009, the trial court sentenced appellant in accordance with the jury=s verdict.  No timely motion for new trial was filed.  Appellant=s notice of appeal was not filed until March 26, 2009, more than thirty days after sentencing.

A defendant=s notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after sentence is imposed when the defendant has not filed a motion for new trial.  See Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a)(1).  A notice of appeal that complies with the requirements of Rule 26 is essential to vest the court of appeals with jurisdiction.  Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998).  If an appeal is not timely perfected, a court of appeals does not obtain jurisdiction to address the merits of the appeal.  Under those circumstances it can take no action other than to dismiss the appeal.  Id.

Accordingly, the appeal is ordered dismissed.

PER CURIAM

Panel consists of Chief Justice Hedges and Justices Yates and Frost.

Do Not Publish C Tex.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