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Licho ESCAMILLA
Name
TDCJ
Number
Date
of Birth
Escamilla, Licho
999432
07/03/1982
Date
Received
Age (when Received)
Education Level
11/01/2002
20
8
Date
of Offense
Age
(at the Offense)
County
11/25/2002
20
Dallas
Race
Gender
Hair
Color
Hispanic
male
black
Height
Weight
Eye
Color
5 ft 6 in
156
brown
Native
County
Native
State
Prior
Occupation
Dallas
Texas
laborer
Prior
Prison Record
n/a
Summary of incident
On 11/25/2001, in Dallas,
Escamilla was engaged in a fight in the parking lot of a
nightclub.
When Dallas City police officers arrived to stop the
fight, Escamilla shot an adult white male police officer two
times. The officer died en-route to the hospital.
Co-defendants
n/a
Race
and Gender of Victim
white male
Off-duty Dallas police officer
killed in shooting
The
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
Monday, November 26, 2001
An off-duty Dallas police officer was killed
and another was wounded early Sunday following a shootout at a
club.
Dallas police spokesman Hollis Edwards said
four Dallas police officers were working security at Club DMX when
a fight broke out inside the club about 3 a.m.
A patron removed from the club then pulled a
gun and shot two of the officers, one fatally, authorities said.
Police then shot the man as he tried to flee and arrested him.
Officer Christopher K. James, 34, was flown to
Parkland Memorial Hospital, where he later died. The second
officer, Clarence D. Lockett, was treated and released early
Sunday from Parkland.
Licho Escamilla, 19, was charged with capital
murder in James' death.
He was treated for a gunshot wound at the same
hospital before being transported to the Lew Sterrett Justice
Center on Sunday afternoon.
Police said Escamilla was also wanted in
connection with the Nov. 8 slaying of a man in west Dallas. A
murder warrant for Escamilla was issued Nov. 19.
Police Chief Terrell Bolton said preliminary
information indicated the slain officer was trying to help the
suspect.
"Once the facts come out, I think they will
show that this was a senseless murder of a police officer and the
attempt on another one," Bolton said.
According to a preliminary investigation, James
and Lockett were attempting to break up a scuffle between the
suspect and several other people outside the club.
One witness told The Dallas Morning News that
Escamilla pulled a gun out and began firing randomly.
Police said James and Lockett did not have time
to pull out their guns.
Escamilla fired one to three shots at James,
police said, then exchanged fire with the two approaching officers
before fleeing.
He attempted to steal a car about a block away,
but was tackled by two people, police said. Police said Escamilla
began shooting again before being captured with the help of some
witnesses.
Escamilla used more than 12 bullets and was out
of them when he was detained, police said.
James leaves behind newlywed wife and daughter
from a previous relationship, officials said.
In the Court of
Criminal Appeals of Texas
No. 74,494
Licho
Escamilla, Appellant V.
The State of Texas
June 30, 2004
On direct appeal
from Dallas County
The indictment alleged
that appellant shot and killed a peace officer who was "then and
there acting in the lawful discharge of an official duty, and the
said [appellant] then and there knew the said deceased to be a
peace officer." See § 19.03(a)(1), Tex.Pen.Code.
Appellant claims that the evidence is legally insufficient (point
of error five) and factually insufficient (point of error six) to
support a finding that he knew the victim was a peace officer when
appellant killed him.
In a legal sufficiency
review, we view all of the evidence in the light most favorable to
the verdict and then determine whether a rational trier of fact
could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a
reasonable doubt. See Jackson v. Virginia, 99 S.Ct. 2781,
2789 (1979).
In a factual
sufficiency review, we view all of the evidence in a neutral light,
and we will set the verdict aside only if the evidence is so weak
that the verdict is clearly wrong and manifestly unjust, or the
contrary evidence is so strong that the standard of proof beyond a
reasonable doubt could not have been met. See Zuniga v. State,
S.W.3d
slip op. at 8 (Tex.Cr.App. No. 539-02, delivered April 21,
2004).
The evidence shows
that the victim was one of four off-duty Dallas police officers
working extra jobs at a nightclub. The 19-year-old appellant shot
and killed the victim and wounded one of the other off-duty police
officers (who survived the shooting) outside the club. An employee
of the club (Bravo) testified that two "cops" were approaching the
scene of a fight at the parking valet station in front of the club
when the shooting started.
Q. [PROSECUTION]: And,
go ahead and tell the jury what you remember from there?
A. [BRAVO]: Well, then
after that, all of the fighting and whatever. Then, the cops were
like on their way to help.
Q. The cops were on
their way to help, is that what you said?
A. Yes.
Q. All right. Go ahead?
A. And, well, as soon
as, well, they didn't even get the chance to get to the guy, when
the guy just bring out a gun and started shooting.
Q. And, what happens
then?
A. Well, it sounded
like the first cop got shot, then the [victim]. The shooting just
like keep going on and on. Then the guy tried to took [sic] off
and he stopped like midway where [the victim] was on the floor. He
was like, shoot him a couple of times, and then just took off, and
a couple of cops-a couple of policemen just followed him.
A valet parking
employee (Gonzales) testified that appellant shot two uniformed
police officers as they were approaching the scene of the
disturbance at the parking valet station. Gonzales testified that
he could tell they were police officers.
Q. [PROSECUTION]: And,
then what happened?
A.[GONZALES]: When I
turned around, I saw two police officers coming and [appellant]
fired at them.
Q. And, the two
persons that you saw coming, you could tell that they were police
officers; is that right?
A. Yes.
Q. And, where did you
see the two police officers coming from?
A. Further away in
front of where we were at.
Q. Could you take your
pointer and point to the area that you first saw the two police
officers on State's Exhibit 10?
A. Yes.
Q. Go ahead, please?
A. (Witness did as
requested.)
Q. And, you are
pointing to an area that looks like it is on the driveway area,
pretty close to the front of Club DMX-the front porch of DMX; is
that right?
A. Yes.
Q. And, they were in
uniform?
A. Yes.
The off-duty police
officer who was wounded in the shooting (Lockett) testified that
he was walking toward a disturbance (which he described as a
breach of the peace) in the valet parking area when the shooting
started.
Q. [PROSECUTION]:
Please, tell the jury what it is that you recall seeing?
A. [LOCKETT]: Okay. At
that time, I was standing there. They,-the disturbance was in the
valet area. And, I started walking toward where I thought this
disturbance was. And, as I was walking over there, the people
that's in the valet area, as I last recall, three Latin males and
one Latin male running away, or several Latin males that were
running toward me, I see these, at this time, three Latin males
trying to attack this one Latin male. And, I grabbed the one Latin
male from behind, and as I am pulling him to the ground, we fall
to the ground and we begin to struggle as I hear gunfire. And, as
I hear gunfire, the next thing I know I am shot and on the ground.
I am shot in my left wrist and the bullet goes from my left wrist
into the palm of my hand. And that is basically the last thing
that I remember.
Lockett also testified
that his and the victim's clothing "clearly identified" them as
police officers.
Q. [PROSECUTION]: All
right. Do you remember if November the 24th, Saturday,
at 2001, was a rather cold evening?
A. [LOCKETT]: Yeah, it
was chilly. I think we had like skull caps or a wool cap with
Dallas PD emblem and the black jackets with the Dallas Police
emblem on the chest and the police emblem on my left side.
Q. And, you were
wearing such a jacket on that occasion?
A. Yes.
Q. And, was [the
victim] also wearing a police jacket just like you described, as
best as you can recall?
A. Yes, as best as I
can recall, I think he was also wearing a jacket.
Q. And, were you both
clearly identified as Dallas Police Officers?
A. Yes, we were.
A police officer
(Rivera), who arrived at the club soon after the shooting,
testified that he unbuttoned the victim's "uniform shirt" and
ballistic vest to perform CPR on the victim.
Q. [PROSECUTION]: When
you were ministering to him, did I understand you to say that in
order to do the CPR, you had to unbutton some of his clothing and
to do something with some of the apparel that he was wearing?
A. [RIVERA]: Yes, sir.
I unbuttoned his uniform shirt, unbuckled the front of his Sam
Brown Belt. He was wearing his ballistic vest. There are velcro
straps that come to the front. And, basically, I pulled the straps
out and removed the front panel, so that-we can work on him
medically.
The evidence also
shows that, soon after the shootings at the club, appellant was
arrested and transported to a hospital because he suffered a minor
gunshot wound in an exchange of gunfire with one of the other off-duty
police officers. Several witnesses at the hospital heard appellant
commenting about how he had shot a "faggot cop." For example, a
police officer (Hay), who accompanied appellant to the hospital,
testified:
Q. [PROSECUTION]: And,
what happens as far as he is concerned that you recall there?
A. [HAY]: Once we were
in the actual trauma room, the doctor asked him, if he knew where
he was at. And, he replied, I am at Parkland because I shot a
faggot cop.
Q. And, what then
occurs after that, that you recall?
A. He made several
more statements along those lines. He repeated that phrase several
times. I recall, that after the attending physicians conducted
their initial examination and the nurses started to file out to
get-to do their business, he looked at myself and another Officer,
Joe Allen, and started laughing and said, yeah, yeah, mother
fuckers, I thought I was invincible like that cop thought he was,
but I guess, I am not. And, then he made another statement and was
laughing and said that he would be-he said, yeah, mother fucker, I
will be out of here in forty-eight hours.
Q. And, the words that
you are telling the jury right now are your recollection, not of
your language, but of the language that he used.
A. That is correct.
Appellant later
admitted during a videotaped interview with a television reporter
that he knew he was shooting at a police officer.
Q. [GILLETT]: Now,
you've, you've told me already you knew you were shooting at a
police officer-the first one...
A. [APPELLANT]: Yeah.
Q. ...so there's no
question that you knew you were shooting at a police officer the
first time.
A. Yeah.
Q. You think you
killed him?
A. Yeah. Hell yeah. I
killed that MF.
The only piece of the
victim's clothing that was introduced into evidence was the
victim's jacket. The State's brief describes it as the victim's "uniform
jacket," but it is literally described in the reporter's record as
the victim's "jacket."
Q. [PROSECUTION]: I am
showing you an item now, Detective Vineyard, and ask you to
examine that, which is marked State's Exhibit 24?
A. [VINEYARD]: (Witness
did as requested.) Do you want to go ahead and take it out?
Q. Yes, sir, if you
would, please.
[THE PROSECUTION]: Yes,
Your Honor, there are.
[THE COURT]: And, how
many of them are there?
[THE PROSECUTION]: I
would have to go and make account of the rest of those. There are
a considerable number more than the ones that I have selected for
offering before the jury. If the Court wants me to, I can do that?
[THE COURT]: No. No, I
am just really trying to find out if you've gone through all of
the autopsy photos and determined which ones show the wounds-the
different wounds that she's described?
[THE PROSECUTION]: I
have, Your Honor, to the best of my knowledge and recollection.
And, I have selected those that the Court has before her, as being
the most representative of the wounds that they seek to show. And,
as well, that I believe that they explain those wounds in a way
that will aid the Doctor most in her testimony, as well as, aid
the jury. And so, I have gone through a selection process with a
view toward doing that, as well as, their relevance.
[THE COURT]: And, Dr.
Urban, you've gone through and looked at State's Exhibit 131 and
through 140, is that correct?
[MEDICAL EXAMINER]:
Yes.
[THE COURT]: And, is
there any photograph among these that is duplicitas [sic] of
another photograph of these?
[MEDICAL EXAMINER]: I
think they are all necessary and represent the injuries that were
seen at the time of the autopsy.
[THE COURT]: Mr. Huff,
your objections to State's Exhibits 131 through 140 are overruled.
The Court finds that the probative value of State's Exhibits 131
through 140 is not substantially outweighed by the danger of
unfair prejudice. Therefore, the Court overrules your objection.
The record further
reflects that the medical examiner used the photographs to explain
her testimony. For example,
Q. [PROSECUTION]: Now,
with regard to State's Exhibit 131, can you see that, Dr. Urban?
A. [THE MEDICAL
EXAMINER]: Yes.
Q. And, can you tell
the jury what State's Exhibit 131 portrays?
A. This is an overall
photograph showing the upper half of the victim's body. And in
particular, in this photograph you can see the first two gunshot
wounds that I described. Mainly, gunshot wounds number one and
number two.
Q. All right. And, can
you point to those on State's Exhibit 131, please?
A. They are seen here.
The trial court did
not abuse its discretion to admit the autopsy photographs because
they helped explain the medical examiner's testimony describing
the victim's various wounds for which appellant is responsible.
See Newbury v. State,
S.W.3d
slip op. at 31 (Tex.Cr.App. No. 74,308, delivered April
21, 2004).
Point of error eleven is overruled.
In point of error
twelve, appellant claims that "the trial court erred in allowing
the State to present evidence of extraneous offenses that were not
proved beyond a reasonable doubt in the punishment stage of trial."
In his brief, appellant asserts that he objected to evidence of
extraneous offenses in part because this evidence "would not be
proved beyond a reasonable doubt." The record, however, does not
support this assertion. It reflects that appellant made the
following objection to the introduction of extraneous offenses.
[THE DEFENSE]: Your
Honor, with regard to the certified copies and to the proper
extraneous offenses, the Defense makes the following objections.
First of all, to the extent that any of these extraneous offenses
include offenses which may have occurred when the Defendant was a
juvenile, that is under the age of seventeen. We object for the
reason, that the introduction into evidence of juvenile offenses
violate our client's right to Due Process of Law pursuant to the
Equal Protection Clause-pursuant to the Due Process and Equal
Protection Laws of the United States Constitution and the Due
Course of Law Provisions of the Constitution of the State of
Texas. In addition, we would object to any of the offenses offered
for which there has not been a final judgment, for the reason that
such offenses have not been proved in a court of law and the
introduction into evidence of such offenses at this stage of the
trial, even if the court were to instruct the jury that they have
to be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, would cause the Defendant
to be denied Due Process of Law pursuant to the United States
Constitution. And in addition, it would deprive the Defendant of
Due Course of Law pursuant to the Constitution of the State of
Texas. We further would object to any of the offenses that maybe
[sic] admitted by the State to the extent they do not show, that
they do not reflect upon any special issue that should be answered
by the jury. Particularly, with regard to the unauthorized use of
a motor vehicle, the evading arrest and the high speed chase. We
submit to the Court, that such offenses bear little relevance, if
any, to the first special issue of potential future dangerousness
and that they are not acts of violence. And, that the probative
value of such offenses is greatly outweighed by the prejudicial
effect, the introduction of such offenses would have on the jury.
And, this would be-this would be to such an extent that it would
be a Due Process violation under the Fourteenth Amendment to the
United State's [sic] Constitution and the Due Course of Law
Provisions of the State of Texas. And, for all these reasons, we
object to the introduction of these extraneous offenses, Your
Honor.
[THE COURT]: Your
objections are overruled. The court finds that the probative value
of this proffer-the evidence as stated by [the State] in his
proffer, it is not substantially outweighed by the prejudicial
effect, and the Court will admit the same.
We will assume that
appellant preserved the claim that he asserts on appeal. This
Court's assessment of the record from the punishment phase
reflects that the State "clearly proved," through certified court
records and live testimony, appellant's commission of various
adjudicated and unadjudicated extraneous offenses dating back to
when appellant was a juvenile. See Hughes v. State, 24
S.W.3d 833, 843 (Tex.Cr.App), cert. denied, 121 S.Ct. 430 (2000) (when
at punishment phase of capital murder trial the state relies on
evidence of defendant's commission of extraneous offenses, state
must "clearly prove" that the defendant committed these extraneous
offenses). Point of error twelve is overruled.
In point of error
thirteen, appellant claims that "the trial court erred in allowing
the State to use the juvenile records against appellant as a
violation of due process and equal protection." This did not
violate due process or equal protection principles. See Corwin
v. State, 870 S.W.2d 23, 36-37 (Tex.Cr.App. 1993), cert.
denied, 115 S.Ct. 95 (1994) (use of juvenile misconduct as
aggravating factor in capital punishment proceeding did not
violate due process or Eighth Amendment principles). Point of
error thirteen is overruled.
In point of error
fourteen, appellant claims that "the trial court erred in
overruling appellant's motion to exclude evidence of unadjudicated
extraneous offenses at the punishment stage of the trial."
Appellant claims that well-settled jurisprudence upholding the
admissibility of this evidence at a capital sentencing proceeding
"has done so without an analysis of the proclauses of both the
state and federal constitutions." See, e.g., Hughes, 24
S.W.3d at 842; Corwin, 870 S.W.2d at 36 n.18; Milton
v. State, 599 S.W.2d 824, 827 (Tex.Cr.App. 1980), cert.
denied, 101 S.Ct. 3022 (1981). In support of this claim, appellant
relies on a United States Supreme Court decision on the
admissibility of victim-impact evidence, (5)
which the United States Supreme Court has since overruled.
(6) We decline to revisit well-settled jurisprudence
upholding the admissibility of evidence of unadjudicated
extraneous offenses at a capital sentencing proceeding. Point of
error fourteen is overruled.
In point of error
fifteen, appellant claims that the death penalty has been
unconstitutionally imposed upon him in violation of the United
States Supreme Court's decision in Atkins v. Virginia
because the State made no affirmative showing that appellant is
not mentally retarded. See Atkins v. Virginia, 122 S.Ct.
2242, 2247-52 (2002) (Eighth Amendment prohibits execution of
mentally retarded people). Neither Atkins nor our case-law
applying it require the State to affirmatively show that a capital
murder defendant is not mentally retarded. See generally id.;
Ex parte Briseno,
S.W.3d
(Tex.Cr.App., No. 29,819-03, delivered February 11, 2004).
Point of error fifteen is overruled.
In points of error
sixteen, twenty-three, twenty-four, and twenty-seven, appellant
claims that Texas death-penalty law violates the state and federal
constitutions because it simultaneously restricts and allows
unlimited or "open-ended" juror discretion to impose the death
penalty. In support of these claims, appellant relies on, and
quotes extensively from, former Justice Blackmun's dissenting
opinion in Callins v. Collins, 114 S.Ct. 1128-38 (1994) (Blackmun,
J., dissenting). This Court has rejected these claims. See
Turner v. State, 87 S.W.3d 111, 118 (Tex.Cr.App. 2002), cert.
denied, 123 S.Ct. 1760 (2003); Callins, 114 S.Ct. at
1127-28 (Scalia, J., concurring). Points of error sixteen, twenty-three
and twenty-four are overruled.
In point of error
seventeen, appellant claims that Texas death-penalty law violates
the Supreme Court's decision in Penry v. Johnson because
"the mitigation special issue sends mixed signals to the jury
thereby rendering any verdict reached in response to that special
issue intolerable and unreliable." See generally Penry v.
Johnson, 121 S.Ct. 1910 (2001) (Penry II). This
Court has rejected this claim. See Jones v. State, 119
S.W.3d 766, 790 (Tex.Cr.App. 2003). Point of error seventeen is
overruled.
In points of error
eighteen, nineteen, and twenty, appellant claims that Texas death-penalty
law violates the state and federal constitutions because it
implicitly puts the burden on appellant to prove the mitigation
special issue rather than "requiring the State to prove the
absence of sufficient mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable
doubt." In point of error twenty-six, appellant claims that Texas
death-penalty law violates various federal constitutional
provisions because it fails to place the burden of proof on the
State "regarding aggravating evidence" in the mitigation special
issue. This Court has rejected these claims. See Blue v. State,
125 S.W.3d 491, 500-01 (Tex.Cr.App. 2003) (neither party bears the
burden of proof at punishment on the mitigating evidence special
issue). Points of error eighteen through twenty and twenty-six are
overruled.
In point of error
twenty-one, appellant claims that the "12/10" rule violates
various federal constitutional provisions. This Court has rejected
this claim. See Blue, 125 S.W.3d at 505; Turner,
87 S.W.3d at 118. Point of error twenty-one is overruled.
In point of error
twenty-two, appellant claims that Texas death-penalty law violates
various federal constitutional provisions by failing to define the
terms "probability," "continuing threat to society," and "criminal
acts of violence." This Court has rejected these claims. See
id.
In point of error
twenty-five, appellant claims that Texas death-penalty law is
unconstitutional because it "fails to require the issue of
mitigation be considered by the jury." Appellant seems to argue
that Texas death-penalty law is unconstitutional because it does
not "mandate consideration of mitigating evidence." We have
rejected this claim. See McFarland v. State, 928 S.W.2d
482, 497-98 (Tex.Cr.App. 1996), cert. denied, 117 S.Ct. 966 (1997)
(there is no per se evidence that a juror must view as
having definitive mitigating effect). Point of error twenty-five
is overruled.
In point of error
twenty-eight, appellant claims that Texas death-penalty law
violates various federal constitutional provisions because it does
not permit "meaningful appellate review." We have rejected this
claim. See Sells v. State, 121 S.W.3d 748, 767-68 (Tex.Cr.App.),
cert. denied, 124 S.Ct. 511 (2003). Point of error twenty-eight is
overruled.
In point of error
twenty-nine, appellant claims that the trial court should have
quashed his indictment because of the "enumerated constitutional
defects" in Texas death-penalty law. And, in points of error
thirty and thirty-one, appellant claims that the cumulative effect
of the "above-enumerated constitutional violations" violates the
state and federal constitutions. These claims are without merit.
See Turner, 87 S.W.3d at 118. Points of error twenty-nine
through thirty-one are overruled.
We note that Fletcher
stated during voir dire that she could be "open to the possibility
of a life sentence even on a dangerous police officer killing."
See Green v. State, 934 S.W.2d 92, 105 n.6 (Tex.Cr.App.
1996), cert. denied, 117 S.Ct. 1561 (1997) (constitution does not
require that jurors consider any particular evidence to be
mitigating).
Article 38.22, sets
out the state-law requirements for the admission into evidence of
various statements of an accused as a result of "custodial
interrogation."
See also Hall v. State,
67 S.W.3d 870, 874-75 (Tex.Cr.App.), cert. granted, judgment
vacated, and case remanded here for further consideration [in
light of Atkins v. Virginia, 122 S.Ct. 2242 (2002)],
Hall v. Texas, 123 S.Ct. 70 (2002).
In his brief,
appellant complains about the admission into evidence of State's
Exhibits 132-140. It is not clear whether he also complains about
the admission into evidence of State's Exhibit 131.