No. 14-06-00860-CR
Opinion filed November 29, 2007.
On Appeal from the 262nd District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Cause No. 1084334.
Panel consists of Justices YATES, FOWLER, and GUZMAN.
EVA M. GUZMAN, Justice.
Appellant Zarren Markeith Scott contends the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to support the elevation of the instant assault from a Class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony. Appellant's challenge, however, is actually a complaint about a variance between the allegations in the indictment and the evidence introduced at trial. Because this variance is immaterial, we affirm his conviction.
I. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND
Because appellant's sufficiency challenges rest entirely on a variance between the allegations in the indictment and the proof at trial relating to the elevation of this offense from a misdemeanor to a felony, we address the facts of the case only briefly here. On September 12, 2006, appellant was indicted for the offense of assault alleged to have occurred on or about February 23, 2006. The indictment alleged that appellant caused bodily injury to the complainant, a female with whom he had a dating relationship, by striking her with his hand. The indictment further alleged that on March 20, 2000, appellant "was convicted of an offense under Chapter 22, Texas Penal Code[,] which was committed against a person with whom [appellant] had a dating relationship as defined by Section 71.0021(b), Texas Family Code." To prove this allegation at trial, the State introduced the judgment and sentence from a prior conviction of appellant, which included an affirmative finding of family violence. This judgment and sentence did not specify, however, the particular type of family relationship involved in that case. The State did not introduce any other evidence establishing the type of family relationship involved in appellant's prior conviction. After hearing the evidence, a jury found appellant guilty of assault as charged and sentenced him to 55 years confinement in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division. After a motion for new trial was overruled by operation of law, appellant timely appealed his conviction. II. ISSUES AND ANALYSIS
In his first and second issues, appellant contends that the evidence is legally and factually insufficient to sustain his conviction because the State failed to offer any evidence to prove the enhancement element of the offense as charged in the indictment. Because of his prior conviction, the charged offense in this case was elevated from a Class A misdemeanor to a third degree felony. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. `22.01(b)(2) (Vernon 2003) (providing that if a person commits an assault involving bodily injury against a person with whom he has a dating relationship and has previously been convicted of an offense falling into the "family violence" category, the assault becomes a third degree felony). Appellant argues that although the indictment alleged he had a prior conviction for assault against a person with whom he had a dating relationship, there was no evidence at trial that the prior assault was actually committed against such a person. Thus, while appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, he in fact raises a variance between the allegations in the indictment and the proof at trial. See Gollihar v. State, 46 S.W.3d 243, 247 (Tex.Crim.App. 2001). In cases involving a sufficiency claim based on a variance between the indictment and the evidence, rather than reviewing the evidence under the traditional sufficiency standards, we must instead consider the materiality of the variance. Fuller v. State, 73 S.W.3d 250, 253 (Tex.Crim.App. 2002) (en banc); Rogers v. State, 200 S.W.3d 233, 236 (Tex.App.-Houston [14th Dist.] 2006, pet. ref'd). A variance is fatal, i.e., renders the evidence insufficient, only when it is material. Fuller, 73 S.W.3d at 253; Gollihar, 46 S.W.3d at 257; Rogers, 200 S.W.3d at 236. "A variance is material if it (1) deprived the defendant of sufficient notice of the charges against him such that he could not prepare an adequate defense, or (2) would subject him to the risk of being prosecuted twice for the same offense." Rogers, 200 S.W.3d at 236 (citing Fuller, 73 S.W.3d at 253; Gollihar, 46 S.W.3d at 257.). In addition, the burden of demonstrating the materiality of a variance rests with the defendant. Id. at 237 (citing Santana v. State, 59 S.W.3d 187, 194-95 (Tex.Crim.App. 2001)). Although appellant attacks the sufficiency of the evidence showing that his prior conviction was for an offense against a person with whom he had a dating relationship, he has not alleged that he was deprived of sufficient notice of the charges against him and could not prepare an adequate defense, or that he would be subject to being prosecuted twice for the same offense. But even if he had made such allegations, they would fail for the following reasons. First, the indictment contained the month and cause number of the prior judgment being used for enhancement purposes. It is therefore unlikely that appellant did not realize which prior conviction was being used for enhancement purposes. See Fuller, 73 S.W.3d at 254; Rogers, 200 S.W.3d at 237. Second, appellant's current offense can only be enhanced once, so he is not subject to being prosecuted twice for the same offense. See Rogers, 200 S.W.3d at 237. Consequently, the variance between the indictment and the proof at trial is immaterial, and must be disregarded in a sufficiency review. See Gollihar, 46 S.W.3d at 258; Rogers, 200 S.W.3d at 237. Finally, the assault in this case was appropriately elevated to a third degree felony if appellant had previously been convicted of an offense against "a person whose relationship to or association with the defendant is described by Section 71.0021(b), 71.003, or 71.005, Family Code. . . ." TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. `22.01(b)(2). Thus, the State was required to establish that appellant had previously been convicted of an offense against: (1) a person with whom he has or had a "continuing relationship of a romantic or intimate nature"; (2) a family member, including "individuals related by consanguinity or affinity . . . and individuals who are former spouses of each other, individuals who are the parents of the same child, without regard to marriage, and a foster child and foster parent, without regard to whether those individuals reside together"; or (3) against a member of his household, meaning "a unit composed of persons living together in the same dwelling without regard to whether they are related to each other." The judgment introduced into evidence by the State to prove appellant's prior assault conviction included a finding of "family violence." Thus, although the indictment alleged that appellant's prior conviction involved a person with whom he had a dating relationship ( i.e., an offense against a person with whom he had a relationship described by section 71.0021(b) of the Texas Family Code), elevation of the instant offense was appropriate because he had been convicted of an assault involving family violence ( i.e., assaulting a person with whom he had a relationship described by section 71.003 of the Texas Family Code). See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. `22.01(b)(2). This judgment therefore provided both legally and factually sufficient evidence to enhance appellant's offense to a third degree felony. In sum, appellant's challenges to the sufficiency of the evidence rest solely on an immaterial variance. Further, both legally and factually sufficient evidence was introduced at trial to support the elevation of appellant's offense to a felony. Accordingly, we overrule appellant's first and second issues. III. CONCLUSION
Having overruled appellant's issues, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.