Boyd v. State

1

Damon Boyd, Appellant v. The State of Texas, Appellee

No. 03-22-00255-CR

Court of Appeals of Texas, Third District, Austin

April 21, 2023

Do Not Publish

FROM THE 427TH DISTRICT COURT OF TRAVIS COUNTY NO D-1-DC-20-300329, THE HONORABLE TAMARA NEEDLES, JUDGE PRESIDING.

Before Baker, Smith, and Jones, Justices.^[*]

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Thomas J. Baker, Justice.

Following a bench trial, Damon Boyd was convicted of murder and sentenced to five years' imprisonment. See Tex Penal Code §§ 12.32, 19.02. On appeal, Boyd contends that the evidence was insufficient to support the trial court's rejection of his self-defense claim. We will affirm the trial court's judgment of conviction.

BACKGROUND

In February 2020, Boyd was experiencing homelessness and living in a camp off a highway in south Austin, Texas, along with the following individuals: brothers Brian and Scott Herl, who were unrelated to Boyd, and Boyd's girlfriend Dana Stidham. A few weeks earlier, Shawn Eaton and his girlfriend had been living at the camp, but the other residents asked them to leave. When Eaton was asked to leave, he sold his tent to Boyd and left some of his belongings behind.

On February 23, 2020, Brian reported to the police that he discovered a dead body in the camp. The police went to the scene and found Eaton's body underneath a mattress, a tarp, and bicycle tires. The police noticed that one of Eaton's hands was on top of a martial arts weapon called a sai, which is a dagger with two prongs curving outward from the hilt. During their investigation, the police learned that Eaton had been shot in the chest and discovered a .32 caliber cartridge near Eaton's feet and live rounds of ammunition of the same caliber inside Boyd's tent. After learning that Boyd left the camp to stay with a friend named Nicole Fisher, the police went to Fisher's home and arrested Boyd. Boyd was charged with murdering Eaton.

During the trial, the following witnesses testified: three police officers, including Officer Rae Egan, who testified regarding the investigation in this case; the medical examiner, who testified that Eaton had methamphetamine and methadone in his system and died from a gunshot wound to the chest, but the examiner was unable to ascertain how far the weapon was from Eaton at the time of the shooting; Stidham, Scott, and Brian who testified regarding their observations at the time of the shooting; Fisher, who testified about events after the shooting; Stidham's friend, who testified that he heard the gunshot while he was on the phone with Stidham discussing how Boyd and Stidham got into an argument earlier that day and Boyd, who admitted that he shot Eaton but claimed it was in self-defense.

In her testimony, Stidham explained that she lived with Boyd in a tent at the camp, that everyone at the camp used methamphetamine, and that methamphetamine makes people anxious and paranoid. Regarding Eaton, Stidham related that the camp residents asked him to leave because he was stealing from them and had been violent with his girlfriend. Although Stidham related that she was friends with Eaton, she said that she tried not to have contact with him after he left the camp; however, she testified that he kept trying to contact her showed up at the camp even after being asked to leave, and would sometimes cause problems when he returned. Stidham related that Eaton would hang around her tent and try to see her naked or having sex. She noticed Eaton's bicycle and backpack at the camp before the day of the shooting. In addition, Stidham said that Eaton and Boyd "butted heads" before Eaton left the camp.

Regarding the day of the shooting, Stidham testified that she saw Eaton walk into the camp and then heard Eaton and Boyd arguing for a few seconds before she heard one gunshot. Stidham related that she ran to where Eaton and Boyd were, saw Eaton on the ground having difficulty breathing, and noticed that Boyd was holding his .32 caliber gun. Additionally, Stidham related that no one contacted the police for several days, that she stayed at the camp while the body was there, that Boyd left the camp after the shooting, and that she never saw the gun again. Although Stidham testified that she told one of the investigating officers that Boyd said he shot Eaton to protect her, she also explained that Boyd did not tell her what happened and that she did not feel threatened by Eaton that day.

Next, Scott testified that Eaton had been voted out of the camp for stealing but returned on the day in question to retrieve his backpack, and Scott related that Eaton sometimes carried "a karate knife or a sword." Regarding the incident, Scott explained that he heard Boyd tell Eaton "[s]top" three or four times before the gunshot occurred, and Scott related that he interpreted Boyd's comments as cries for help from the other camp residents. Further, Scott recalled that he went to Boyd's tent and saw Eaton bleeding, having difficulty breathing, and being supported by another camper but saw Boyd in front of his tent "standing there in shock" while holding a gun. Additionally, Scott testified that no one moved Eaton but that someone placed a mattress over him.

Moreover, Scott said that he and the other residents tried to get Boyd to call 911 with his cell phone but that Boyd just stood there in shock. Scott also related that when the police arrived a few days later, he was surprised and disappointed to learn that Boyd never called the police. When describing Eaton, Scott testified that Eaton was not known for carrying weapons and that he had never seen Eaton being violent with anyone. Although Scott testified that he did not see Eaton holding a weapon, he saw a weapon on the ground near Eaton and believed that Eaton brought the weapon to the camp and had the intent to hurt someone. When describing Boyd, Scott stated that Boyd "[sometimes" had a short temper.

After his brother Scott finished testifying, Brian related that Eaton had been asked to leave the camp because he stole from the residents and that Eaton returned to the camp multiple times despite being told to stay away. Regarding the incident, Brian recalled that it happened on February 21, 2020, and that he heard Boyd say "[g]et out of here" four times in a row before hearing a single gunshot. Further, Brian testified that he went to Boyd's tent; that Eaton was still alive but died quickly; that Boyd said, "I can't believe I did it"; and that Boyd admitted to shooting Eaton because Eaton would not leave but claimed he did not want to shoot Eaton. When describing the scene, Brian stated that Boyd and Eaton were five or six feet apart and that there was a martial arts weapon near Eaton's hand on the ground. Although Brian stated that he never saw Eaton engage in violent behavior and admitted that he did not see the incident, he testified that Boyd was forced to shoot because Eaton had a weapon. Moreover, Brian explained that he told people at the camp to call 911, that he left the camp that day for work, that he returned the following day, that no one had called 911 at that point, and that Boyd left the camp that day.

Boyd's friend Fisher testified that on February 22, 2020, Boyd told her that he wanted to leave the camp and that she agreed to pick him up. Fisher related that when she picked Boyd up, he said that he shot someone and seemed distraught about it but did not elaborate any further. Further, Fisher testified that Boyd spent the night at her house, that she encouraged him to go to the police, and that he agreed; however, Fisher related that the police showed up at her house shortly thereafter and took him into custody.

Next, Officer Egan testified that she documented the scene where the incident occurred. When describing the scene, Officer Egan recalled that a .32 caliber cartridge had been covered with bicycle tires near Eaton's feet and that there was a sai under Eaton's left arm. Regarding the sai, Officer Egan initially testified that using it to stab someone could cause death or serious bodily injury and explained that it could have looked like a deadly weapon from a distance. However, Officer Egan later clarified that the sai was very lightweight and that from up close, it looked like a toy and not a deadly weapon. Further, Officer Egan testified that the sai was not capable of causing serious bodily injury but speculated that it could have injured someone if it was used to poke an eye. In addition, Officer Egan said that although the police searched the camp, they did not find the gun used in the shooting. During Officer Egan's testimony, the sai and pictures showing where it was discovered were admitted into evidence.

Finally, Boyd testified that Eaton was violent with his girlfriend when he lived at the camp, that Eaton was asked to leave, that he bought Eaton's tent when Eaton left, that Eaton left some of his property behind, and that Eaton returned to the camp multiple times after being asked to leave. Regarding the incident, Boyd said that he was outside of his tent, that he noticed Eaton moving quickly and purposefully toward him, that Eaton looked mad, that Eaton had an unknown metal object in his hand, and that Eaton said to Boyd that he was "going to kill you, motherfucker." Boyd speculated that Eaton may have been high but admitted that he did not know that. Next, Boyd stated that he told Eaton to "Stop. Get back. Go. Get out of here. Stop." Further, Boyd testified that Eaton continued to move toward him, that he was afraid that Eaton was going to stab him with the metal object, that he had no opportunity to do anything other than defend himself, and that he shot Eaton.

When discussing the shooting, Boyd related that his actions were necessary, that he felt like he would have...