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Saldana v. State

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A jury found appellant Leonard Saldana guilty of capital murder. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. � 19.03(a)(2) (West 1994). Pursuant to the jury’s findings at the punishment phase of trial, the district court assessed punishment at life imprisonment. See id. � 12.31(a); Tex. Code Crim. Proc. Ann. art. 37.071, � 2 (West Supp. 2001). Appellant challenges his conviction by four points of error. We will affirm the conviction.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

Appellant and the victim, Sylvia Hernandez, lived together in Austin until January 1998. They had one daughter. On January 12 Hernandez called police after she and appellant argued. Hernandez reported to the responding officer that after she told appellant that she was ending their relationship, he pointed a gun at her at said, “This isn’t over until one of us is dead.” Hernandez obtained a protective order on January 14, which forbade appellant from going within two hundred yards of Hernandez or any location where appellant knew her to be. She also moved with her daughter into her parents’ home and continued living there until her death on April 4. On March 5 Austin police received a call from Hernandez complaining of a violation of the protective order. The responding officer testified that Hernandez reported to him that appellant had “pulled alongside her [car] and started yelling to her.” In the early morning of March 15, Hernandez “flagged down” a police officer and reported that appellant had harassed her and tried to keep her from leaving a party. She further reported that appellant had damaged her vehicle. Later on that same evening, Hernandez reported to police that appellant had “tried to come in the back of her house from the back window.” On March 28 Hernandez called the police to complain of a disturbance at her home. She reported that appellant had come to her house, banged on the front door, and broken the windows in her bedroom.

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