Travarius Leon Dent v. the State of Texas

Summary

The Thirteenth Court of Appeals of Texas affirmed Travarius Leon Dent’s conviction and twenty-five-year sentence for aggravated sexual assault of a young child. The court held that the trial court properly admitted extraneous-offense evidence to rebut Dent’s defensive theories and that the limiting instruction was not an improper comment on the evidence.

Holdings

1. Because Dent placed his character for nonviolence toward his children and his defensive theory of fabrication and retaliation at issue, the State could introduce evidence of his prior injury-to-a-child offense to rebut those assertions. The trial court did not abuse its discretion under Rules 404 and 403 in admitting the evidence.
2. A limiting instruction directing the jury to consider extraneous-offense evidence only for permissible purposes is not an improper comment on the weight of the evidence under article 36.14. The instruction did not constitute charge error requiring reversal.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion under Texas Rules of Evidence 401 through 403 and Rule 404 by admitting evidence that Dent previously pleaded guilty to injury to a child.
2. Whether the trial court's written limiting instruction concerning the extraneous offense improperly commented on the weight of the evidence in violation of Texas Code of Criminal Procedure article 36.14.

Disposition

affirmed