Alan Angelo Navarro v. the State of Texas

Summary

The Fourth Court of Appeals of Texas affirmed Alan Angelo Navarro’s convictions for two counts of sexual assault and one count of felony assault. The court held that testimony from Navarro’s ex-wife regarding prior violence was admissible to rebut his defensive theories and show the charged conduct was intentional rather than accidental. The court also concluded that any error would have been harmless and that Navarro failed to preserve his Rule 403 objection.

Holdings

1. The running objection did not preserve the challenge because it addressed evidence of incidents between Navarro and NQ, whereas the appellate complaint concerned testimony about violence during Navarro's marriage to his ex-wife. Navarro's separate objection outside the jury's presence did preserve error as to the ex-wife's testimony.
2. The trial court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the ex-wife's testimony. Although the trial court appeared to rely on rebuttal character evidence under Rule 404(a)(2)(A), the evidence was independently admissible under Rule 404(b)(2) to rebut Navarro's defensive theory that the charged violence was accidental or resulted merely from pushing NQ away.
3. Even assuming the admission of the ex-wife's testimony was error, reversal was not warranted because the nonconstitutional error did not affect Navarro's substantial rights.
4. Navarro's Rule 403 challenge was not preserved because he did not make a Rule 403 objection to the ex-wife's testimony in the trial court.

Questions Presented

1. Whether the trial court abused its discretion by admitting testimony from Navarro's ex-wife concerning violence during their marriage.
2. Whether Navarro's running objection preserved an evidentiary challenge to the ex-wife's testimony.
3. Whether admission of the ex-wife's testimony, even if erroneous, was harmless under Texas Rule of Appellate Procedure 44.2(b).
4. Whether Navarro preserved a challenge under Texas Rule of Evidence 403.

Disposition

affirmed