1998-07-20
Dixon v. State, No. 07-99-0336-CR.
64 S.W.3d 469
Dustin Dwain DIXON, Appellant, v. The STATE of Texas, Appellee.
No. 07-99-0336-CR.
Court of Appeals of Texas, Amarillo.
October 31, 2001.
[64 S.W.3d 471]
Kent Birdsong, Amarillo, for Appellant.
Kristy Wright, for State.
Before BOYD, C.J., and REAVIS and JOHNSON, JJ.
PHIL JOHNSON, Justice.
Appellant, Dustin Dwain Dixon, appeals from his conviction for murder and sentence of incarceration for life. He urges that the trial court erred in failing to grant a continuance for him to locate and subpoena a witness and by improperly instructing the jury in response to jury questions during deliberations. He also urges that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
During the early hours of July 20, 1998, appellant attended a party in Amarillo with several of his friends, all of whom were members of the Southside La Familia gang. Some of the gang members picked up Casey Cox, a female acquaintance who lived in the neighborhood, and took her to the party. As the party progressed, Cox and appellant went into a bedroom to have sex. After some time had passed, Nicholas Warr went into the bedroom and found appellant talking with Cox. Appellant and Warr left the bedroom to discuss a matter outside the hearing of Cox. Appellant told Warr that he suspected
64 S.W.3d 472
Cox1 was trying to give him the AIDS virus by attempting to have sex with him. During the party, appellant discussed a plan to murder Cox with Warr and two other gang members, Cory Polley and Stephanie Baeza.
The four gang members lured Cox to neighboring railroad tracks. While at the tracks, appellant confirmed that he was indeed going to shoot Cox. Upon hearing this, Warr, Polley and Baeza decided to leave and walk back to the party. After walking approximately six blocks, they heard a train whistle and a gunshot. At approximately 8:00 a.m. on July 20, 1998, Cox's body was found near the railroad tracks. Cox died from a contact gunshot wound to the back of her head.
Appellant was arrested and indicted for the murder of Cox. A jury convicted appellant of murder and assessed punishment at incarceration for life.