Terel Devon Houston v. the State of Texas

Opinion filed June 13, 2024

In The

Eleventh Court of Appeals
___________

Nos. 11-24-00087-CR, 11-24-00088-CR, & 11-24-00089-CR
___________

TEREL DEVON HOUSTON, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee

On Appeal from the 118th District Court
Howard County, Texas
Trial Court Cause Nos. 16720, 16722, & 16916

MEMORANDUM OPINION
On March 13, 2024, Appellant, Terel Devon Houston, pleaded guilty to three
felony offenses: two possession-of-a-controlled-substance offenses and one theft-of-
a-firearm offense. See TEX. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE ANN. § 481.115 (West Supp.
2023); TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 31.03(a), (e)(4)(C) (West Supp. 2023). Pursuant
to plea bargain agreements between Appellant and the State, the trial court sentenced
Appellant to ten years’ imprisonment in the Institutional Division of the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice for the possession offenses and 180 days’
confinement in the State Jail Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
for the theft-of-a-firearm offense. The trial court ordered that Appellant’s sentences
be served concurrently. Appellant filed a pro se notice of appeal from the trial
court’s judgments. 1 We dismiss the appeals.
When these appeals were docketed, we notified Appellant in each case that
the trial court had certified that (1) this is a plea bargain case in which Appellant has
no right of appeal, and (2) Appellant had waived the right of appeal. See TEX. R.
APP. P. 25.2(a)(2), (d); see also TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 44.02 (West
2018). We requested that Appellant respond and show grounds to continue these
appeals, but we have not received a response.
Rule 25.2(a)(2) provides that, in a plea bargain case in which the punishment
imposed does not exceed the punishment agreed to by the parties, “a defendant may
appeal only: (A) those matters that were raised by written motion filed and ruled on
before trial, (B) after getting the trial court’s permission to appeal, or (C) where the
specific appeal is expressly authorized by statute.” TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2); see
also CRIM. PROC. art. 44.02. Subsections (A), (B), and (C) are not applicable here.
We further note that Rule 25.2 does not permit a plea-bargaining defendant to appeal
matters related to the voluntariness of his plea unless the defendant has obtained the
trial court’s permission to appeal. See Cooper v. State, 45 S.W.3d 77, 83 (Tex. Crim.
App. 2001); Carender v. State, 155 S.W.3d 929, 931 (Tex. App.—Dallas 2005, no
pet.).
The documents on file show that, in each case, Appellant entered into a plea
bargain agreement, his punishment was assessed by the trial court in accordance with
the plea bargain agreement, and he waived his right of appeal. Further, in each case,
the trial court certified that Appellant has no right of appeal and that he waived this
right. The trial court’s certifications were signed by Appellant, Appellant’s trial

We note that, while Appellant listed all three trial court cause numbers in his pro se notice of
1

appeal, he only requested an appeal of the ten-year sentence he “gained through a plea bargain on March 13,
2024.”
2
counsel, and the presiding judge of the trial court. The documents on file in this
court support the trial court’s certifications. See Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610,
613–14 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). Accordingly, we must dismiss these appeals
without further action. TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(d); Chavez v. State, 183 S.W.3d 675,
680 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006).
We dismiss these appeals.

W. STACY TROTTER
JUSTICE

June 13, 2024
Do not publish. See TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b).
Panel consists of: Bailey, C.J.,
Trotter, J., and Williams, J.

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