State v. Dorantes

OPINION GARY R. WADE, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which CORNELIA A. CLARK, C.J., JANICE M. HOLDER, WILLIAM C. KOCH, JR., and SHARON G. LEE, JJ., joined.

The defendant, who was extradited from Mexico to face charges for aggravated child abuse and felony murder by aggravated child abuse, was convicted for each offense. The trial court imposed sentences of twenty-two years and life, respectively, to be served consecutively. The Court of Criminal Appeals reversed the conviction for aggravated child abuse, finding the evidence to be insufficient, but upheld the felony murder conviction. This Court granted applications for permission to appeal by both the State and the defendant. Because the circumstantial evidence [*373] was sufficient to support the convictions for both aggravated child abuse and felony murder, the judgment of the Court of Criminal Appeals is reversed in part and affirmed in part. More specifically, the conviction for felony murder is affirmed, and the conviction for aggravated child abuse is reinstated. No other issues warrant the grant of a new trial on either offense. The sentences imposed by the trial court for each of the two offenses are affirmed.

Facts and Procedural History Luis Osvaldo Cisneros (the “victim”) was born in Mexico on July 16, 1998, the fourth child of Jose Luis Cisneros Servantes (“Cisneros”) and his wife, Martha Patlan-Cano (“Patlan”). Shortly after the victim’s birth, the parents separated, and Cisneros moved to Houston, Texas, leaving his family in Mexico. In 2001, the victim and the three other children joined Cisneros in Houston. On June 18, 2002, one of the children, Martha Bernece Cisneros Patlan, observed Patlan and Genaro Edgar Espi-nosa Dorantes (the “defendant”) abduct the victim from Cisneros’ yard, place him in a black vehicle, and drive away. At the time, the victim, not yet four years of age, was described as “normal and healthy.” He no longer wore diapers. Cisneros reported the abduction to the Houston police and, about two months later, traveled to Nashville in an unsuccessful effort to find the victim.