Edwards v. State

A jury found Jason David Edwards to be guilty of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon on a peace officer, and assessed as punishment a five (5) year term of imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division. The sole issue raised on appeal addresses the legal sufficiency of the evidence regarding the proof of the “assault by threat” element of the offense. See Acts 1983, 68th Leg., R.S., ch. 977, � 1, 1968 Tex. Gen. Laws 5311, 5312. *fn1

The indictment alleged Edwards “did . . . intentionally and knowingly threaten imminent bodily injury to . . . the Complainant, by pointing a deadly weapon, to-wit: a firearm at the Complainant. . . .” The victim, Robert Ener, was a uniformed police officer conducting a traffic stop. Edwards was a self-described seventeen-year-old runaway wanna-be Latin King from Heartland, Wisconsin. Edwards listened to “gangsta rap” tapes as he traveled from Orlando, Florida, to Beaumont, Texas, in a stolen Escort. A pact between Edwards and a fellow runaway, Chad Potrykus, pledged on their tattoos that, if they were pulled over by the police, they would get in a shoot-out and would not be taken back alive. Ener decided to follow the Escort because Edwards looked away as he passed the squad car. As Ener’s police car approached, Edwards moved a cocked and loaded handgun from under the seat to a position between the seat and the emergency brake. Once the vehicles were stopped, Officer Ener paused at the Escort’s rear tire and instructed Edwards to exit the vehicle. Edwards replied, “Don’t shoot.” As he turned his body towards Ener, Edwards pulled the gun out of its hiding place and moved it in Ener’s direction. Unbeknownst to Edwards, Ener’s partner, Ricky Anderson, had approached the vehicle on the passenger side. Officer Anderson saw the firearm, realized that his partner was about to be shot, called out “He’s got a gun,” stepped back, drew his weapon and shot Edwards twice. Anderson testified that at the moment before he decided to fire, Edwards was making a motion towards the driver’s window. In response to Officer Anderson’s warning, Officer Ener jumped back and drew his weapon.