King V. State

Appellant, Clarence Laverne King, was indicted for the first degree felony offense of aggregate theft. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. §§ 31.03, 31.09 (Vernon 1994). After pleading not guilty, he was tried before a jury and found guilty. The jury assessed a $10,000 fine and sentenced Appellant to sixteen years' imprisonment in the Institutional Division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 12.32 (Vernon 1994). On appeal to this court, Appellant assigns twelve interrelated points of error, contending that he is entitled to an acquittal or new trial because (1) the evidence was legally and factually insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he committed the offense and that the offense occurred within the applicable statute of limitations, (2) the trial court erred in denying his motion to sever his trial from the trial of his co-defendant, (3) the trial court's comments to the venire members regarding the presumption of innocence were erroneous and denied him due process of law and a fair trial, (4) the trial court erred in restricting his cross-examination of a witness, (5) the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the statute of limitations and a lesser included offense of theft, and (6) the trial court erred in restricting his voir dire examination to the extent that it denied his intelligent exercise of peremptory challenges and denied him effective assistance of counsel. We affirm.