Hector Bernal v. State

LEE YEAKEL, Justice.

A jury found appellant guilty of aggravated robbery and assessed punishment, enhanced by two previous felony convictions, at imprisonment for thirty-three years. See Tex. Penal Code Ann. § 29.03 (West 1994). Appellant’s only issue on appeal poses the question whether the admission in evidence of an unsworn out-of-court statement violated article I, section 5 of the Texas Constitution. We will answer this question in the negative and affirm the conviction.

Three men robbed Brian Mikulencak at knifepoint on a sidewalk near the University of Texas campus. Moments later,…