Cortez v. State

OPINION

TOM G. DAVIS, Judge.

Appeal is taken from a conviction for capital murder. V.T.C.A., Penal Code, Sec. 19.03(a)(2). The jury returned affirmative findings on each issue submitted under Art. 37.071(b), V.A.C.C.P., and, accordingly, the punishment was assessed at death.

The record reflects that during the noon hour on August 30, 1975, the appellant entered Sambo’s Restaurant in Corpus Christi. He sat alone in a booth drinking a Coke he had ordered. Loretta Whitely, the wife of the deceased, testified that she noticed the appellant staring at her while she was working at the cash register.…