ACCEPTED

11-15-00036-CR
ELEVENTH COURT OF APPEALS
EASTLAND, TEXAS
12/11/2015 9:02:38 AM
SHERRY WILLIAMSON
CLERK

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
EASTLAND, TEXAS
EDDIE RAY ROUTH
Appellant,
vs.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellee.

NO.

FILED IN
11th COURT OF APPEALS
EASTLAND, TEXAS
12/11/15 9:02:38 AM
SHERRY WILLIAMSON
Clerk
11-15-00036-CR

APPEALED FROM CAUSE NUMBER CR14024 IN THE 266TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

COURT OF ERATH COUNTY, TEXAS; THE HONORABLE JASON CASHON, JUDGE
PRESIDING.

APPELLANTS BRIEF

J. WARREN ST. JOHN

State Bar No. 18986300
2020 Burnett Plaza
801 Cherry Street, Unit No. 5
Fort Worth, Texas 76102-6810
Telephone: (817) 336-1436
Fax:(817) 336-1429
E-mail: jwlawyer@aol.com
Appellants Counsel

Oral Argument Is Requested.

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
EASTLAND, TEXAS
EDDIE RAY ROUTH,
Appellant,
vs.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellee.

NO. 11-15-00036-CR

APPEALED FROM CAUSE NUMBER CR14024 IN THE 266TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

COURT OF ERATH COUNTY, TEXAS; THE HONORABLE JASON CASHON, JUDGE
PRESIDING.

APPELLANTS BRIEF

J. WARREN ST. JOHN

State Bar No. 18986300
2020 Burnett Plaza
801 Cherry Street, Unit No. 5
Fort Worth, Texas 76102-6810
Telephone: (817) 336-1436
Fax:(817) 336-1429
E-mail: jwlawyer@aol.com
Appellants Counsel

Oral Argument Is Requested.

LIST OF INTERESTED PARTIES

Pursuant to Rule 38.1, TEX. R. APP. P., the following is a complete listing of all
parties to the trial courts final judgment and their counsel in the trial court;
1.

The Honorable Jason Cashon, 266th Judicial District Court of Erath County, Texas,
112 W. College Street, Stephenville, Texas 76401.

2.

Honorable Alan Nash, District Attorney for Erath County, Texas, and Honorable
Jane Starnes, Assistant Attorney General.

3.

Appellant, EDDIE RAY ROUTH, presently serving his prison sentence, who can be
served through his attorney of record, J. Warren St. John.

4.

Honorable J. Warren St. John, 2020 Burnett Plaza, 801 Cherry Street, Unit No. 5,
Fort Worth, Texas 76102, Appellants counsel in the trial court.

5.

Honorable Tim Moore, 115 West 2nd Street, Suite 202, Fort Worth, Texas 76102,
Appellants counsel in the trial court.

6.

Honorable Shay Isham, 505 N. Graham Street, Stephenville, Texas 76401,

Appellants counsel in the trial court.

TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF INTERESTED PARTIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i
TABLE OF CONTENTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
TABLE OF AUTHORITIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iii
CASE IN BRIEF. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
STATEMENT OF FACTS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
ARGUMENT AND AUTHORITIES. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
POINT NUMBER ONE:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
THE JURYS VERDICT WAS IMPROPER BECAUSE APPELLANT DID NOT
KNOW HIS CONDUCT WAS WRONG. (RR Vol. XVII - XXV, pp. 86-91, 96-110,
115-122, 222)
POINT NUMBER TWO:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY OVERRULING APPELLANTS MOTION TO
SUPPRESS STATEMENTS TAKEN BY TEXAS RANGER DANNY BRILEY IN
VIOLATION OF TEX. CODE CRIM. P. ART. 38.22 V.A.T.S. (RR Vol. XX, pp. 167174)
POINT NUMBER THREE:. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
IT WAS ABUSE OF DISCRETION FOR THE TRIAL COURT TO OVERRULE
APPELLANTS MOTION FOR MISTRIAL WHEN THE PROSECUTOR PARADED
A VIAL IN FRONT OF THE JURY THAT WAS NOT ADMITTED INTO EVIDENCE.
(RR Vol. XXI, pp. 10-16)

SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
CONCLUSION AND PRAYER. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

ii

TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
CASES

PAGES

Armstrong v. State, 718 SW2d 686, 693 (Tex.Crim.App.1985). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

Bigby v. State, 892 SW2d 864, 878 (Tex.Crim.App.1994). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Cain v. State, 18 Tex. 387, 390 (Tex. 1857).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Creager v. State, 952 SW2d 852 (Tex.Crim.App.1997). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Dragoo v. State, 96 S.W.3d 308, 313 (Tex.Crim.App.2003). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Gardner v. State, 733 SW2d 195, 202-03 (Tex.Crim.App. 1987).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Haynes v. Washington, 373 U.S. 503, 83 S.Ct. 1336, 10 L.Ed.2d 513 (1963) . . . . . . . 38
Ladd v. State, 991 3 S.W.3d 547, 567 (Tex.Crim.App.1999),
cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1070 (2000). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
McCrory v. State, 643 SW2d 725 (Tex.Crim.App.1982).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Miranda v. Arizona, 304 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966). . . . . . . . 37,38
Montgomery v. State, 810 S.W.2d 372, 391 (Tex.Crim.App.1990). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 298, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 1688,
64 L.Ed.2d 297, 306 (1980). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
Ruffin v. State, 270 SW3d 586 (Tex.Crim.App.2008).. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Wead v. State, 94 S.W.3d 131, 138 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2002) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Weatherred v. State, 15 S.W.3d 540, 542 (Tex.Crim.App.2000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

CODES, RULES AND STATUTES

RULE 9.4 (i) TEX. R. APP. P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
RULE 38.1 TEX. R. APP. P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . i

iii

TEX. CODE CRIM. P. ART. 38.21. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38

TEX. CODE CRIM. P. ART. 38.22 V.A.T.S. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,38,47,57

UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

U.S.C.A. Const. Amend 5.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,47
U.S.C.A. Const. Amend 14.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38,47

iv

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS

FOR THE ELEVENTH DISTRICT OF TEXAS
EASTLAND, TEXAS
EDDIE RAY ROUTH
Appellant,

vs.
THE STATE OF TEXAS,
Appellee.

NO. 11-15-00036-CR

APPEALED FROM CAUSE NUMBER CR14024 IN THE 266TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT

COURT OF ERATH COUNTY, TEXAS; THE HONORABLE JASON CASHON, JUDGE
PRESIDING.

TO THE COURT OF APPEALS:

THE CASE IN BRIEF

THE INDICTMENT

CAPITAL MURDER (CR. Vol. I, pp. 972-973)

THE PLEA

NOT GUILTY BY REASON OF INSANITY (CR. Vol. I, pp.

972-973)

THE VERDICT

GUILTY TO CAPITAL MURDER AS CHARGED IN THE

INDICTMENT (CR. Vol. I, pp. 972-973)

THE PUNISHMENT

LIFE WITHOUT PAROLE IN THE INSTITUTIONAL

DIVISION OF THE TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL
JUSTICE (CR. Vol. I, pp. 972-973)

STATEMENT OF FACTS
The following summary is intended to provide a brief overview of the trial testimony.
Further discussion of the testimony will be reserved for the argument and authorities
section of Appellants points of error.
The evidence shows that on February 2, 2013, Chris Kyle, a former United States
Navy Seal, and his friend, Chad Littlefield, went to the home of Eddie Routh, a former
United States Marine. Mr. Rouths mother, Jodie Routh, knew Chris Kyle from the
Midlothian school she had worked at, and knew Mr. Kyle tried to help troubled vets from
overseas. The Dallas VA had diagnosed Mr. Routh with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Mr. Kyle had never met Appellant until the afternoon of February 2, 2013. Mr. Kyle
and Mr. Littlefield, who was not in the military, agreed to help Mr. Routh with his Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder by taking him to the Rough Creek Lodge in Glen Rose, Texas,
which is located in both Somervell County and Erath County.
Mr. Kyle picked up Appellant in his black Ford 350 pick up truck. Mr. Kyle brought
rifles and pistols with him to take Mr. Routh to the gun range located at the Lodge, which
is on the Erath County side. Appellant had been in and out of the Dallas VA and other
mental hospitals many times before February 2, 2013. This was unknown to Mr. Kyle. Mr.
Routh had several psychotic episodes days before with his girlfriend, Jennifer Weed.
Mr. Kyle, Mr. Littlefield, and Appellant, traveled from Lancaster to Rough Creek
Lodge, which took about an hour and a half to drive. There was really no conversation
between the men. Mr. Kyle realized that Mr. Routh was not stable, texting his friend, Mr.
Littlefield, that Mr. Routh was straight up nuts. Littlefield texted back, watch my six. Mr.
Kyle was driving and Mr. Littlefield was in the front, passenger seat.
2

Mr. Kyle, his friend, and Mr. Routh, arrived at the gun range and set up to shoot.
Mr. Routh did not have his own gun with him. Both Mr. Kyle and Mr. Littlefield were
carrying 45 caliber handguns in holsters on their person. Mr. Routh was in the midst of a
psychotic episode believing the two men were going to kill him. As a result of his mental
illness, he shot both men at the range and left in Mr. Kyles black Ford pick up truck.
Mr. Routh went by his uncles house and sisters, saying some very bizarre things.
Mr. Rouths sister called the authorities. Mr. Routh went back to his home in Lancaster.
There, he was confronted by the police.
Lancaster Police Department had interaction with him, he fled in the truck and was
eventually stopped by the police. Mr. Routh made a statement to authorities after he was
arrested asking, Am I going insane?
Mr. Routh was taken to the Lancaster Police Department and was interviewed by
Texas Ranger, Danny Briley. During that interview, Mr. Routh, once again, appeared to
be psychotic and said some very bizarre things. He was arrested for the deaths of Mr. Kyle
and Mr. Littlefield and was eventually taken to the Erath County Jail.
A jury returned a guilty verdict. The Court sentenced the Appellant to Life without
Parole. (CR. Vol. I, pp. 972-973) The Appellant gave timely Notice of Appeal to this
Honorable Court. (CR. Vol. I, p. 1508)

ARGUMENTS AND AUTHORITIES

POINT NUMBER ONE:

THE JURYS VERDICT WAS IMPROPER BECAUSE APPELLANT DID NOT
KNOW HIS CONDUCT WAS WRONG. (RR Vol. XVII - XXV, pp. 86-91, 96-110,
115-122, 222)
Argument and Authorities:
Under the Texas Penal Code 801(a), it is an affirmative defense to prosecution
that, at the time of the conduct charged, the actor, as a result of severe mental disease or
defect, did not know that his conduct was wrong. Under Texas law, wrong in this context
means illegal. Ruffin v. State, 270 SW3d 586 (Tex.Crim.App.2008).
In Bigby v. State, 892 SW2d 864, 878 (Tex.Crim.App.1994), the Court stated that
several expert witnesses testified that Appellant knew his conduct was illegal, however,
these experts contended that Appellant did not know the act was morally wrong. In other
words, Appellant believed that regardless of societys views about this illegal act and his
understanding it was illegal, under his moral code it was permissible. This focus upon
Appellants morality is misplaced. The question of insanity should focus on whether a
Defendant understood the nature and quality of his action and whether it was an act he
ought to do. By accepting and acknowledging his action was illegal by societal standards,
he understood that others believed his conduct was wrong.
Thus, the question for deciding insanity is; does the Defendant factually know that
society considers this conduct against the law, even though the Defendant, due to his
mental disease or defect, may think the conduct is morally justified. Mr. Routh fit this
definition to a tee based on Dr. Dunns evaluation. (RR Vol. XXIII)
4

Dr. Dunn testified to the following:

15

A.

Well --huh-- I discovered that he was having

16

significant symptoms of psychosis not just on the day of the

17

offense but in the several days leading up to the offense -- in

18

fact, the weeks --huh-- going from the incident that occurred

19

with the Ninja swords -- the Ninja sword with Ms. Weed and her

20

roommate and the hospitalization that occurred, you know, at the

21

Green Oaks and the VA, he was having a lot of unusual thinking

22

--huh-- delusion of these people were going to try to harm him,

23

that people were going to try to harm Ms. Weed and even harm her

24

roommate at the time that led to the --huh-- that

25

hospitalization, but even prior to that he was having paranoia

about his neighbor, a guy who, I believe, was a -- actually an

investigator for the Lancaster Police Department --huh--

Q.

led --

A.

individual was with the Mexican Mafia and was a drug dealer,

because he'd seen some type of van backed up to his house, and

so he concluded that this neighbor was actually, you know,

dealing with -- with Mexican gangs and -- and was dealing

10

drugs --huh-- he was --

What -- What about that, what kind of -- what -- what

Well, for months he believed that --huh-- this

11

Q.

Did he tell -- Did he tell you when that was?

12

A.

Just -- Just in the -- in the months before, in fact

13

--huh-- he said that that's part of what he was believing back

14

in that September 2nd incident, with the fish fry, that he was

15

believing that his neighbor was part of the Mexican Mafia, it's

16

not anything that he did anything about at the time, but it was

17

just one of the delusional beliefs that he -- that he had that

18

was kind of ongoing, so he had continued to believe that up

19

through and into the incident that occurred in January with the

20

-- the Ninja sword and -- and, you know, mid -- the -- the mid

21

January hospitalizations --huh-- and then after he got out of

22

that hospital he wanted to -- to go to work, he was working at a

23

cabinet shop.

24

Q.

25

when he got out?

A.

Ms. Weed --huh-- and then when he went to work at the cabinet

shop --huh-- he'd worked there off and on for awhile, and he

trusted -- there were two Hispanic named or surnamed individuals

who worked there, but he started to believe that --huh-- these

individuals maybe were cannibals, and he believed that because

he --huh-- just -- he said his perception was thrown off, that

This is -- This is January 25th, after he -- of 2013,

Yeah, he got out then, he -- he spent the weekend with

the -- their food looked off, like it wasn't food that people

would normally eat, but maybe it was flesh of some sort, and he

10

began to be concerned that they might try to harm him, he

11

--huh-- he said there was a cold snap that was occurring at the

12

time, it -- gotten cold, and the --huh-- the workshop area had

13

a -- had a heater in it, I guess they had floor heaters or -- or

14

something, and he felt that maybe that it was a rotisserie and

15

he was supposed to be cooked, because he was turning his body

16

the way you would if you were on a spit in a rotisserie,

17

thinking that perhaps these individuals were actually going --

18

were supposed to --huh-- eat him and -- and kill him, and he was

19

afraid to have his back to them, normally he would sit at a --

20

at the workbench with his back to them, instead he was kind of

21

sitting -- he said kind of sideways so he could kinda keep his

22

eyes on them the whole time, making sure they weren't going to

23

do something --huh--

24

Q.

25

indication of schizophrenia?

A.

schizophrenia can have, I mean, most -- most people with

schizophrenia don't believe that their co-workers are cannibals,

you know, individuals who -- who would hear this story, who

Now, let -- let me stop you. Is -- Is that an

Huh-- That is the type of belief that people with

aren't used to talking to people with schizophrenia, would think

that that's either so made up or fantastical that it couldn't

happen with anybody, but, yeah, I mean, in schizophrenia, we see

individuals who have really, really bizarre ideas, things that

most individuals have never encountered --huh-- and I -- I see

10

stuff at -- at Terrell every day that, you know, most people

11

just couldn't believe, other people could believe.

12

Q.

13

period of time where he was working at the cabinet shop right

14

before this incident, correct?

15

A.

Yeah.

16

Q.

Huh -- And if he looked normal to his boss and other

17

people --huh-- but he's having these thoughts, how do you

18

explain that?

19

A.

20

like you or I, I mean, if you were to come to Terrell State

21

Hospital's Forensic Unit and look out into the dayroom, most of

22

the time you would simply see, you know, people watching TV

23

or -- or playing dominoes or talking to staff members, I'd say

24

ninety-five percent of the time, if you looked out, you wouldn't

25

even know that you were at a mental hospital, but then somebody

will walk by and they're talking to themselves or

Well, let me ask you this, this was -- this was a

Huh-- People with mental illness, in large part, look

they're --huh-- screaming to somebody they can't see or --huh--

had a woman the other day who tried to pull down her pants and

show me her penis --huh-- I have a guy who believes he's

pregnant with triplets and he was traveling from coast to coast

because the illuminati in California, you know, wanted him to be

there, and he thinks those triplets are going to be born in --

in two years, so I guess he's having elephants, but he truly

believes this stuff, and most people wouldn't know that, you

10

know, that's even what mental illness is about, but if you watch

11

-- if you watch him walk by in the hallway, you -- you can't

12

tell necessarily he has a mental illness, it's -- you know, it's

13

-- he doesn't look crazy, it's not -- mental illness is not

14

like --huh-- being tall, you know, if somebody is tall, you look

15

at them and you go, oh, they're tall, and you ask them, do you

16

play basketball, but --huh-- you know, mental illness -- unless

17

you're talking to somebody -- unless they're clearly, obviously

18

responding to somebody that you can't see or, you know, talking

19

to voices, it's not necessarily the way it's portrayed in

20

movies, I mean, some of the time it is, but that's a small

21

percentage of the time, like I said, ninety-five percent of the

22

time, you know, they -- they're looking normal, and they can

23

even respond to directly to -- to questions that you ask them,

24

it's frequently times when you ask them kind of more open-ended
9

25

questions, do they start kind of going off on tangents that

don't really make any sense --huh-- but just because somebody

looked normal -- sorry, it's a long-winded answer, but just

because somebody looks normal or is able to work in a cabinet

shop doesn't mean that they're not mentally ill.

Q.

may be an indication, would it be correct, that they were not

taking those medications that were prescribed for them or they

weren't working?

And if -- if a person is having those kind of thoughts

(RR Vol. XXIII, pp. 86-91)

Dr. Dunn further testified to the following:
9

A.

Huh-- Well, he told me that in the day before the

10

offense --huh-- before Ms. Weed came over, he --huh-- went over

11

and --huh-- spoke to his -- his neighbor, the one who was the

12

investigator, that he thought was part of the Mexican Mafia, and

13

when he knocked on the door the neighbor's wife answered, and

14

there was some kind of strange aroma that was coming from the

15

home --huh-- but he thought it wasn't the kind of smell you get

16

from cooking a steak, which inferred to me that these people

17

were, again, cooking something else, some other type of

18

meat --huh-- that, you know, would -- would kind of feed into

19

this -- this belief that --huh-- something strange was going on,
10

20

and --huh-- he also said that this neighbor --huh-- and his wife

21

were very small, and he began to think that maybe they were part

22

of -- of blood-thirsty savages, people who might be cannibals,

23

who might eat human meat --huh-- he told me later on in the

24

interview that he also began to get the idea that, because their

25

-- he believes their --huh-- sewer systems connect, that perhaps

his -- a neighbor had been eating his own -- I'll use a word

different from what he used, but eating his own excrement, that

when he would go to the bathroom and flush, somehow that would

go up into his neighbor's home and his neighbor was -- was

eating that. Huh--

Q.

before February 2nd?

A.

was beginning to believe, the --

10

Q.

What else -- What else was he talking about?

11

A.

Huh-- Well, he spoke of what happened that evening,

12

the Friday evening before the offense --huh--

13

Q.

14

spend the weekend with him?

15

A.

16

before -- before she came over he'd had that -- the drink with

And he was -- he was experiencing that --huh-- right

Yes. Yeah, these were things that he had -- that he

And that was when Jen Weed had come over to --huh--

Yeah, Jen Weed came over that evening, he said

11

17

his neighbor, and he also --huh-- had smoked some pot with his

18

friend, Greg Lindamood, and --huh-- that --huh-- felt the

19

marijuana relaxed him --huh-- and he felt very comfortable with

20

his friend Greg, he wasn't feeling paranoid or feeling that Greg

21

was some kind of hybrid --huh-- but that when Jen came over, he

22

thought that maybe she was.

23

Q.

A hybrid?

24

A.

Yeah, a hybrid -- a pig hybrid of some sort --huh-- he

25

said that her ears looked kind of funny --huh-- and he began to

think that maybe everybody around him -- or many -- many people

around him were this kind of strange hybrid --huh-- he said he

was -- what he was thinking -- what was going through his head

that whole night was about --huh-- these people, okay, he said

he had concerns about -- speculation about pigs, and humans, and

hybrids, and --huh-- I asked him, you know, was this something

you'd had, you know, many times before, he said, no, this was --

this was what was occurring that week and it was kind of

building up, this -- this kind of belief was new -- new to him,

10

is not like some other paranoid had when he was previously

11

treated --huh-- he -- he told me he had -- he went to bed early

12

that evening, but he got up early the next morning, he said a

13

lot of difficulty sleeping, hadn't really slept at all, and he

12

14

made some coffee, he --huh--

15

Q.

Now, you're talking about --

16

A.

The Saturday morning of the offense, yeah.

17

Q.

-- the morning of February 2nd of 2013?

18

A.

Right.

19

Q.

Okay.

20

A.

Huh-- He said he got up, it was still dark, he made

21

breakfast, he made a breakfast with egg and bacon sandwiches, he

22

made it for himself and Jennifer, and that he watched her

23

consume a piece of bacon, even though she said she really wasn't

24

hungry, he thought that was pretty weird.

25

Q.

That she ate a piece of bacon?

A.

Yeah.

Q.

Okay.

A.

Because he was thinking she was a -- a pig hybrid, why

would you eat your own flesh -- or flesh of -- of your people.

Huh-- And I -- I asked him -- you know, he said they both got in

the shower, and then he spontaneously said to me, I wasn't

expecting a tail or nothing --huh-- it's as if I was going to,

you know, ask him a question, and did -- did you expect her to

have a -- a pigtail, but he did say her ears looked kind of

10

unusual, different than they've looked before, kind of pointing

13

11

out, and --huh--

12

Q.

When they were in the shower?

13

A.

Yeah.

14

Q.

Okay.

15

A.

And that --huh-- her body looked kind of different,

16

her breasts looked askew, that something had -- had changed in

17

some way, and I asked her (Sic) if he noticed anything else, and

18

he said, when --huh-- when she talked he could see her tongue,

19

which he thought was unusual, he hadn't noticed that

20

before --huh-- but -- and even after the shower, after they were

21

both clean --huh-- he smelled this kind of smell, he called it a

22

musk smell, it was disturbing to him, and he felt it was a

23

different smell than she had ever emitted previously --huh-- and

24

he also felt that it was kind of strange because she wanted him

25

to stay in the shower, even though he was ready to get out,

and --huh-- wasn't sure why that would be.

Q.

taking a shower --huh-- did you -- did you learn through your

interviews that Eddie would go some time without bathing?

A.

without bathing, and so Jen was focusing on getting him showered

when she saw him.

Did you --huh-- don't mean to interrupt, but they were

Yes, that he would go -- sometimes he went many days

14

Q.

Is that typical of a person that has mental health

problems?

10

A.

11

we -- we might have somebody go a month or two without

12

showering, and they get to be pretty ripe. Huh-- People with

13

schizophrenia frequently, you know, aren't aware of the

14

impression that they're making on others, and so they don't take

15

care of the kind of basic hygiene needs that most of us just,

16

you know, take for granted, so --

17

Q.

18

not caring what they look like and not bathing would be some

19

kind of sign of a mental illness?

20

A.

21

diagnosis --

22

Q.

Right.

23

A.

-- but that's consistent with the diagnosis.

24

Q.

So he's telling you about this morning and in the

25

shower, what else did he tell you?

A.

where he told me about believing for some time that his neighbor

was eating his excrement coming through the pipes --huh-- and

thoughts he's had the sense of maybe he'd been eating it the

Huh-- Yeah, we -- we see that quite a bit at Terrell,

So maybe -- maybe dressing sloppily or -- and --huh--

It -- It can be, I mean, that alone doesn't make the

Huh-- He said that they had a -- that's the point

15

whole time, and then he told me that he and Jennifer had an

argument about filling out this VA paperwork, about the -- the

PTSD program in Waco, and --huh-- I -- I told him -- I asked him

at that point, do you think you have PTSD, and he just told me,

I had some kind of disorder --huh-- he told me that he -- he

10

told Jennifer they were breaking up, but she wasn't accepting

11

that, she wasn't accepting that -- that he wanted to break up

12

with her, and I did ask him if she wasn't hearing it because she

13

was a pig, and he -- he just said kind of, sort of --huh-- and

14

--

15

Q.

16

you -- or did anybody tell you that he had proposed to her the

17

night before?

18

A.

19

in the documents and also when I much later spoke with -- with

20

Ms. Weed, she told me that.

21

Q.

Okay.

22

A.

Huh-- And when I asked him -- During the interview I

23

asked him if he still thought she could be a pig, and he said he

24

didn't think so anymore, he didn't think stuff like that

25

anymore, you know, those fourteen months after I saw him, but he

did say spontaneously -- when I -- when I first got here to --

Did you know -- Did you know --huh-- or did he tell

Huh-- He did not tell me that, I -- I saw that in --

16

to the jail, I thought I was was going to be cooked for people

to eat, so he had that kind of ongoing concern. Huh-- He told

me that morning he had -- he had called his Uncle Jamie to come

over, that --huh-- Jamie said he would, and when Jamie arrived

--huh-- Jen soon thereafter left, and he and Jamie --huh--

smoked some whiskey -- I'm sorry, drank some whiskey --huh-- and

then when --huh-- told me when Chris Kyle came to his home, he

was smoking cigarettes on the back porch of the house, he found

10

it odd that Mr. Kyle did not introduce himself or even shake his

11

hands, but --huh--

12

Q.

13

bowl or two of marijuana with Jamie?

14

A.

15

was walking through it he -- he didn't spontaneously just tell

16

me that, but he told me later he had -- he'd smoked some

17

marijuana.

18

Q.

Okay.

19

A.

Huh-- He --huh-- Said when Chris Kyle did come over

20

that he found it odd that Mr. Kyle did not introduce himself or

21

even shake hands and that they just went --huh-- he -- he

22

--huh-- said that he thought initially they were maybe just

23

going to go and talk somewhere, but --huh-- he did remember they

24

had said something about doing some other out -- outdoor

Did -- Did he -- Did he tell you that he'd smoked a

He told me later in -- in the interview he did, as I

17

25

activities, and --huh-- I think when he saw the guns in the --

in the vehicle he was quite -- you know, he was aware of what

that was going to be.

Q.

talk to you about --huh-- getting in the truck with Chris Kyle

and Chad Littlefield, correct?

A.

Correct.

Q.

Huh-- How is he telling -- How -- What does he tell

you he feels like when he gets in there?

A.

10

emotion was as he got into the truck, he did say that one of the

11

first things they did was stop at Whataburger --

12

Q.

Right.

13

A.

-- and that seemed kind of weird to him, because

14

--huh-- he -- he didn't really want anything to eat, but --huh--

15

Mr. Kyle told him you're going to eat, and he ordered him --

16

ordered all three of them --huh-- meals and a Dr. Pepper, and

17

--huh-- that, you know, he felt -- he was sitting there eating

18

his -- or his burger and drinking his Dr. Pepper and he had this

19

big piles of guns next to him, and he was feeling pretty nervous

20

about that --huh-- because it was kind of strange to --

21

Q.

Okay. So -- So at this point he's -- he's starting to

Huh-- Yeah, I don't know if I asked him what his

Did he -- Did -- Did he describe the guns to you?

18

22

A.

He did not, no, he just said it -- it felt weird to go

23

--huh-- do firearms with a group he hadn't met before --huh-- I

24

asked him why he was really nervous about that, and he said that

25

he was still on his pig agenda --huh-- and later on in the

interview he kind of went back and told me when he was at the

Whataburger he did say something to these gentlemen, he -- he

said he asked them, aren't you tired of eating people's shit,

and I asked him if he thought that they were pigs, and he said,

that's what I thought at the time, and then he told me that he

-- the odor that he had smelled at his neighbor's home was the

same odor that he thought he smelled in Mr. Kyle's truck --huh--

and that it made him nervous, in his words, it -- it made my

hair stand up on the back of my neck --huh-- so at that point

10

smelling the same odor, it made him pretty anxious.

11

Q.

12

else about the --huh-- the -- the ride --

13

A.

He --

14

Q.

-- between Lancaster and Rough Creek Lodge?

15

A.

He said that they didn't speak hardly at all --huh--

16

that that -- he tried to keep up his end of the conversation but

17

nothing was said back to him, and that made him even more

18

nervous, and he began to think to himself --huh-- this might be

Okay. And what else did he tell you about, anything

19

19

a one-way trip.

20

Q.

Those were his words "a one-way trip"?

21

A.

Yeah, a one-way trip. I did ask him -- because I had

22

the information, whether he noticed they were texting at all,

23

and he said he -- he didn't notice that, but that they -- he did

24

notice that they were driving --huh-- and --huh-- you know, he

25

-- pretty fast, he got anxious, and --huh-- he did remember that

his girlfriend, Jen, had texted Chris, and Chris asked him if he

wanted to talk to her, but --huh-- she -- she said --huh-- you

know, he told them he didn't want to talk with her, that they

had broken up --huh-- asked what he thought about the fact that

he -- Jen had texted Mr. Kyle and he said she -- she thought she

was bold to send a text to him like that.

Q.

Well, did he talk anymore about the ride over there?

A.

The -- He said that once they stopped --huh-- he had

to urinate, he urinated on the side of the road, and --huh--

10

then when he got to Rough Creek Lodge --huh-- he had to -- told

11

them he had to urinate again, got out and urinated on the side

12

of the road, and --huh-- he still thought it was strange that

13

they -- they weren't telling him anywhere about what -- where

14

they were going and what was going on, and they didn't explain

15

anything to him, and that as they drove apparently through the

20

16

front gate and towards the -- the main lodge area --huh-- he

17

felt paranoid, he noticed there were two white cars that they

18

passed, and that the -- the white cars began to follow him

19

--huh-- he -- he began to think that --huh-- both that Mr. Kyle

20

and Mr. Littlefield were some type of pig assassins, hybrid

21

pigs, sent here to kill people, he said when they did stop at

22

the lodge he also thought it was strange because while Mr. Kyle

23

went in Mr. Littlefield stayed in the truck, but they didn't say

24

-- he didn't say anything to him.

25

Q.

--huh-- is it typical that he could recall the details of this

--huh-- trip?

A.

Is it typical --huh--

Q.

Well --

A.

There's nothing about schizophrenia that keeps you

from remembering things --huh-- I think if he was highly

intoxicated, he would have had difficulty remembering the

details --huh-- memory seems to be -- memory is real

complicated, but we usually remember things the best when

10

there's some type of emotional association with it, as long as

11

we're not so overwhelmed emotionally, so that's -- that's why we

12

usually remember, you know, our first kiss, you know, the first

Well, let me ask you this real quick --huh-- is it

21

13

time we met our spouse, or --huh-- you know, something that

14

really scared us, as long as we weren't scared out of our mind,

15

so if this was some -- if he had a fairly high anxiety state,

16

then it wouldn't be atypical that he would be able to remember,

17

you know, such a thing at all.

18

Q.

19

and Mr. Kyle going in the lodge, and he and Mr. Littlefield

20

staying in the truck, and no conversation --

21

A.

Right.

22

Q.

-- and that concerned him.

23

A.

It did. Huh-- He said that once Mr. Kyle got back in

24

and got in the truck, they proceeded down the road to the range,

25

and that he remembered --huh-- Mr. Littlefield getting out and

putting up the flag, to let people know that the range was --

was occupied, and then went through a gate, closed the gate, and

went to the last of three range areas in -- in that section of

the range, he said he asked them if he could help unload the

guns, because they had a number of guns, but they -- they still

didn't say anything to him, and he said they took maybe ten guns

out of the truck and --huh-- the truck -- parked the truck right

near where they were going to be shooting from.

Q.

Okay. So he remembers stopping at the lodge, and --

What --huh-- After they unloaded -- Well, he -- he

22

10

didn't mention whether he helped unload the guns or not?

11

A.

12

that they didn't say anything to him, like I understood that to

13

mean that he didn't unload the guns --huh-- that they just did

14

it on their own, because they didn't respond.

15

Q.

16

continue to tell you what happened?

17

A.

18

loaded up a 9 millimeter and did -- what he calls slow fired, at

19

a silhouettes target that was painted, about twenty to

20

twenty-five meters away, and that Mr. Kyle at that same time was

21

shooting at a different target to his right, he thought about

22

thirty to forty meters away, but that Mr. Littlefield wasn't

23

shooting at all, which --

24

Q.

And did that concern him?

25

A.

He said that -- that seemed -- in his words, totally

odd to him, he said --huh-- that he knew that Mr. Littlefield

had a pistol on him, but he wasn't shooting, so he thought that

that was really strange, he couldn't really make any sense of

it.

Q.

So he knew that Mr. Littlefield had a -- a gun on him?

A.

Right.

No, he --huh-- Didn't sound like he did, that --huh--

Well, after they unloaded the guns what did he

Huh-- He said that for the next five minutes or so he

23

Q.

Okay.

A.

Huh-- He told me that he --huh-- felt like he was in

danger and that something was going to happen, that --huh-- he

10

then fired at Mr. Littlefield and hit him in -- what he

11

described as center mass, and that --huh-- then he -- he saw

12

Mr. Kyle turning, and he -- he shot at him --huh-- two to three

13

times, in the back and the upper torso, and that w hen Mr.

14

Littlefield began twitching around, he shot him in the head, and

15

that stopped the twitching.

16

Q.

17

Littlefield first?

18

A.

19

first --huh-- he -- he felt threatened by him, I asked -- asked

20

him what he was thinking at the time, he said he thought he'd

21

neutralize the threat.

22

Q.

Those were his words --

23

A.

Yes.

24

Q.

-- was "neutralize the threat"? Okay. What else did

25

he tell you happened after that?

A.

terrible, you know, I shot two guys --huh-- I asked him why, you

know, why he'd -- he'd shot Mr. Kyle, and he said he had a

Did he -- Did he tell you who he -- why he shot Mr.

Huh-- I didn't ask him why he shot Mr. Littlefield

Huh-- That he thought, you know, that's -- that's

24

pistol in his hand, I was sure he was going to shoot me. I did

ask him, you know, why hadn't they shot you up to that point

--huh-- you know, they -- they had guns, you -- why hadn't they

done it, you know, prior to that, and he said that he -- he

thought they were simply biding their time, that maybe there was

a pond nearby, maybe there's a better place, a better time that

10

they -- they could do this --huh-- assassins pick their time,

11

that -- those weren't his specific words, that -- that's the way

12

I understood him to say it, and I asked him why he thought they

13

had give him a gun if they planned to shoot him, he just said, I

14

-- I have no clue.

15

Q. Did he talk about --huh-- leaving after the incident

16

happened?

17

A.

Huh-- Yeah, he did.

18

Q.

Huh-- How did he explain that to you?

19

A.

Huh-- He said that he didn't plan to -- to steal the

20

truck, but there were keys in the truck, and he stood over the

21

bodies for about a minute and he felt -- felt relieved, felt

22

he'd done what he had to do, but he also was -- was in shock

23

--huh-- I asked him if he thought he'd made a mistake, and he

24

did -- he said, yeah, in the Bible it says not to kill anybody,

25

but --huh-- he also said that --huh-- it was necessary when he

25

shot them, I -- I thought it was needed for the situation to get

out of the situation I was in, and I -- I asked him if he

thought others would have done the same in the same situation,

and he said, I think some would and some wouldn't, it's a pretty

shitty thing to do, to -- to kill someone, I asked if he had

simply thought about allowing them to kill him, and he said, no,

absolutely not --huh-- he --huh-- I did, you know, ask him

whether he thought, you know, other people would understand what

he'd done, and --huh-- and he said he -- he f igured he would be

10

arrested, he knew that if you kill somebody the police will look

11

for you, but at the same time he thought he did what he had to

12

do, he was going to be killed or -- or he would have to kill

13

them.

14

Q.

15

point in time he was under some kind of threat from the other

16

two?

17

A.

18

before they killed him.

So in his mind he -- he was under -- at -- at that

Yes, he -- he was acting in self-defense, to kill them

(RR Vol. XXIII, pp. 96-110)

Dr. Dunn further stated:
3

A.

Well, first, that he did have a severe mental disease.

Q.

And can you classify that or explain to us what it is?

A.

I -- I believe that Mr. Routh was suffering from

26

schizophrenia.

Q.

characteristics of schizophrenia?

A.

10

to make a diagnosis of schizophrenia, you have to have certain

11

symptoms or characteristics of the illness --huh-- he suffered

12

from delusional beliefs, that we've discussed in detail, he also

13

exhibited disorganized thinking, and I think that was exhibited

14

probably best by the -- the audiotaped interview -- no,

15

videotaped interview with -- with Ranger Briley, in which he was

16

saying things that were frequently disconnected with the

17

question that was being asked, Ranger Briley kept trying to

18

focus him back in, you know, on the -- on the question that was

19

being asked and didn't explore a lot of the things that Mr.

20

Routh was saying, but he was going pretty -- pretty far afield

21

and saying stuff that simply didn't make sense about house

22

squares, and square towns, and people sucking souls, and chess

23

pieces, just --huh-- kind of all -- all over the place. Huh--

24

He also had, in that interview, and was described by family

25

members, as a, you know, kind of restricted emotional response

-- we -- we use the term "affect", which is basically the

--huh-- perceived mood, the way people interact with -- with

each other, and he had a very kind of restricted affect or a

Okay. And what are the symptoms --huh--

I shared some of these with you before --huh-- to --

27

--huh-- restricted emotional response. To make the diagnosis of

schizophrenia, you have to have two of the categories of

illness, hallucinations, delusions --huh-- disorganized speech,

disorganized behavior or these negative symptoms of --huh--

restricted affect or avolition, avolition means a low desire to

do things --huh-- just kind of the -- the social withdrawal that

10

we frequently see in schizophrenia. Huh-- So I -- While Ms.

11

Weed had reported that he was hearing and seeing things the --

12

the night before and that he had done that bef ore --huh-- he

13

didn't tell me of any hallucinations, I didn't use that report

14

to make the diagnosis of schizophrenia, but to make the

15

diagnosis I relied on the delusions, the really disorganized

16

speech and thinking --huh-- and the --huh-- the negative

17

symptoms or the -- the flattened affect as well, so that's what

18

led to the -- the diagnosis, and I don't think it just started

19

even that week of the offense, but I think it probably started

20

back in July of 2011, when he first had the symptoms of the --

21

the tapeworm and, you know, we talked about the -- the doctors

22

at the VA being against him and the people there being against

23

him, and, you know, symptoms that -- that began, you know,

24

probably around that time, just that they weren't -- they

25

weren't there as prominently for eighteen or -- or twenty

28

months, but that's probably when he -- around the first time he

had symptoms of the illness.

Q.

mental illness.

A.

Yes.

Q.

Huh-- Explain why you feel that --huh-- that you do

not think that Eddie was faking or malingering mental illness.

A.

about how the --huh-- type of symptoms that -- that he described

10

weren't what we normally see in an individual whom -- who

11

malingers, his --huh-- his symptoms -- his presentation was very

12

consistent with what's normally seen in schizophrenia, and it --

13

it wasn't this kind of dramatic, flowery stuff that you see in

14

movies or cartoons, but also I did -- did the testing -- the

15

M-FAST, that I talked about earlier, that was not supportive of

16

a diagnosis of malingering, you know --huh-- I think the -- one

17

of the strongest pieces of evidence that he had of mental

18

illness was not in my interview or my evaluation, but the text

19

that Mr. Kyle sent at the time that --huh-- Mr. Routh was in his

20

vehicle --huh--

21

Q.

Tell -- Tell me why you think that's important.

22

A.

Well, he was always -- he was -- he's the one who saw

23

him the closest to this --huh-- event --huh-- of anybody, and

You talk in your report about --huh-- malingering

Well, I spoke about that some -- a little bit before,

29

24

Mr. Kyle was used to seeing people who were a little bit strange

25

or people with post-traumatic stress disorder, people who were

disturbed by the war, but he text, this guy is straight up --

this dude is straight up nuts, and, you know, Mr. Littlefield's

concerned enough that he says, you know, watch my 6, he -- he

knows that there's -- there's something wrong with the fellow

sitting behind him, and it's not just PTSD, so I think that

that's, you know, pretty strong support for the idea that there

was something really wrong with Eddie Ray Routh on the day of

the offense, and that something wrong was a mental disease.

Q.

10

his interview with Ranger Briley play a significant part?

11

A.

It did.

12

Q.

Huh-- Why?

13

A.

Because it was very supportive of the idea that

14

--huh-- you know, one, he'd felt paranoid about these

15

individuals, that he thought that he had to kill them or he

16

would be killed, and then he had a mental illness at the time,

17

his --huh-- the things that he said -- the -- the marked thought

18

disorganization, the lack of emotional response, the --huh--

19

just -- you know, numerous bizarre statements about --huh-- his

20

thinking at the time --huh-- I -- I -- I killed him today, it

And -- And as part of forming your opinion, did -- did

30

21

wasn't a want to, it was a need to, I had to get out of there

22

--huh-- statements that -- he described them as imaginary

23

headhunters, trying to run everybody down --huh-- he drew a

24

contrast between himself and Mr. Kyle and Mr. Littlefield by

25

saying, I'm not trying to hunt everybody down for what they done

wrong, and --huh-- when Mr. -- Ranger Briley asked him what was

going on, he said, I can't just leave my soul up there, it's not

what it's about, I've got people eating at my soul, so it was

supportive both of mental illness and of this idea that he was

in danger and he had to kill them before -- before they killed

him. Even the -- Excuse me. (Pause) The very first statement

he made to Ranger Briley is, I'm try -- I'm trying to find out

more about the world that I've been living in, too, I never knew

I was in this deep, what -- when I'm looking at those computer

10

screens, when I was in Iraq, I never thought I was, I never

11

thought it was -- I was, I mean, you can look at it, doesn't

12

make sense to you at the time, when you realize that's happening

13

you know --huh-- you're looking like it's astonishing, you know,

14

he's trying to figure out the world, he's saying the stuff

15

that's really bizarre, Briley is obviously trying to get him to,

16

you know, just talk about the offense, and he asked him these

17

questions, he goes through a Miranda warning, and then

31

18

immediately Mr. Routh responds, I never knew that counsel was --

19

maybe you know, counseling between men and women, needed to be

20

more heavy in the world than it did, but when you're all

21

surrounded by --huh-- by all -- by all fronts, where it begins

22

you just can't start in one place, you know, and then

23

immediately thereafter Ranger Briley tries to get him to say

24

again, you know, tell me what happened, and he responds with

25

well, you know, I keep talking to Chris, you know, I keep

talking to Chrises in the world, it seems like every time I talk

to another man named Chris I get sent to another man named

Chris, I think about talking to the wolf, the one in the sky, I

think about fighting through the war, you know, the ones in the

sky are the ones that fly, you know what I mean, the pigs in the

world they can truly say they're pigs, I've been smelling it

this whole time, I'm just tired of everything -- I'm sorry, I'm

tired of everybody's fucking bullshit, I can smell bullshit and

pigshit, you know, I can tell the difference between two

10

different kinds of pigshit -- two different kinds of pigs

11

shitting, I don't know how you can smell your shit, I'm not

12

saying nobody's shit stinking, but shit stinking, you know what

13

I mean.

14

Q.

So, that's kind of the -- the continuation of several

32

15

days of this pig --

16

A.

17

Ranger Briley was asking him, but it's clearly evident that he

18

was having a mental illness, that he's having a lot of

19

difficulty organizing his thinking, and that it pulls in a lot

20

of stuff that he, you know, was telling me about pig hybrids,

21

and -- and pigshit, and -- and other people's shit, and a lot of

22

stinking stuff, but Ranger Briley doesn't know what that means,

23

I mean, Ranger Briley's got a job to do, he's got -- his job is

24

to try to, you know, find out what happened and to see if he can

25

get a confession, it's not to find out does this guy have a -- a

mental illness that might have prevented him from knowing what

he did was wrong --huh-- he does ask him, you know, he knew --

you knew what you did was wrong, didn't you, and at some point

Mr. Routh says, yes, I -- I did, which is what many defendants

are going to say to the officers asking them questions, but the

clear evidence of mental illness in the very initial responses

in that interview I think are, you know, indicative of his state

of mind at the time, are supportive of a mental illness, and are

also supportive of the idea that he believed that he did what he

10

had to do.

11

Q.

Yeah, it's -- it's totally nonresponsive to what

And, in fact, through what you've reviewed --huh-- he

33

12

not only told Ranger Briley that it was either him or them

13

--huh-- he also told his sister that, too, didn't he?

14

A.

Yes, he did.

15

Q.

That he had to get them before they got him. And I

16

guess my point is is --huh-- through your interview with him and

17

-- and other collateral matters --huh-- that was -- that was his

18

major fear, was that they were going to kill him?

19

A.

20

of business and kill them first.

21

Q.

22

delusional thinking but, in his mind, that what he did was not

23

wrong?

24

A.

25

have the right to defend yourself, he defended himself --huh--

Q.

In his mind?

A.

In his mind, right. I'm not saying that's -- that's

logical, but it was logical in his sense, you know, he -- he

believed he was going to die, none of us would have thought that

was the case, we thought that here's, you know, a decorated war

veteran and his friend taking out a guy who's been in the army,

to try to, you know, relate to him and give him some -- you

know, engage him in an activity, isn't -- isn't what they're

He thought he was going to die if he didn't take care

And that would also not only show evidence of some

Correct, if -- if you are going to be killed, then you

34

doing, you know, really helpful thing, but in his mind he

10

thought he was going to die unless he had to -- unless he took

11

care of business.

12

Q.

13

smoking --huh-- a habit of marijuana smoking, and so they --

14

there's -- what we discussed earlier is a substance-induced

15

psychosis, correct?

16

A.

Yes.

17

Q.

Huh-- And you don't -- What -- What is your opinion

18

about -- at the time this offense was committed --huh-- whether

19

or not his psychosis was substance-induced?

20

A.

21

substance-induced.

Now, there's mentioned in the records of marijuana

It's my opinion that his psychosis was not

(RR Vol. XXIII, pp. 115-122)

5

Q.

(BY MR. MOORE) Just to make sure, Doctor, is it your

opinion, that on February 2nd, 2013, when Eddie shot Mr. Kyle

and Mr. Littlefield, that at the time of that conduct charged,

that he as a result of a severe mental disease or defect, did

not know that his conduct was wrong?

10

A.

Yes.

11

Q.

Thank you.

(RR Vol. XXIII, p. 222)

Dr. Dunn is clear in his diagnosis of Mr. Routh that he was legally insane when he
35

shot both Mr. Kyle and Mr. Littlefield.

Dr. Price, a States Expert, came up with some far fetched idea that indicated that
Mr. Rouths behavior was based on smoking wet marijuana. Texas Department of Public
Safetys chemist stated the marijuana smoked by Routh on February 2, 2013 was not laced
with anything.
Dr. Arambula, a psychiatrist for the state, stated that Mr. Routh had a mood
disorder, but could not assert why he thought he had a mood disorder.
It is clear the Appellant met his burden of proof to show that he was insane at the
time of the offense, but the jury chose to disregard Mr. Rouths severe mental illness.

36

POINT NUMBER TWO:

THE TRIAL COURT ERRED BY OVERRULING APPELLANTS MOTION TO
SUPPRESS STATEMENTS TAKEN BY TEXAS RANGER DANNY BRILEY IN
VIOLATION OF TEX. CODE CRIM. P. ART. 38.22 V.A.T.S. (RR Vol. XX, pp. 167174)
Argument and Authorities:
In Miranda v. Arizona, 304 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), Miranda
defines custodial interrogation as questioning initiated by law officers after a person has
been taken into custody or otherwise deprived of his freedom of action in any significant
way.
In Rhode Island v. Innis, 446 U.S. 291, 298, 100 S.Ct. 1682, 1688, 64 L.Ed.2d 297,
306 (1980), the Supreme Court rejected the notion that the Miranda rules were to apply
only to those police interrogation practices that involve express questioning of a defendant
while in custody. The Supreme Court held instead:
Miranda safeguards come into play whenever a person in custody is subjected to
either express questioning or its functional equivalent. That is to say, the term
interrogation under Miranda refers not only to express questioning, but also to any
words or actions on the part of the police (other than those normally attendant to
arrest and custody) that the police should know are reasonably likely to elicit an
incriminating response from the subject.
Id. at 300-301, 100 S.Ct. 1689-1690, 64 L.Ed.2d 307, 308.[footnotes omitted]
[emphasis added.]
The Court of Appeals relied on this Courts decision in McCrory v. State, 643 SW2d
725 (Tex.Crim.App.1982), in holding that appellants statements to Vera stemmed
from custodial interrogation.
In McCrory, supra, a majority of this Court held that the oral statement in question
was the result of custodial interrogation since the record as a whole clearly
established [FN2] that the defendants statement resulted from a calculated
practice which all agents of the State present knew was reasonably likely to evoke
an incriminating response from him. 643 SW2d at 734 [emphasis in original]
The Appellant did not understand his warnings under Article 38.22 of the Texas
37

Code of Criminal Procedure. The Appellant was clearly in custody of the Texas Rangers.
In Creager v. State, 952 SW2d 852 (Tex.Crim.App.1997) states that the voluntariness of
a statement is decided by considering the totality of the circumstances under which the
statement was obtained. Trickery or deception does not make a statement involuntary
unless the method was calculated to produce untruthful confession or was offensive to
due process U.S.C.A. Const. Amend. 14. Appellant would not have given a statement if
he understood that he could terminate the interview. The officer used a method to induce
the Appellant to give a statement that was in violation of the due process clause of the
State and Federal Constitutions. Creager goes on to say that in Miranda v. Arizona, 304
U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), the Court said that the Fifth Amendment
required at least some warnings before custodial interrogation, one being that a person in
custody must first be warned that anything he says can be used against him in a court of
law.1 384 U.S. at 479, 86 S.Ct. at 1630. The Fifth Amendment right is not violated when
a suspect is warned that his statement could be used against him, or could be used for
him. Gardner v. State, 733 SW2d 195, 202-03 (Tex.Crim.App. 1987). Voluntariness is
decided by considering the totality of the circumstances
under which the statement was obtained. Haynes v. Washington, 373 U.S. 503, 83 S.Ct.
1336, 10 L.Ed.2d 513 (1963).
Article 38.21 of the Code of Criminal Procedure requires that the statement have
been freely and voluntarily made without compulsion or persuasion. Even without the
statute, the courts of this state have held that statements must not have been obtained

The substance of this particular Miranda warning was added to the Texas confession statute in 1977. S.B.
157, 65 LegislatureRegular Session, Acts 1977, ch. 348, 2. It appears in Article 38.22 as Section 2(a)(2): any
statement he makes may be used as evidence against him in court.
th

38

by the influence of hope or fear, applied by a third person to the prisoners mind. Cain v.
State, 18 Tex. 387, 390 (Tex. 1857) The ultimate question is whether the suspects will was
overborne. Armstrong v. State, 718 SW2d 686, 693 (Tex.Crim.App.1985) In this case, it
was.
Texas Ranger Briley interviewed Mr. Routh at the Lancaster Police Department after
the incident. Ranger Briley asked Mr. Routh if he wanted to speak to him; Mr. Routh never
stated he would, Mr. Routh was in a psychotic state.

18

Q.

Well, then you say --huh-- he tells you that there

19

have to be councils to keep people accountable, and stuf f like

20

this that people do, they can't walk on the ground with you,

21

they can't walk on the same ground with you, you know what I

22

mean, and you say, right, and I assume you're just playing along

23

with him, correct?

24

A.

25

interview, and I'm certainly going along with whatever he's

going to talk about and I'm going to grab ahold of whatever

themes he's --huh-- talking about and then develop a plan to --

to get down --

Q.

But he's --

A.

-- get down to the truth.

Yeah, this is all at the initial stages of the

39

Q.

But he's just not making any sense, is he?

A.

Huh-- That's true.

Q.

Huh-- And --huh-- you tell him, I -- I want you to

know, I work with the Texas Rangers, and what we do is we

10

investigate major crimes, homicides, we have all the resources

11

that we utilize to look into these cases, you understand what

12

I'm saying, and he says, right, and you say, and I know what you

13

went through today has been very difficult for you, and I want

14

to talk about what happened, and you can start when you woke up

15

today and what happened, and his answer was, well, I kept talk

16

-- I keep talking to Chris, you know, I keep talking to Chrises

17

in my world, seems like every time I talk to another man named

18

Chris I get -- get sent to another man named Chris, that didn't

19

make any sense either, did it?

20

A.

21

about --

22

Q.

That's --

23

A.

-- denial.

24

Q.

-- That's what you're talking -- denial?

25

A.

Yes, denial avoidance.

Q.

He says, every time I talk to another man named Chris,

I get sent -- oh, I'm sorry, he says, I think about talking to

That's -- huh-- some of the denial that I'm talking

40

the wolf, the one in the sky, I think about fighting through the

war, you know, did you ask him what he meant by that?

A.

say --huh-- shocking things.

Q.

it --

A.

Huh--

10

Q.

-- "the wolf in the sky"?

11

A.

Yeah, he -- he -- he will -- he says things that

12

--huh-- are, to him --huh-- means something.

13

Q.

14

ones that fly, you know what I mean, the pigs in the world, they

15

can truly say they're pigs, I've been smelling it this whole

16

time, I'm tired of everyone's fucking bullshit, I can smell

17

bullshit and pigshit, you know, I can tell the difference

18

between two different kinds of pigshit, I don't know you can

19

smell your shit, I'm not saying anybody's shit's stinking, but

20

shit's stinking, you know what I mean, y'all hadn't talked about

21

any pigs or anything like that, had you?

22

A.

We had not.

23

Q.

So you don't respond to any of that, and you say, what

24

exactly happened today after you woke up, and Eddie responds,

25

look, I'm finally getting rest, peace of my mind, you know,

Huh-- No, he likes --huh-- from my investigation, to

Well, that just doesn't makes sense, though, does

So he goes on and says, the ones in the sky are the

41

peace of my mind back that I won't ever get back, that wasn't an

answer to what happened after you woke up, was it?

A.

That's correct.

Q.

And you asked him, what kind of education do you have,

and he responds, just high school, I went to high school, then I

went and joined the Marine Corps right out of high school, and

he continues, it wasn't the street that I was trying for, it was

the streets I was trying to come back and get, you know, the

streets have not been straight in Texas forever, you know what I

10

mean, no town square, there's towns that are square and there's

11

towns that are fixed, but there's no real square towns, there

12

can be, there are square towns around America, there can be

13

prairie towns, there was no -- no response by you, correct, I

14

mean, you didn't ask him what the heck are you talking about,

15

straight towns or square towns?

16

A.

17

he refers to crooked towns, square towns and crooked towns.

18

Q.

19

question, was it?

20

A.

21

he's -- he's still avoiding talking about what we're there to

22

talk about at that point.

Did you say prairie towns a minute ago because --huh--

Okay. But that still -- that wasn't an answer to your

Huh-- It was --huh-- philosophical talk and --huh--

42

23

Q.

That's your opinion?

24

A.

That is my opinion.

25

Q.

So what did you do in the Marine Corps, you asked, I

worked as a prison guard and I worked on guns, you know, tit for

tat, he said -- he continues, who's saying who's right and who's

wrong, nobody wants to admit that they're right, nobody wants to

admit that they're wrong, I'm the only one that can change it,

that's why these are behind my back right now, referring to his

handcuffs, is that philosophical --

A.

He's --

Q.

-- in your mind?

A.

He's just not answering the question.

10

Q.

Okay. Huh-- Then you talk about how he met Chris, and

11

he says, he was protecting the schools, you know --huh-- he

12

responds, when I finally met the guy I could smell him for what

13

he's worth, I was like -- you didn't ask him what he meant by

14

that, did you?

15

A.

16

know, he's -- he's -- he's angry at that point --huh-- about

17

Chris.

18

Q.

19

worth, he was referring to Chris Kyle, wasn't he?

Huh-- It sound like -- seemed like he's angry, you

When -- When he said, I could smell him for what he's

43

20

A.

Huh-- In this part of the investigation, that's true,

21

and then we've heard --huh-- the same towards Chad.

22

Q.

23

other guy's name --huh-- then a little later you ask -- or just

24

a -- a few seconds later you asked, what kind of shooting

25

sports, he responds, well, I imagine they're head -- they're

headhunters, you know, trying to hurt everybody down who did

them wrong before, get them all or something like that, I'm not

trying to hunt down anybody what -- hunt down anybody what I did

wrong or you, did you ask him what he meant by the -- calling

them "headhunters"?

A.

setting himself up for a self-defense.

Q.

reasonable and normal, and you asked him, what happened out

10

there today, shooting sports, what kind of guns, and he

11

responds, I was being reasonable with these boys, they looked me

12

in the eyes and I looked them in the eyes; is that correct?

13

A.

That's what he says.

14

Q.

Okay. And then you asked him, what happened to them

15

from you're perspective, correct, you want to know what his

16

perspective of the situation was, didn't you?

And then he says, he was a Kyle, doesn't remember the

I didn't feel I needed to, it appeared to me he's

Okay. Huh-- Y'all talk about -- Y'all are both

44

17

A.

Yes.

18

Q.

And he respond, well, I can't just keep eating my soul

19

up about this, you know, you can't just keep letting people eat

20

your soul up for free, you know, it's not what it's about, it's

21

about having a soul that you have in you, for yourself, I still

22

got tons of people that are eating on my soul right now, I

23

haven't been able to sleep because I've been waiting for them to

24

come back and get my soul, you know how that feels, that doesn't

25

really make a lot of sense either, does it, Ranger Briley?

A.

know, he's having a -- he's having a rough time, you know --

Q.

Okay.

A.

--huh-- things aren't good in his live, and --huh--

there's a few other expletives that --huh-- other words that --

that you left out --huh-- but he's having a -- he's having a

rough time or at least that's what he's conveying to me at that

point.

Q.

10

understanding, and he says, I just wish the world wasn't such a

11

soulless place, you know, sometimes there's no soul for the

12

soup -- or something about sleep anymore -- and writing down

13

books --huh-- that didn't make a whole lot of sense either, did

Huh-- He's --huh-- He's talking about --huh-- you

Okay. And you -- And you respond by telling him, I'm

45

14

it?

15

A.

No, sir.

16

Q.

And you say, well, tell me what happened out there

17

when -- when you were with Chris and that other guy, and his

18

response -- and that's a pretty straightforward question, isn't

19

it --

20

A.

It is.

21

Q.

-- tell me what happened?

22

A.

Yes.

23

Q.

Well, you know, he says, I've --huh-- seen evidently

24

--huh-- something about, the Reds are eating up all the Indians,

25

the Communist Party wants to run rampant in America --huh--

talks about common groundwork to do, so we can all get better,

there has to be common grounds, then he says, the warlords are

not very happy with me, I know that, everybody knows that in

town, I could start making things right, I mean, obviously, did

you ask him what he meant by "the warlords"?

A.

I did not.

Q.

You just said, I -- you saw your sister today, you

told her something bad happened, right, what did you tell her,

didn't you ask him that?

10

A.

I did.
46

11

Q.

Okay. His response was, I told her I had to kill men

12

today, I had to kill men today was his response, correct?

13

A.

Yes.

14

Q.

It wasn't a "want to", it was a "need to", I had to to

15

get out of that situation I was in today, if not, I was going to

16

be the next one out there getting my head shot off -- shot

17

completely off, you know, that was what he told you he told his

18

sister, correct?

19

A.

That's correct.

(RR. Vol. XX, pp. 167-174)

The State cannot benefit from the admission of Mr. Routhss statement because it
was in violation of Art. 38.22 Tex. Code Crim. Pro. and the Fifth and Fourteenth
Amendments to the United States Constitution. Based on this reason, Appellants Motion
to Suppress Statement should have been sustained. The trial court erred in denying
Appellants Motion to Suppress Statement therefore, the case should be reversed on that
ground.

47

POINT NUMBER THREE:

IT WAS ABUSE OF DISCRETION FOR THE TRIAL COURT TO OVERRULE
APPELLANTS MOTION FOR MISTRIAL WHEN THE PROSECUTOR PARADED
A VIAL IN FRONT OF THE JURY THAT WAS NOT ADMITTED INTO EVIDENCE.
(RR Vol. XXI, pp. 10-16)
Argument and Authorities:
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals indicated in its review of Wead v. State, 94
S.W.3d 131, 138 (Tex.App.-Corpus Christi 2002) that:
An appellate court reviewing a trial courts ruling on a motion for mistrial must utilize
an abuse of discretion standard of review, Ladd v. State, 991 3 S.W.3d 547, 567
(Tex.Crim.App.1999), cert. denied, 529 U.S. 1070 (2000), and must uphold the trial courts
ruling if that ruling was within the zone of reasonable disagreement, Montgomery v. State,
810 S.W.2d 372, 391 (Tex.Crim.App.1990). In addition, the appellate court must review
the trial courts ruling in light of the arguments that were before the trial court at the time
it ruled.

See Tex. R. App. Proc. 33.1; Dragoo v. State, 96 S.W.3d 308, 313

(Tex.Crim.App.2003) (appellate court reviewing a trial court ruling on a motion to dismiss

must do so in light of the arguments before the trial court at the time it ruled); Weatherred
v. State, 15 S.W.3d 540, 542 (Tex.Crim.App.2000) (appellate court reviewing a trial court
ruling on the admission of evidence must do so in light of the arguments before the trial
court at the time it ruled). The appellate court may not fault the trial court on the basis of
arguments not presented to the trial court.
MR. ST. JOHN: Thank you, Your Honor. Huh-10

Judge, it's our position that --huh-- it's a little bit too late

11

in the game to try to cure anything --huh-- Ranger -- the Texas

48

12

Ranger from Dallas County, who testified under oath that he

13

collected these items for -- from my client's house --huh--

14

Eddie Routh's house, this would be Ranger David Armstrong,

15

testified under oath he collected these items found in the tin

16

box, so I will submit to the court he committed a felony in

17

front of this court, committed perjury in front of these twelve

18

folks, and there's no -- nothing you can say to cure his

19

perjured testimony, he testified under oath he collected it,

20

and, matter of fact, the D.A. -- I -- I would suggest the D.A.

21

was in good faith, but the D.A. asked the specific question, as

22

he paraded a vial in front of the jury --huh-- quote, unquote,

23

Ranger, is that the vial -- is that the vial -- is that the type

24

of vial into which you stick a syringe, and the Ranger stated,

25

yes, it is, big discussion about all the drug paraphernalia,

that leaves an inference with the jury that my client has some

type of controlled substance in his home --huh-- there's

testimony there could have been marijuana in there, but

there's -- there's an inference that it could have been

methamphetamine or some other type of controlled substance, so I

would suggest to the court that there's no --huh-- anything you

can do regarding any -- an instruction to the jury to -- to cure

the harm that my client received, based on perjured testimony

49

from a Texas Ranger, who, I would suggest, is a certified peace

10

officer of the State of Texas, knows what to do when telling the

11

truth, collected those items, testified he collected those

12

items, he testified everything in the tin box he collected, and

13

then when brought it out he didn't say, in the presence of the

14

jury, I didn't collect these vials, never stated that, never

15

gave that indication at all, had every opportunity to say that,

16

chose not to do that, so I would suggest that there's nothing

17

you can do regarding the instruction to cure the damage to the

18

jury, basically there's already a skunk in the box based on the

19

misrepresentation of a Texas Ranger, therefore --huh-- since we

20

don't believe anything can be cured, and based on perjured

21

testimony, we're going to ask for a mistrial, Your Honor.

22

MR. NASH: Your Honor, briefly, to address the

23

issue of the -- the allegation of perjury, this witness

24

committed no perjury at all, he responded to inartful questions

25

of counsel regarding an exhibit -- a portion of an exhibit and

its contents, which was revealed and removed here in open court,

there was no misrepresentation about what was seized at the

scene, there was no misrepresentation about the contents of the

box, he had testified he had seized the box, identified drug

paraphernalia in it, and seized it, counsel asked him inartful

50

6
7

questions regarding that vial, this Ranger did nothing wrong.

THE COURT: All right. Having received the

argument this morning, outside the presence of the jury, I will

first find that the nature of the testimony is curable by an

10

instruction, I will allow the testimony to be presented in front

11

of the jury with regard to --huh-- the vial, the nature of the

12

explanation relating to its erroneous admission and its

13

withdrawal, I think that the items need to be marked and

14

admitted for record purposes only, outside of the exhibit

15

numbers, that's 221 and 223, and I will instruct over counsel's

16

objection the jury to disregard -- once that's been done in

17

front of the jury, to disregard the testimony relating --huh--

18

to the vials and that it not to be considered --huh-- for any

19

purpose. I have read the contents of the Defendant's Exhibit 2,

20

which is admitted for record purposes only, and specifically

21

--huh-- the allegation relating to the commission of perjury,

22

the -- it's a narrative by the Ranger, describing what he's

23

pulling out of the tin can, and then when it gets to a relevant

24

part, there is a vial of some type of liquid, which I don't know

25

what that is, pause, that was also found in the tin can as well,

at this point I don't know whether he's describing that he found

it at the crime scene in the tin can, or he found it in the tin

51

can as he was removing exhibits during the course of the trial,

so I'll not consider any perjured testimony at -- at this time,

in any event, I don't think it's material --huh-- to the

proceedings. In that regard, I think counsel wishes to make an

additional objection, I'm overruling --huh-- the objection with

regard to the limiting instruction, I will provide it, I think

you can certainly cure what has been put in front of the jury,

10

especially coupled with testimony backing back out of that

11

scenario. Any further motion?

12

MR. ST. JOHN: Well, may I -- Now, let me make

13

sure I understand the court's ruling clearly, so you're not

14

telling the court that, during closing argument, we can't

15

address the issue about the Ranger misrepresenting something to

16

the jury, can you?

17
18

THE COURT: I'm -- I'm allowing both sides to

argue that for what can reasonably be inferred therefrom.

19

MR. ST. JOHN: Thank you, Your Honor.

20

THE COURT: Uh-huh.

21

MR. NASH: Just for clarification, Your Honor,

22

may I address the court in the presence of the jury concerning

23

the -- what we anticipate doing with this exhibit?

24

THE COURT: You may.

25

MR. NASH: Thank you.

52

MR. ST. JOHN: And also I still request the court

to give a specific instruction after he addresses the jury

regarding those issues, Your Honor.

THE COURT: I will draft a specific instruction,

and, in fact, I'm going to tell them to disregard the existence

of the vials and the testimony related thereto with regard to

the syringe, but I am not going to mention anything about this

testimony regarding how or when it was found or what condition.

MR. ST. JOHN: Yes, Your Honor.

10

THE COURT: That's a dangerous position for this

11

court to be, I think.

12

MR. ST. JOHN: Thank you, Your Honor.

13

MR. NASH: Yes, sir.

14

THE COURT: All right. Anything further by

15

either side?

16

MR. NASH: No, Your Honor.

17

MR. ST. JOHN: No, Judge.

18

THE COURT: Okay. Bring the jury in.

19
20

(Jury enters at 9:20 a.m.)

THE COURT: All right. You can be seated in the

21

courtroom.

22

(Pause)

23

THE COURT: Record will reflect the jury's in the

53

24

jury box this morning, we got a little late start. Huh-- But,

25

in any event, state's counsel is present at counsel table, as

well as the defendant and defense counsel. Mr. Nash, you may

proceed.

MR. NASH: Your Honor, before I -- we call our

first witness may I address the court?

THE COURT: You may.

MR. NASH: Your Honor, I need to bring something

to the court's attention, which we have done informally --huh--

yesterday, and -- and as well as counsel, on Friday, testimony

was presented through Texas Ranger David Armstrong, concerning

10

--huh-- certain exhibits which were identified through the

11

search of the defendant's home, on February the 2nd, 2013,

12

specifically we're dealing with State's Exhibit 221 --huh--

13

which was admitted and is identified as a -- a bong or hookah

14

pipe, which was in the -- and the contents of a metal box, and

15

State's Exhibit 223, which was a metal tin box --huh-- in which

16

was contained drug paraphernalia and other items, over the

17

weekend it came to the state's attention that a certain glass

18

vial of clear liquid, with a metal top and a rubber insert, was

19

-- was placed in those items through the testing process at the

20

DPS Crime Lab in Garland, that item -- those glass vials, which
54

21

are in each of those two exhibits, were not present when the

22

items were seized from the home of the defendant, as officers of

23

the court, it is our duty to notify the court and state for the

24

record that we stipulate and represent to the court that those

25

glass vials were not present at the home of the defendant on

February the 2nd, 2013, and that those glass vials should not be

attributed to the possession of the defendant, those glass vials

were produced and inserted into the exhibit as part of the

testing process, that was not known to the state at the time the

exhibits were presented, and we will be asking the court,

through testimony of the -- the --huh-- DPS Crime Lab Chemist,

Ms. Jennifer Rumppe, here in a moment we'll be asking her to

identify the glass vials, explain how they were produced, and at

that time we'll be asking the court to remove those glass vials

10

from each of State's Exhibit 221 and 223. In addition, Your

11

Honor, we'll be asking the court to instruct the jury to

12

disregard any testimony which was offered concerning those glass

13

vials, specifically any reference to them as having been

14

contained in the box of -- boxes of drug paraphernalia found in

15

the defendant's home, and specifically for State's Exhibit 223,

16

the glass vial that was removed from that box, any reference to

17

the susceptibility of the insertion of a syringe into that glass

55

18

vial. We represent to the court at this time, in all fairness

19

to the defendant, that those glass vials did not belong to the

20

defendant.

21
22
23

MR. ST. JOHN: Huh-- Your Honor, based on that

representation by the State of Texas, we move for a mistrial.
THE COURT: Overruled. Call your witness.

(RR. Vol. XXI, pp. 10-16)

The instruction by the Court to the jury did not cure the harm to the Appellant
created by the Prosecutors comment.

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SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT
The jury returned an improper verdict because the Appellant did not know his
conduct was wrong.
The Trial Court erred by overruling Appellants Motion to Suppress Statement taken
by Texas Ranger Danny Briley in violation of Tex. Code Crim. P. Art. 38.22 V.A.T.S.
It was abuse of discretion for the Trial Court to overrule Appellants Motion for
Mistrial when the Prosecutor paraded a vial in front of the jury that was not entered into
evidence.

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CONCLUSION AND PRAYER

Appellant has presented three independent points of error, any of which, if
sustained, would warrant reversal of the case. Appellant therefore prays that his conviction
be overturned with instructions that the trial court acquit Appellant of all charges against
him. Alternatively, Appellant requests reversal of the conviction against him and remand
to the trial court for a new trial. Finally, Appellant requests further relief either in law or in
equity to which he is justly entitled.

Respectfully Submitted,

/S/ J. Warren St. John

J. WARREN ST. JOHN
State Bar No. 18986300
2020 Burnett Plaza
801 Cherry Street, Unit No. 5
Fort Worth, Texas 76102-6810
Telephone: (817) 336-1436
Fax:(817) 336-1429
jwlawyer@aol.com
ATTORNEY FOR APPELLANT

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE
A copy of this brief has been delivered to the Honorable Alan Nash, Erath County
District Attorney, P.O. Box 30, Stephenville, Texas 76401 and mailed to Appellant, EDDIE
RAY ROUTH, on this 11th day of December, 2015.

/S/ J. Warren St. John

59

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLIANCE WITH RULE 9.4(i)

Certificate of Compliance with Type-Volume Limitation

This brief contains 13,412 words, in compliance with TEX.R.APP.P 9.4(i)

/S/ J. Warren St. John

DATED: December 11, 2015

60