Full Opinion

In The Court of Appeals Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo No. 07-25-00308-CR EVAN SAMUEL CANTRELL, APPELLANT V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE On Appeal from the 78th District Court Wichita County, Texas Trial Court No. DC78-CR2023-1546, Honorable Meredith Kennedy, Presiding July 15, 2026 MEMORANDUM OPINION Before PARKER, C.J., and YARBROUGH and PRATT, JJ. Appellant, Evan Samuel Cantrell, appeals his conviction for aggravated sexual assault of a child 1 and sentence to thirty years of confinement. 2 Appellant’s brief was originally due March 19, 2026, but we granted Appellant’s counsel three extensions to file a brief due to counsel’s caseload. By letter of June 9, 2026, we admonished Appellant’s 1 See TEX. PENAL CODE § 22.021. 2 Originally appealed to the Second Court of Appeals, this appeal was transferred to this Court by the Texas Supreme Court pursuant to its docket equalization efforts. See TEX. GOV’T CODE § 73.001. counsel that no further extensions would be granted and that failure to file a brief by July 6, 2026, would result in the appeal being abated and the cause remanded to the trial court for further proceedings without further notice. To date, Appellant’s counsel has neither filed a brief nor had any further communication with this Court. Accordingly, we abate the appeal and remand the cause to the trial court for further proceedings. See TEX. R. APP. P. 38.8(b)(2), (3). Upon remand, the trial court shall determine the following: 1. whether Appellant still desires to prosecute the appeal; 2. whether Appellant is indigent; 3. if Appellant is not indigent, whether Appellant has made the necessary arrangements for filing a brief; 4. why a timely appellate brief has not been filed on behalf of Appellant; 5. whether Appellant’s counsel has abandoned the appeal; 6. whether Appellant has been denied the effective assistance of counsel; 7. whether new counsel should be appointed; and 8. if Appellant desires to continue the appeal, the date the Court may expect Appellant’s brief to be filed. The trial court is also directed to enter such orders necessary to address the aforementioned questions. So too shall it include its findings on those matters in a supplemental record and cause that record to be filed with this Court by September 1, 2026. If it is determined that Appellant desires to proceed with the appeal, is indigent, and has been denied the effective assistance of counsel, the trial court may appoint new counsel; the name, address, email address, phone number, and state bar number of any newly appointed counsel shall be included in the aforementioned findings. 2 Should Appellant’s counsel file a brief on or before the date the trial court acts per our directive, he shall immediately notify the trial court of the filing, in writing, whereupon the trial court shall not be required to take any further action. It is so ordered. Per Curiam Do not publish. 3