Full Opinion

TEXAS COURT OF APPEALS, THIRD DISTRICT, AT AUSTIN NO. 03-24-00734-CR Mark Briones, Appellant v. The State of Texas, Appellee FROM THE 22ND DISTRICT COURT OF HAYS COUNTY NO. CR-22-3531-A, THE HONORABLE R. BRUCE BOYER, JUDGE PRESIDING MEMORAN D U M OPI N I ON A jury convicted Appellant Mark Briones of capital murder of a person under ten years old. See Tex. Penal Code § 19.03(a)(8). The trial court sentenced him to life in prison without parole. See id. § 12.31(a)(2). Briones’s court-appointed counsel on appeal has filed a motion to withdraw and a brief pursuant to Anders v. California, 386 U.S. 738, 744 (1967). The brief meets the requirements of Anders by presenting a professional evaluation of the record demonstrating why there are no arguable grounds to be advanced. See id. at 744-45; see also Penson v. Ohio, 488 U.S. 75, 81–82 (1988); Garner v. State, 300 S.W.3d 763, 766 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009). Counsel has certified to this Court that he has provided Briones with a copy of the motion and brief, advised him of his right to examine the appellate record and file a pro se response, and provided him with a copy of the appellate record. See Kelly v. State, 436 S.W.3d 313, 319–20 (Tex. Crim. App. 2014). No pro se brief has been filed. Upon receiving an Anders brief, we must conduct a full examination of the record to determine whether the appeal is wholly frivolous. See Penson, 488 U.S. at 80; Bledsoe v. State, 178 S.W.3d 824, 826–27 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005); Stafford v. State, 813 S.W.2d 503, 511 (Tex. Crim. App. 1991). The record reflects that the State charged Briones with intentionally or knowingly causing the death of Angela, 1 an individual under ten years of age, by shaking, squeezing, or striking her. The State abandoned the allegations of shaking and squeezing prior to trial. The jury heard evidence that Angela was seven months old when she died from blunt head trauma. Mother testified that she and Angela lived in a house with Angela’s paternal aunt and Aunt’s friend, Briones. Mother left the home at 10 a.m. that day. She testified that Angela had a bruise on her forehead from falling off her bed a couple weeks prior, but that she did not have any other bruises. Mother had taken a photo of Angela that morning before she left for work, which was admitted into evidence. She testified that she had left Angela in Briones’s care that day. Aunt testified that she arrived home about 4:30 p.m. that day. She testified that Briones told her that Angela had fallen off his bed and that something was wrong with her. Aunt drove Angela and Briones to the hospital. Nurse Kyla Cline testified that Angela was dead when she arrived at the hospital— she had no heartbeat and was not breathing. She testified that the medical team was able to get a pulse, but that Angela showed signs of serious brain damage. She testified that after circulation was restored, bruises started to develop as a result of the return of circulation. Because the victim was a minor at the time of the offense, we will refer to her by a 1 pseudonym and her family members based on their relationship to her. See Tex. R. App. P. 9.10(a)(3). 2 Dr. Dhvani Shanghvi, a pediatrician who treated Angela at the hospital, testified that Angela had subdural hemorrhaging on both sides of her brain, retinal hemorrhages (bleeding at the back of the eyes), and bruising on her face, head, ears, and buttocks. She testified that Angela’s injuries were not consistent with a fall from a bed but were caused by nonaccidental trauma. She testified that the symptoms of the brain injury—such as fussiness, seizures, vomiting, or cardiorespiratory arrest—would have been visible at or around the time that they were sustained. Photos of Angela’s injuries were admitted. Dr. Jennifer Dierksen, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Angela, testified that the cause of death was blunt head trauma and the manner of death was homicide. Dr. Dierksen testified that the symptoms were not consistent with a fall from a bed and that they would have developed almost immediately. When showed the picture of Angela taken by Mother the morning of the incident, Dr. Dierksen testified that it was unlikely that the injuries had occurred prior to that picture being taken. Detective Pedro Carrasco, Jr. testified that he interviewed Briones, who told him that he was alone with Angela when he heard her scream. Briones stated that he went to check on her and saw that she had fallen off the bed and that she was limp on her back. Briones told Detective Carrasco that he began CPR. A video recording of Briones’s police interview was admitted. Sergeant Timothy Owens testified that medical personnel at the hospital told him the time range that the injuries were sustained—which corresponded with the time period that Briones was alone with Angela. At the conclusion of trial, the trial court charged the jury on the law related to the offense of capital murder. The court’s charge tracked the allegations in the indictment. After hearing all the evidence, the jury found Briones guilty of capital murder. The State did not seek 3 the death penalty in this case, and thus, no additional evidence was presented during the punishment phase and the trial court sentenced Briones to the statutorily required punishment of life in prison without parole. See Tex. Penal Code § 12.31(a)(2). We have reviewed the record and counsel’s brief. We agree with counsel that the appeal is frivolous and without merit. We find nothing in the record that might arguably support the appeal. We grant counsel’s motion to withdraw and affirm the judgment of conviction. __________________________________________ Gisela D. Triana, Justice Before Justices Triana, Theofanis, and Crump Affirmed Filed: October 14, 2026 Do Not Publish 4