Court upholds jury's findings

The Third Court of Appeals this month affirmed on remand from the Court of Criminal Appeals the guilty verdict handed down against Craig Jonathan Warner by a 27th District Court jury Jan. 28, 2004.

District Judge Joe Carroll presided over the original case. Lampasas County and District Attorney Larry Allison was the prosecutor, while Jack Holmes of Temple represented Warner.

After three days of trial testimony, the jury in 2004 returned the guilty verdict in two cases against Warner for aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 years of age, said Allison. The jury then assessed punishment at 99 years and a $10,000 fine on each case.

The defendant filed notice of appeal, asserting that the verdict was not a unanimous one in that he was charged with committing the firstdegree felony offense by different means, said Allison.

Since Warner and his trial counsel did not object to trying the two cases together and also did not object to submitting the offenses in a different manner to the jury for its verdict, the issue of harm was submitted back to the Court of Appeals by the Court of Criminal Appeals for a harm analysis.

The question, said Allison, was whether or not a unanimous jury verdict actually was returned since the panel could have found that the offense was committed in more than one manner or means.

On final submission, the Court of Appeals found that Warner did not suffer egregious harm because the jury could have given effect to his defensive theory and acquitted him of the offenses, said the county and district attorney.