On January 15, 2014, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin upheld the conviction and 80-year prison sentence received by a Mesquite man for felony DWI in May of 2012.
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Gary Myre, 63, was arrested in Terrell, Texas, on January 2, 2012, after Terrell police were alerted by an employee at Terrell State Hospital that a man who appeared intoxicated came to the hospital to pick up his girlfriend.
Myre was later discovered by a Terrell Police officer at a convenience store using an air compressor to place air in a partially flat tire. Myre was also seen placing a beer in a paper bag on top of the air compressor. When confronted by the officer, Myre denied consuming any alcohol but admitted taking prescription drugs. Myre was subsequently taken to Terrell Renaissance Hospital where he consented to a blood test.
Following his arrest and indictment for felony DWI 3rd or more, Myre was convicted and sentenced to 80 years confinement by a Kaufman County jury in a trial presided over by Judge Erleigh Norville Wiley. During the trial, Myre testified he believed the conditions of Terrell Renaissance Hospital were unsanitary; however, he did not challenge the result of the blood test to which he voluntarily consented.
On February 12, 2013, Terrell Renaissance Hospital was closed, partially due to unsanitary conditions. In a separate DWI case out of Forney involving a different defendant, a blood test performed at the same hospital was challenged in a motion to suppress evidence. That DWI case was subsequently dismissed.
Following his conviction, Myre filed a direct appeal through a court-appointed attorney to the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. On July 18, 2013, the appellate court affirmed the conviction.
Acting as his own attorney, Myre later mistakenly filed a petition for discretionary review in the Dallas court of appeals which should have been filed in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. The Dallas court of appeals forwarded Myre's petition to the court of criminal appeals who deemed it untimely filed and refused the petition.
On November 20, 2013, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reconsidered and granted a motion for rehearing in order to reinstate the petition. Several media reports indicated this "motion for rehearing" would somehow grant Myre another hearing or a new trial at the trial court level. In fact, the granting of the motion for rehearing was simply a method for Myre's petition for discretionary review of the ruling of the court of appeals to be heard by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. That petition was again refused on January 15, 2014.
During sentencing, the State introduced evidence of multiple prior felony convictions which enhanced the charge to a first-degree felony under the habitual violator law of Texas. This was Myre's eighth conviction for DWI according to a Kaufman County press release.
Absent any further post-conviction filings by Myre, the conviction and 80 year sentence handed down by the Kaufman County jury in this case are now final.
Myre was later discovered by a Terrell Police officer at a convenience store using an air compressor to place air in a partially flat tire. Myre was also seen placing a beer in a paper bag on top of the air compressor. When confronted by the officer, Myre denied consuming any alcohol but admitted taking prescription drugs. Myre was subsequently taken to Terrell Renaissance Hospital where he consented to a blood test.
Following his arrest and indictment for felony DWI 3rd or more, Myre was convicted and sentenced to 80 years confinement by a Kaufman County jury in a trial presided over by Judge Erleigh Norville Wiley. During the trial, Myre testified he believed the conditions of Terrell Renaissance Hospital were unsanitary; however, he did not challenge the result of the blood test to which he voluntarily consented.
On February 12, 2013, Terrell Renaissance Hospital was closed, partially due to unsanitary conditions. In a separate DWI case out of Forney involving a different defendant, a blood test performed at the same hospital was challenged in a motion to suppress evidence. That DWI case was subsequently dismissed.
Following his conviction, Myre filed a direct appeal through a court-appointed attorney to the Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas. On July 18, 2013, the appellate court affirmed the conviction.
Acting as his own attorney, Myre later mistakenly filed a petition for discretionary review in the Dallas court of appeals which should have been filed in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. The Dallas court of appeals forwarded Myre's petition to the court of criminal appeals who deemed it untimely filed and refused the petition.
On November 20, 2013, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals reconsidered and granted a motion for rehearing in order to reinstate the petition. Several media reports indicated this "motion for rehearing" would somehow grant Myre another hearing or a new trial at the trial court level. In fact, the granting of the motion for rehearing was simply a method for Myre's petition for discretionary review of the ruling of the court of appeals to be heard by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in Austin. That petition was again refused on January 15, 2014.
During sentencing, the State introduced evidence of multiple prior felony convictions which enhanced the charge to a first-degree felony under the habitual violator law of Texas. This was Myre's eighth conviction for DWI according to a Kaufman County press release.
Absent any further post-conviction filings by Myre, the conviction and 80 year sentence handed down by the Kaufman County jury in this case are now final.