GREENVILLE —
A state court has denied the appeal of a Caddo Mills man, who pleaded guilty last fall to a charge of murder.
The Sixth District Court of Appeals considered arguments June 21 in the appeal of Randall Douglas Smith, who was sentenced to prison for the 2009 shooting death of Gregory Poteet, also of Caddo Mills.
Smith had argued in his appeal that his guilty plea was involuntary and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel during trial.
In an opinion issued Friday, Chief Justice Josh R. Morriss III indicate there was no evidence of either claim.
“The trial court concluded, as do we, that Smith’s guilty pleas were entered knowingly and voluntarily,” Morriss wrote. “Additionally, the record demonstrates that Smith was satisfied with counsel’s representation, that the charges against him were explained, and that he understood the consequences of his plea. We find that Smith’s claims are not firmly founded in the record. Accordingly, we overrule his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel.”
Poteet was shot four times in the back after the two spent a day and night of heavy drinking. Smith claimed he was acting in self-defense as he and Poteet struggled over a gun.
Smith entered an open plea of guilty — meaning no plea bargain had been arranged — Oct. 10, 2011. Prosecutors rested their case in the punishment hearing two days later. On Oct. 26, 2011, following the completion of a pre-sentence investigation, Beacom sentenced Smith to 50 years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice-Institutional Division.
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July 9, 2012
Appeal denied in Caddo Mills murder case
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