Dismissed and Memorandum Opinion filed March 25, 2004.
In The
Fourteenth Court of Appeals
____________
NO. 14-04-00224-CR
____________
JOHN HECTOR SOTO, Appellant
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee
On Appeal from the 337th District Court
Harris County, Texas
Trial Court Cause No. 945,170
M E M O R A N D U M O P I N I O N
After a plea of guilty, appellant was convicted of the offense of arson and sentenced on January 15, 2004, to five years= imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Institutional Division. No timely motion for new trial was filed. Appellant=s notice of appeal was not filed until February 25, 2004.
A defendant=s notice of appeal must be filed within thirty days after sentence is imposed when the defendant has not filed a motion for new trial. See Tex. R. App. P. 26.2(a)(1). A notice of appeal which complies with the requirements of Rule 26 is essential to vest the court of appeals with jurisdiction. Slaton v. State, 981 S.W.2d 208, 210 (Tex. Crim. App. 1998). If an appeal is not timely perfected, a court of appeals does not obtain jurisdiction to address the merits of the appeal. Under those circumstances it can take no action other than to dismiss the appeal. Id.
Accordingly, the appeal is ordered dismissed.
PER CURIAM
Judgment rendered and Memorandum Opinion filed March 25, 2004.
Panel consists of Justices Fowler, Edelman, and Seymore.
Do Not Publish C Tex. R. App. P. 47.2(b).