Ime Okon Ekwere v. State

Opinion issued April 14, 2015 In The Court of Appeals For The First District of Texas ———————————— NO. 01-15-00131-CR ——————————— IME OKON EKWERE, Appellant V. THE STATE OF TEXAS, Appellee On Appeal from the 232nd District Court Harris County, Texas Trial Court Case No. 1446601 MEMORANDUM OPINION Appellant, Ime Okon Ekwere, pleaded guilty to the felony offense of theft.1 The trial court found appellant guilty and, in accordance with the terms of 1 See TEX. PENAL CODE ANN. § 31.03(a), (e)(5) (West Supp. 2014). appellant’s plea bargain agreement with the State, sentenced appellant to ten years’ confinement. Appellant filed a pro se notice of appeal. We dismiss the appeal. In a plea bargain case, a defendant may only appeal those matters that were raised by written motion filed and ruled on before trial or after getting the trial court’s permission to appeal. TEX. CODE CRIM. PROC. ANN. art. 44.02 (West 2006); TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2). An appeal must be dismissed if a certification showing that the defendant has the right of appeal has not been made part of the record. TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(d). Here, the trial court’s certification is included in the record on appeal. See id. The trial court’s certification states that this is a plea bargain case and that the defendant has no right of appeal. See TEX. R. APP. P. 25.2(a)(2). The record supports the trial court’s certification. See Dears v. State, 154 S.W.3d 610, 615 (Tex. Crim. App. 2005). Because appellant has no right of appeal, we must dismiss this appeal. See Chavez v. State, 183 S.W.3d 675, 680 (Tex. Crim. App. 2006) (“A court of appeals, while having jurisdiction to ascertain whether an appellant who plea-bargained is permitted to appeal by Rule 25.2(a)(2), must dismiss a prohibited appeal without further action, regardless of the basis for the appeal.”). Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal for want of jurisdiction. We dismiss any pending motions as moot. 2 PER CURIAM Panel consists of Chief Justice Radack and Justices Brown and Lloyd. Do not publish. TEX. R. APP. P. 47.2(b). 3