The Ninth District Court of Appeals in Texas has upheld the conviction of Renaldo Earnest Dotson for the murder of Isaiah Wagner. Dotson was found guilty of first-degree murder by a jury and sentenced to 65 years in prison. The court’s decision, delivered in a memorandum opinion, addressed Dotson’s challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence presented at trial.
The Crime and the Investigation
The case stems from the shooting death of Isaiah Wagner on January 30, 2022, at the Beaumont Heights apartment complex in Jefferson County, Texas. Officer Nathan Hodges of the Beaumont Police Department (BPD) was one of the first responders to the scene. He testified that the area around Wagner’s body was littered with shell casings, suggesting Wagner was “hunted.”
Officer Reginald Boseman, also with the BPD, testified that Wagner was found in a pool of blood with multiple shell casings nearby, including 9-millimeter and .45 caliber casings. He noted the pattern of the casings indicated Wagner was likely running when shot.
Witness Amanda, who lived in a neighboring apartment complex, testified that she was awakened by gunshots around midnight. She saw two vehicles leaving the Beaumont Heights complex and later encountered a woman, who appeared distressed and admitted to being present at the shooting. The woman, who was later identified as Mychelle Cole, sought refuge in Amanda’s apartment. Amanda described the woman’s gun as a two-tone, dark brown and light brown automatic.
Officer Erika Sauceda, also with the BPD, testified that she did not see any vehicles leaving the scene or anyone running away. Officer Robert Rector created computerized diagrams of the crime scene and evidence.
Katie, the manager of the Beaumont Heights complex, testified that Wagner was not a resident of the complex. Surveillance footage from the complex was admitted into evidence, which showed a vehicle matching the description of a Hyundai Sonata entering and leaving the complex around the time of the shooting.
Lieutenant Andre Reynolds of the BPD described the scene as “violent” and “large in scale.” He testified that the physical evidence suggested multiple weapons of varying calibers were used.
Key Witness Testimony
Tina, Wagner’s ex-girlfriend, testified that she knew Dotson as “Ernie” and believed he was a cousin of Kedrain Perkins, who she was dating at the time. She testified about a prior shooting on January 24, 2022, involving Wagner, Perkins, and Dotson, where she overheard either Dotson or Perkins describe Wagner running and trying to avoid gunshots. She confirmed she knew Dotson as “Ernie” and identified him as the defendant in court. She also knew that Perkins was involved in the crime.
Michelle Ceja, a BPD crime scene technician, collected evidence at the scene, including shell casings and bullet fragments. Brandi Dyson, from the BPD crime scene unit, testified that she processed an iPhone collected from the scene and obtained fingerprints that matched Wagner’s.
Officer Ryan Flanigan testified that he was dispatched to look for a gray Hyundai Sonata connected to the homicide. He identified Perkins and Dotson as being inside the car when it was stopped. He also testified about the shooting on January 24, 2022, in which Wagner was shot at and Perkins was a suspect.
Detective Jason Torres of the BPD investigated the crime scene and obtained surveillance footage. He testified that the shooting occurred around 11:57 p.m. on January 30, 2022, and identified Dotson as the defendant.
Detective Nick Thompson of the BPD also assisted at the scene and learned that Wagner’s ex-girlfriend, Tina, was dating Kedrain Perkins. Thompson located a vehicle matching the description of a car associated with the crime and, during a traffic stop, arrested Dotson and Perkins.
Memling Altamirano, a forensic scientist for the Jefferson County Regional Crime Lab, processed evidence from a 2011 Hyundai Sonata, including clothing, a ski mask, and a gun holster. Amanda Domer, a forensic scientist with the Texas Department of Public Safety crime lab, compared DNA samples from the evidence.
Dr. William McClain, a forensic pathologist, testified that Wagner died from gunshot wounds and the manner of death was homicide. Anessa Barnette, a BPD crime scene technician, testified that Wagner had twenty-three bullet holes in his body.
Officer Chase Ratcliff testified about a shooting on January 24, 2022, where Wagner was shot at.
Samantha, a resident of the Beaumont Heights apartment complex, provided security camera footage of the shooting.
Detective Ronnie Freeman, a detective and forensic analyst for the BPD, examined Perkins’s and Dotson’s cell phones. His analysis showed frequent contact between Perkins and Dotson before and after the shooting.
Detective Phillip Smith with the BPD testified that, based on his investigation, Perkins and Dotson acted together in carrying out the homicide.
Detective Heather Wilson of the BPD testified that the shooting was the result of a “jealousy kind of love triangle-type situation.” She testified about the traffic stop of Perkins and Dotson, and their subsequent interviews. She was also present for law enforcement’s second interview of Perkins, where he admitted he was at Beaumont Heights that night.
Detective Aaron Lewallen with the BPD testified that he used a software program to import cell phone data, and determined that Dotson’s phone pinged the same cell tower as Perkins’s phone around the time of the shooting.
Hunter Jones, a firearms examiner at the Jefferson County Crime Lab, testified that at least four distinct weapons were used in the shooting.
Mychelle Cole testified that she was romantically involved with both Wagner and Perkins and identified Dotson as being present at the shooting. She testified she saw Perkins and Dotson with guns in their hands.
The Court’s Decision
The Court of Appeals reviewed the evidence, emphasizing that the jury is the sole judge of the weight of the evidence and the credibility of the witnesses. The court noted that in cases involving accomplice testimony, the testimony must be corroborated by other evidence connecting the defendant to the offense.
The court found that, even without considering Cole’s testimony, there was sufficient evidence to connect Dotson to the murder. This included evidence of the conflict between Wagner and Perkins, the prior shooting incident, the text messages and phone calls between Dotson and Perkins, the presence of the same firearms in both shootings, and the fact that Dotson and Perkins were seen together at the time of the shooting.
The court concluded that a rational juror could have found that the non-accomplice evidence sufficiently connected Dotson to Wagner’s murder. Therefore, the court overruled Dotson’s challenge and affirmed the trial court’s judgment.