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Appellant to 144 months in prison—24 months but that Appellant retrieved the gun from inside
each for Counts 2 and 3, to run concurrently the vehicle and then pointed it at him. He
with each other, and 120 months for Count 4, to testified that, as he tried to move away from
run consecutively to the prison term for Counts Appellant, Appellant shot him—first in the
2 and 3. The court also sentenced Appellant to finger, then in the knee. He testified that
60 months supervised release and a $500 fine. Appellant shot him a total of four times as he
It is undisputed that, over the course of the attempted to crawl away. Then, he said,
evening of May 28, 2021 and the early hours of Appellant got in Shoemake’s car and drove
May 29, 2021, the following individuals were away, and some time later Shoemake returned
present: Appellant, Mike Anderson; the victim, to the scene in her car and took him to the
his friend Julian McMillan; McMillan’s hospital. Appellant’s own account of events
girlfriend, Susanna Shoemake; Susanna’s sister, rested largely on two pieces of evidence
Tonya Anderson; and Tonya’s daughter, Caitea introduced by the government through the trial
Anderson. Appellant is related to Tonya and testimony of Special Agent Terrel Allen, the FBI
Caitea. Julian McMillan and Caitea Anderson agent who investigated the shooting: Tonya
testified at trial. Anderson’s statement to Agent Allen that
McMillan fired the gun in the air two times
The shooting occurred in the very early hours before Appellant took it from him, and
of May 29, 2021, after a long evening of Appellant’s own statement during an interview
drinking. The following facts are undisputed: On with Agent Allen that he heard two gunshots
the evening of May 28, 2021, Shoemake and and then “blacked out.” Neither Appellant nor
McMillan were socializing and drinking at Tonya Anderson testified at trial, so their
Tonya Anderson’s house. Appellant contacted accounts are preserved only through Appellant’s
McMillan to ask him to bring cigarettes to video interview with Agent Allen, which was
Appellant’s home. Shoemake and McMillan played during Allen’s testimony, and Agent
drove to Appellant’s home, where the three Allen’s description of Tonya’s account.
socialized and drank. When they realized they
were running low on alcohol, Appellant and (discussion of motion to recuse omitted)
McMillan decided to drive back to Tonya
Anderson’s house to retrieve beer and whiskey Anderson first challenges the sufficiency of the
that Shoemake and McMillan had left there evidence used to convict him. The parties agree
earlier. that this is a properly preserved sufficiency of
Testimony differed as to where the men stopped the evidence challenge, and therefore it must
on their way to Tonya Anderson’s house— be reviewed de novo. Anderson argues that he
McMillan testified that he went to Shoemake’s acted in self-defense, and that the government
mother’s house to use the bathroom, while did not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that
Appellant told a law enforcement officer that it he did not act in self-defense. Accordingly,
was a “meth house”—but it is undisputed that Anderson asks the court to vacate his
during the stop, McMillan went inside while convictions.
Appellant stayed in the car. Subsequently, the
two men drove to Tonya Anderson’s house, In our review of whether there is sufficient
where the shooting later occurred. McMillan evidence to support a criminal conviction, this
testified that, at Tonya Anderson’s house, court must “determine whether, viewing the
Appellant and Tonya Anderson began arguing evidence and the inferences that may be drawn
and that he “[tried] to get Mike to get in the car from it in the light most favorable to the verdict,
so that we can go.” He testified that he could a rational jury could have found the essential
not recall if he got a gun during the argument, elements of the offenses beyond a reasonable
May/June 2024 www.texaspoliceassociation.com • (512) 458-3140 27
