Celia Nicole Camacho v. State of Texas - Injury to a Child
Summary
The Texas Court of Appeals affirmed a trial court's decision to adjudicate Celia Nicole Camacho guilty of injury to a child. Camacho's deferred adjudication community supervision was revoked due to a theft violation, leading to a twelve-year prison sentence. The appellate court found sufficient evidence to support the trial court's ruling.
What changed
The Texas Court of Appeals, Seventh District, affirmed the trial court's judgment adjudicating Celia Nicole Camacho guilty of injury to a child, sentencing her to twelve years confinement. The adjudication followed a finding that Camacho violated the terms of her deferred adjudication community supervision by committing theft. The appellate court reviewed the evidence presented at the revocation hearing, which concerned the alleged theft of furniture and a refrigerator valued between $2,500 and $30,000 from her former landlord.
This ruling confirms the trial court's decision to revoke Camacho's community supervision and proceed with adjudication. For legal professionals and those involved in criminal law, this case highlights the importance of adhering strictly to the terms of community supervision, as violations, such as theft, can lead to the revocation of deferred adjudication and the imposition of the original sentence. The appellate court's affirmation underscores the sufficiency of evidence standard in such revocation proceedings.
What to do next
- Review case law regarding revocation of deferred adjudication for theft violations.
- Ensure clients on community supervision understand the consequences of committing new offenses.
Penalties
Twelve years of confinement
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March 11, 2026 Get Citation Alerts Download PDF Add Note
Celia Nicole Camacho v. the State of Texas
Texas Court of Appeals, 7th District (Amarillo)
- Citations: None known
- Docket Number: 07-24-00314-CR
- Nature of Suit: Injury to a Child, Elderly or Disabled Individual
Disposition: Affirmed
Disposition
Affirmed
Lead Opinion
In The
Court of Appeals
Seventh District of Texas at Amarillo
No. 07-24-00314-CR
CELIA NICOLE CAMACHO, APPELLANT
V.
THE STATE OF TEXAS, APPELLEE
On Appeal from the 108th District Court
Potter County, Texas
Trial Court No. 073079-E, Honorable Douglas R. Woodburn, Presiding
March 11, 2026
MEMORANDUM OPINION
Before PARKER, C.J., and DOSS and YARBROUGH, JJ.
Appellant, Celia Nicole Camacho, appeals from the trial court’s judgment
adjudicating her guilty of the offense of injury to a child and sentencing her to twelve years
of confinement. The judgment followed the trial court’s finding that Appellant violated the
terms of her deferred adjudication community supervision by committing theft. Appellant
contends the State failed to prove the alleged violation. We conclude sufficient evidence
supports the trial court’s decision to adjudicate Appellant’s guilt. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
Appellant pleaded guilty to the offense of injury to a child on March 30, 2018, and
was placed on deferred adjudication community supervision for ten years. The terms of
her supervision required that she commit no offense against the laws of Texas or any
other state or of the United States.
On April 1, 2024, the State moved to proceed with adjudication of guilt, alleging
Appellant violated her community supervision by committing theft of property valued
between $2,500 and $30,000 on November 15, 2023, in Randall County.
The evidence at the revocation hearing established the following facts. Appellant
and her husband, Jose, leased a house from Chelsea Fhemister in Randall County.
When they moved in, the house contained staging furniture. Fhemister testified she made
an agreement directly with Appellant to sell certain items, including a dining table, four
chairs, a bench, two rugs, a coffee table, and an end table, for $2,500, payable in five
monthly installments of $500. Fhemister also denied that a refrigerator in the home was
a part of the agreement; it was to stay with the house with the other appliances.1
According to Fhemister, the Camachos never made any of the monthly payments
toward a furniture purchase.2 They also stopped paying rent. Fhemister initiated eviction
proceedings, and the Camachos were required to vacate by midnight on November 14,
2023.3 Fhemister drove by the house at 6:00 p.m. on November 14th and saw the family
1 Jose disputes this testimony, saying there was an agreement to purchase the refrigerator.
2 Appellant and Jose disagree with this testimony.
3 Testimony at the hearing indicates Appellant and her family had been evicted as many as twenty-
five times in eight years, including this time.
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still inside. When she inspected the house the next morning, all the furniture plus the
refrigerator were gone.
Law enforcement located the property at another house on Kessler Drive, which
Jose had rented. A search warrant was obtained and executed. Deputy Logan Landrum
testified he found the dining room table, chairs, bench, rugs, coffee table, end table, and
refrigerator inside. Appellant was not in the home when the warrant was served, but Jose
and their children were present.
Both Appellant and Jose testified at the hearing. Jose stated he alone made the
decision to take the property. He claimed he was entitled to keep the property but
acknowledged the full purchase price had not been paid. He also stated Appellant did
not physically move the property and was not present when he did so.
Appellant knew Jose moved the property to the Kessler Drive house because she
testified that she objected to the decision to take the property and was “furious” about it.
She claimed she did not live at the Kessler Drive house and had no key. She admitted,
however, that she stayed there on multiple occasions when the children visited their
father. Jose testified some of her clothes remained at the Kessler Drive house. A
photograph taken during execution of the search warrant showed her pink house shoe in
the master bedroom. Family photographs posted to Facebook depicted gatherings at the
house with Fhemister’s furniture visible.
ANALYSIS
Our review of a trial court’s order revoking community supervision is for abuse of
discretion. Hacker v. State, 389 S.W.3d 860, 865 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013). A trial court
3
abuses its discretion when its decision lies outside the zone of reasonable disagreement,
is arbitrary or unreasonable, or is made without reference to guiding principles. See
Rhomer v. State, 569 S.W.3d 664, 669 (Tex. Crim. App. 2019); Valderas v. State, Nos.
07-21-00111-CR, 07-21-00112-CR, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 5907, at *6–7 (Tex. App.—
Amarillo Aug. 15, 2022, no pet.). To proceed with adjudication, the State must prove a
violation of at least one of the terms of community supervision by a preponderance of the
evidence. Hacker, 389 S.W.3d at 864–65. This standard requires proof that the greater
weight of credible evidence creates a reasonable belief the defendant violated a condition
of supervision. Id. at 865. The preponderance standard is not met when the evidence is
so weak as to create only a surmise or suspicion of its existence, or when the factfinder
must guess at a vital fact. Houston-Randle v. State, 499 S.W.3d 912, 914 (Tex. App.—
Houston [14th Dist.] 2016, pet. ref’d).
We view the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court’s decision.
Garrett v. State, 619 S.W.2d 172, 174 (Tex. Crim. App. [Panel Op;] 1981). The trial court
is the sole judge of witness credibility and the weight to be given testimony. Hacker, 389
S.W.3d at 865. When the record supports conflicting inferences, we presume the trial
court resolved those conflicts in favor of its findings. See Temple v. State, 390 S.W.3d
341, 360 (Tex. Crim. App. 2013); Valderas, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 5907, at *7. Direct and
circumstantial evidence are equally probative, and circumstantial evidence alone can be
sufficient to support a conviction. Irish v. State, No. 13-19-00650-CR, 2021 Tex. App.
LEXIS 5834, at *7 (Tex. App.—Corpus Christi-Edinburg July 22, 2021, no pet.).
A person commits theft if she unlawfully appropriates property with intent to deprive
the owner of that property. TEX. PENAL CODE § 31.03(a); Lucero v. State, No. 07-24-
4
00171-CR, 2025 Tex. App. LEXIS 1121, at *6 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Feb. 24, 2025, no pet.).
Appropriation is unlawful if it occurs without the owner’s effective consent. TEX. PENAL
CODE § 31.03(b)(1). To “appropriate” means, among other things, to acquire or exercise
control over property. § 31.01(4)(B). A person need not physically move property to
exercise control over it. Joe v. State, 663 S.W.3d 728, 733 (Tex. Crim. App. 2022) (holding
that exercising control of property under the theft statute “does not depend on removing
it from a place.”). Nor does it depend on exclusive control. Id.; De la Torre v. State, 583
S.W.3d 613, 619 (Tex. Crim. App. 2019) (recognizing “concept of joint possession”).
This Court addressed a comparable set of circumstances in Weaver v. State, No.
07-06-00327-CR, 2007 Tex. App. LEXIS 2837 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Apr. 12, 2007, pet.
ref’d) (mem. op., not designated for publication). In Weaver, a cow went missing and
periodically wandered onto the appellant’s property. Id. at *4. The appellant eventually
penned the cow on her land. Id. A faded ear tag bore a partial name the appellant
recognized, but she made no effort to contact the owner’s family. Id. Her husband later
removed the tag and threw it away. Id. When an officer investigated, the appellant told
him the cow possessed no tags and that she did not know who owned it. Id. This Court
held the evidence sufficient to support a theft conviction, noting that the appellant made
no effort to determine the owner of the cow, failed to contact anyone about it, and lied to
the investigating officer. Id. at *5. The court also held that no demand for return is
required before a theft conviction can occur. Id.
The circumstantial evidence here is analogous. Fhemister testified she negotiated
the furniture sale directly with Appellant. Fhemister testified no payments were made
toward the furniture. Appellant knew the property had not been paid for when her family
5
was evicted; in fact, it made her “furious.” The family also took the refrigerator, which
Fhemister testified was never part of any purchase agreement.
In addition, Appellant made no effort to return the property or notify anyone about
its taking. She stayed at the Kessler Drive house on multiple occasions, kept personal
belongings there, and appeared in family photographs with the furniture visible. The trial
court could find from these facts that Appellant exercised control over property she knew
belonged to Fhemister. Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the trial court’s
ruling, the State met that burden. The trial court did not abuse its discretion.
We overrule Appellant’s second issue.
Reformation of Judgment
In her first issue, Appellant contends the judgment contains an error. The State
agrees, and so do we.
We are authorized to modify a trial court’s judgment to make the record speak the
truth when we have the necessary information to do so. Valderas v. State, No. 07-21-
00112-CR, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 5907, at *9 (Tex. App.—Amarillo Aug. 15, 2022, no pet.);
Ramirez v. State, 336 S.W.3d 846, 852 (Tex. App.—Amarillo 2011, pet. ref’d); TEX. R. APP.
P. 43.2 (b). In other words, an appellate court is empowered to reform whatever the trial
court could correct by a judgment nunc pro tunc provided the necessary evidence
appears in the record. Asberry v. State, 813 S.W.2d 526, 529 (Tex. App.—Dallas 1991,
pet. ref’d).
6
The judgment states Appellant’s “Plea to Motion to Revoke” was “TRUE.” The
reporter’s record reflects Appellant pleaded “NOT TRUE.” We reform the judgment to
reflect the correct plea of “Not True.” The trial court is ordered to prepare and file a
corrected judgment. Valderas, 2022 Tex. App. LEXIS 5907, at *10.
CONCLUSION
Having sustained Appellant’s first issue and overruled her second, we affirm the
trial court’s judgment as reformed.
Lawrence M. Doss
Justice
Do not publish.
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