Appeals court upholds Chacey Poynter conviction
May 25—A state appeals court has upheld the murder conviction of a Royse City woman, who received the maximum punishment in connection with the shooting death of her husband.
A jury in the 354th District Court sentenced Chacey Poynter to life in prison In June 2019 after finding her guilty in the death of her husband, Robert Louis Poynter III, a University Park Fire Department captain.
The Fifth Court of Appeals in Dallas considered arguments in the case in April.
Attorney Jessica McDonald, representing Poynter on the appeal, claimed the trial court erred by admitting into evidence the defendant's videotaped and written statements that McDonald said were obtained in violation of the statutory requirements of section Texas Code of Criminal Procedure Article 38.22.
McDonald alleged Poynter was never sufficiently advised of her constitutional right to have an attorney during her initial questioning by law enforcement officers.
But the appeals court, in a 13-page ruling issued Monday, upheld the conviction.
"We conclude the trial court did not err by denying appellant's motion to suppress and did not err by denying appellant's request for a lesser included offense instruction," wrote Justice David J. Schenck. "We affirm the trial court's judgment."
Michael Glen Garza, of Quinlan, was found guilty by a jury following a two-week trial in July 2018 on a charge of murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. The same appeals court, in a July 2, 2020 ruling, affirmed Garza's conviction and sentence.
Chacey Poynter will be facing a minimum of 30 years in prison before she can be considered eligible for parole.
Prosecutors claimed Chacey Poynter only married Robert Poynter for his money, carried on multiple affairs behind his back, including with Garza, and became desperate when he planned to divorce her.
Royse City Police Department officers were dispatched at around 10:45 p.m. on Sept. 9, 2016 to an area on FM 35 near Hunt County Road 2595 regarding a woman in the roadway attempting to stop vehicles.
Officers spoke with Chacey Poynter, who said her husband had been shot and was in a vehicle located along the county road.
Officers went to investigate and found Robert Poynter in the vehicle deceased with a single shotgun blast to the head.
The next day officers interviewed Chacey Poynter for some nine hours, later finding a link to a photo from Garza's Facebook page on her cell phone which resulted in the issuance of a probable cause affidavit for Garza's arrest two days later.
