Young v. State (2009)

In Young v. State, 283 S.W.3d 854 (Tex. Crim. App. 2009), the appellant was charged with and convicted of capital murder. During his trial, a testifying officer mentioned that the weapon used by the defendant was "stolen." The testimony elicited an objection, which was sustained, and an instruction to disregard, which was provided. However, the request for a mistrial was denied. Though reference to the weapon being stolen served to interject evidence of an extraneous offense, the Court of Criminal Appeals held that the trial court "could have reasonably concluded that the answer was not so inflammatory as to be incurable by an instruction to disregard." Id. This was especially so since the witness "did not actually assert that the appellant stole the weapon or that he knew it was stolen." Id.