State of Tennessee v. Thaddaeus Medford

Before us are the consolidated appeals of Thaddaeus Medford who, in his first trial, was convicted of Class E felony evading arrest. The jury in that trial deadlocked on the companion charges of cocaine possession with intent to deliver and drug paraphernalia possession. Upon retrial, the defendant was convicted of the two possession offenses. He appeals the legal sufficiency of his evading arrest and cocaine possession convictions, complains that testimony about the street value of cocaine and money found in his automobile was erroneously admitted, and argues that his constitutional right to be free from unreasonable searches and seizures was violated. Based on our review of the record, the briefs of the parties, and applicable law, we affirm the defendant’s evading arrest conviction. As to the cocaine possession conviction, we affirm the trial court’s evidentiary rulings and rejection of the defendant’s motion to suppress, but we, nevertheless, reverse the conviction because the evidence is legally insufficient.