State of Tennessee v. Chris Grunder

The Defendant, Chris Grunder, was convicted of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape, aggravated assault, and theft of property over $500.00. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective sentence of thirty-one years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; and (2) the trial court erred when it sentenced him. After thoroughly reviewing the record and the applicable authorities, we affirm all of the Defendant's convictions. Further, we hold that the trial court improperly enhanced the Defendant's sentences in light of Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. __, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004), and we reduce the Defendant's sentence in accordance with this opinion to an effective sentence of twenty-nine years. We remand the case for the entry of judgments of conviction consistent with this opinion.