State of Tennessee v. Ronnie Henry

The defendant, Ronnie Henry, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of four counts of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, and four counts of robbery, a Class C felony. The counts involving the same victims were merged, resulting in two convictions for aggravated robbery and two convictions for robbery, and the defendant was sentenced by the trial court to an effective sentence of seventy years in the Department of Correction. In his original direct appeal, the defendant challenged the sufficiency of the evidence and alleged that the trial court erred in limiting the testimony of a witness and in its sentencing determinations. See State v. Ronnie Henry, No. W2006-00344-CCA-R3-CD, 2008 WL 450459 (Tenn. Crim. App. Feb. 19, 2008), perm. to appeal denied (Tenn. Sept. 29, 2008). We affirmed the convictions but remanded for resentencing “in compliance with Gomez II [State v. Gomez, 239 S.W.3d 733 (Tenn. 2007)] and our standard principles of sentencing.” Id. at *5. On remand, the trial court again sentenced the defendant to an effective sentence of seventy years in the Department of Correction. In this appeal, the pro se defendant raises issues relating to the State’s alleged untimely filing of its notice of enhanced punishment; the trial court’s ruling on the State’s motion in limine with respect to the testimony of a defense witness; and the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentencing. The State responds by arguing that the first two issues are waived and that the record supports the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentencing. We agree with the State and, accordingly, affirm the judgments of the trial court.