State of Tennessee v. Jamie Todd Birdwell

On November 15, 2016, Defendant, Jamie Todd Birdwell, pled guilty to Class D felony theft of property valued at $1,000 or more but less than $10,000 in case number 74CC4-2015-CR-708 and to three counts of Class A misdemeanor theft of property in case number 74CC2-2016-CR-266. The plea agreement provided that Defendant would be sentenced to twelve years as a career offender with the manner of service to be determined following a sentencing hearing. Defendant failed to appear for his January 13, 2017 sentencing hearing, a capias was issued for his arrest, and he was subsequently indicted for felony failure to appear. Defendant’s initial counsel then withdrew. After three other attorneys were appointed and two were allowed to withdraw, trial counsel entered a notice of appearance and filed a motion to withdraw Defendant’s guilty pleas. Following a hearing on June 12, 2017, the trial court denied Defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty pleas and set a sentencing hearing. On appeal, Defendant asserts that the trial court erred in denying his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas because the trial court, defense counsel, and prosecutor were all under the mistaken impression at the guilty plea submission hearing that Defendant was facing a sentence of twelve years as a career offender for Class D Felony theft, rather than six years for a Class E felony theft, because the value of theft statute, Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-14-105, became effective January 1, 2017, before the date of his original sentencing hearing. After a thorough review of the facts and applicable case law, we affirm the trial court’s denial of the motion to withdraw Defendant’s guilty pleas.