James Allen Gooch v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, James Allen Gooch, challenges the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that he was denied effective assistance of counsel, raising seven grounds to support his claim. Additionally, he claims that cumulative error necessitates reversal of the post-conviction court. After review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Thomas William Brown
Appellant, Thomas William Brown, was convicted by a jury of attempted aggravated burglary and sentenced to four years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the trial court should have suppressed his statements to the police immediately after his arrest, that the verdict was contrary to the weight of the evidence, that the trial court erred by allowing the State to present evidence that witnesses identified appellant’s shirt in a “show up” procedure, that the trial court erred by allowing the CAD Operational Report into evidence during the State’s rebuttal proof, and that the trial court erred by denying a special jury instruction request. Following our careful review of the evidence, we have concluded that the evidence was insufficient to support appellant’s conviction for attempted aggravated burglary and therefore reverse the judgment of the trial court. Appellant’s charge is dismissed. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Derrick Dewayne Lyons
A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, Derrick Dewayne Lyons, of attempted voluntary manslaughter, aggravated assault, theft of property valued over $1,000.00, and evading arrest in a motor vehicle. For these convictions, the trial court sentenced the Defendant to serve an effective sentence of eighteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant claims that: (1) the trial court erred when it allowed the State to amend the indictment on the morning of trial; (2) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions; (3) the State committed “prejudicial prosecutorial misconduct” during its closing argument; (4) the trial court improperly failed to instruct the jury on “mistake of fact” and “use of force”; and (5) the trial court erred when it failed to excuse a juror for cause. After a review of the record and the foregoing authorities, we affirm the trial court’s judgments and the Defendant’s convictions. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Yoni Sales Barahona v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Yoni Sales Barahona, appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief by the Criminal Court for Davidson County. He was convicted of aggravated assault and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at the appellate level. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Tyrell Cross
The Defendant, Joshua Tyrell Cross, pleaded guilty to attempted rape, and the trial court sentenced him to thirty-one days of time served followed by eight years of probation. The Defendant filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, which the trial court denied after a hearing. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) his judgment is void because the information charging him with attempted rape failed to allege each of the required elements of the offense; (2) the factual basis submitted in support of the Defendant’s conviction is insufficient because it did not contain the required culpable mental state; (3) his judgment of conviction should be reversed because there is no record that he was arraigned or that he waived arraignment; and (4) the trial court erred when it denied his motion to withdraw his guilty plea and remand the case for a preliminary hearing. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand the case for a preliminary hearing on the original charges. |
Scott | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Juastin Rashad Forrest v. Todd Wiggins, Warden
The petitioner, Justin Rashad Forrest, appeals the denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. On appeal, the petitioner contends that he is entitled to habeas corpus relief because his state sentence is void because the trial courtlacked jurisdiction to impose concurrentstate and federal sentences. He also contends that the State breached the plea agreement that called for concurrent federal and state sentences and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel that prevented him from entering a knowing and voluntary guilty plea. After thoroughly reviewing the record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dewayne Lee Williams
The Defendant, Dewayne Lee Williams, appeals the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s order revoking his probation for his convictions for aggravated burglary and vandalism and ordering his effective three-year sentence into execution. The Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion because insufficient evidence exists to support the revocation. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Linzey Danielle Smith-Dissenting
I respectfully disagree in the reasoning and result reached in the majority opinion. The majority opinion concludes that our supreme court’s holding in Brotherton is dispositive and requires that this court affirm the defendant’s conviction. However, in my view, Brotherton is clearly distinguishable from the instant case. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Linzey Danielle Smith
Defendant, Linzey Danielle Smith, entered a plea of guilty to the offense of driving while her blood or breath alcohol concentration was 0.08% or more (DUI) in violation of T.C.A. § 55-10-401(2), but explicitly reserved the right to appeal a certified question of law pursuant to Tenn. R. Crim. P. 37(b)(2)(A). The certified question of law limits this court to the following narrow issue: whether probable cause that Defendant had committed the Class C misdemeanor offense described in T.C.A. § 55-8-123(1) (a driver must maintain a vehicle entirely within a single lane “as nearly as practicable”) authorized a stop of Defendant’s vehicle by a state trooper or, alternatively, whether the trooper had reasonable suspicion, based on specific and articulable facts, that Defendant had committed or was about to commit the Class C misdemeanor offense set forth in T.C.A. § 55-8-123(1). Based upon the General Assembly’s classification as a criminal offense the failure of a driver to maintain her vehicle totally within a single lane of traffic “as nearly as practicable” and guidance from our supreme court’s decision in State v. Brotherton, 323 S.W.3d 866 (Tenn. 2010), we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Randy Poole aka Bobby Neal
Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Randy Poole, aka Bobby Neal, was convicted of facilitation of aggravated burglary for which the trial court sentenced him to eight years at thirty-five percent. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-11-403, -14-403. In this direct appeal, the Defendant first contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction because it was based upon uncorroborated accomplice testimony. He further argues that the trial court committed plain error by failing to instruct the jury that accomplice testimony must be corroborated and by failing to instruct the jury on accomplice testimony procured via a plea agreement. Because we conclude that the accomplice testimony was adequately corroborated and that the Defendant has failed to show that he is entitled to plain error review of the remaining issues, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Markhayle Jackson v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Markhayle Jackson, entered a best interest plea to first degree premeditated murder and received a sentence of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Petitioner now appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, in which he alleged that his guilty plea was not knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently entered. Having reviewed the record before us, we affirm the judgment of trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Willie Price v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Willie Price, appeals from the post-conviction court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. Petitioner was convicted of aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated burglary, and robbery. He received an effective sentence of 60 years in confinement. Petitioner challenged his convictions and sentences on appeal, and a panel of this court affirmed the judgments of the trial court. State v. Willie Price, No. W2009-00083-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL 376625 (Tenn. Crim. App., Feb. 3, 2010), perm. app. denied (Tenn., June 17, 2010). On appeal, Petitioner contends that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to properly investigate Petitioner’s case, failing to call witnesses at trial, and by not seeking to suppress DNA evidence. He also asserts that his appellate counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel, but Petitioner submitted no argument as to this issue in his brief. After a careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Christopher Jones v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Christopher Jones, was convicted of one count of first degree premeditated murder and sentenced to life imprisonment. State v. Christopher Alexander Jones, No. W2011-01990-CCA-R3-CD, 2012 WL 4049175 (Tenn. Crim. App., Sept. 14, 2012), perm. app. denied (Tenn., Feb. 19, 2013). A panel of this court affirmed Petitioner’s conviction on appeal. Id. Petitioner filed a petition seeking post-conviction relief, alleging that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at trial. Following an evidentiary hearing, the postconviction court denied relief. Having carefully reviewed the record before us, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Gibson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Vernon Motley v. Jerry Lester, Warden
Petitioner, Vernon Motley, appeals from the trial court’s summary dismissal of Petitioner’s petition for writ of habeas corpus relief. Petitioner was convicted by a Shelby County jury for first degree premeditated murder and received a sentence of life imprisonment. His conviction was affirmed on appeal. See State v. Vernon Motley, No. W2010-01989-CCA-R3-CD, 2012 WL 1080479 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 29, 2012). Petitioner asserts he is entitled to habeas corpus relief because the trial court, in effect, imposed a sentence of life without possibility of parole without jurisdiction to do so. Our review of the record shows that Petitioner was properly sentenced to the only sentence he could receive, and we therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Benjamin Gunn
Defendant, Benjamin Gunn, was indicted by the Shelby County Grand Jury in Count 1 with possession of more than .5 grams of cocaine with intent to sell, in Count 2 with possession of more than .5 grams of cocaine with intent to deliver, and in Count 3 with felony possession of marijuana. Defendant was convicted as charged by a jury. The trial court merged Count 2 with Count 1 and sentenced Defendant to 12 years’ incarceration. The trial court imposed a sentence of two years’ incarceration for Count 3, to be served consecutively with Defendant’s sentence for his conviction in Count 1. In this appeal as of right, Defendant challenges the trial court’s failure to exclude evidence that prior search warrants were executed on the defendant’s residence. We conclude that the trial court erred by allowing evidence of the prior searches of Defendant’s residence. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and remand this case for a new trial. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Randy Carl Hass
As part of a plea agreement, the Appellant, Randy Carl Hass, pled guilty to several counts of facilitation of sexual exploitation of a minor and official misconduct. The parties agreed to a sentence of twenty years, with fifteen of those years to be served under supervised probation. The Appellant applied for probation or alternative sentencing for the remainder of his sentence. The trial court denied the application, ruling that the remaining five years of the sentence would be served in confinement. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the trial court committed an abuse of discretion in denying probation or alternative sentencing and that this decision is not entitled to the presumption of reasonableness. The State disagrees. Upon review, we conclude that the trial court did not abuse its discretion by denying alternative sentencing or extending probation and ordering the Appellant to serve five years of the sentence in confinement. We therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Chase Nathaniel Martin
Defendant, Chase Nathaniel Martin, was indicted by the Monroe County Grand Jury for burglary in August of 2012. Subsequently, he entered a best interest plea of guilty and was sentenced to eight years as a Range II, multiple offender on December 10, 2013. The trial court specified that Defendant could apply for Community Corrections. Defendant filed a motion to reconsider sentencing on January 16, 2014. After the denial of the motion to reconsider and denial of a request for placement in Community Corrections, Defendant appealed. We waive the untimely filing of the notice of appeal and review the challenge to the sentence. After a review, we affirm the sentence. |
Monroe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tyrone R. Teasley
The Defendant, Tyrone R. Teasley, pleaded guilty before the Circuit Court for Williamson County in case number II-CR087471 to first offense driving under the influence (DUI), a Class A misdemeanor, driving on a revoked, suspended, or cancelled license, a Class A misdemeanor, and reckless driving, a Class B misdemeanor. See T.C.A. §§ 55-10-401 (Supp. 2014), 55-50-504 (2012), 55-10-205 (Supp. 2014). The Defendant also pleaded guilty in case number II-CR017000 to first offense per se DUI, a Class A misdemeanor, resisting arrest, a Class B misdemeanor, and failure to report an accident, a Class C misdemeanor. See id. §§ 55-10-401 (Supp. 2014), 39-16-602 (2014), 55-10-106 (2012). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to two consecutive terms of eleven months, twenty-nine days for the DUI convictions to be served on probation after 180 days’ concurrent confinement. The Defendant also received concurrent sentences of six months for the resisting arrest and the reckless driving convictions to be served on probation after thirty days’ concurrent confinement, of eleven months, twenty-nine days for the driving on a revoked license conviction to be served on probation after 180 days’ concurrent confinement, and of thirty days’ concurrent confinement for failure to report an accident, for an effective sentence of twenty-three months and twenty-eight days with all but 180 days to be served on probation. The trial court also ordered as a condition of probation that the Defendant “lose” his license for five years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred by ordering a five-year license suspension. We reverse the judgments of the trial court and remand for entry of modified judgments reflecting the loss of the Defendant’s driving privilege for two years in compliance with Tennessee Code Annotated section 55-10-404(a)(1)(A) (Supp. 2014). |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Leon Booker
The defendant, Leon Booker, pled guilty to theft over $500, a Class E felony, and theft under $500, a Class A misdemeanor, and was sentenced as a Range III offender to six years for the felony conviction and to eleven months and twenty-nine days for the misdemeanor conviction, to be served consecutively. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in sentencing him as a Range III offender. After review, we affirm the sentencing decision of the trial court. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Clebron Glade Mealer, Jr.
The Defendant-Appellant, Clebron Glade Mealer, Jr., was indicted by a Marshall County Grand Jury for two counts of theft of property valued at $10,000 or more but less than $60,000. See T.C.A. §§ 39-14-103(a), -105(a)(4). Count one was dismissed, and Mealer entered a guilty plea to the theft charge in count two, with the trial court to determine the length and manner of service of his sentence at a later hearing. When Mealer failed to appear at the sentencing hearing for his theft conviction, he was indicted for failure to appear, and a capias warrant was issued for his arrest. Some time later, Mealer was arrested and entered a guilty plea to the failure to appear charge. The trial court subsequently sentenced him as a Range II, multiple offender to consecutive sentences of nine years for the theft conviction and four years for the failure to appear conviction. On appeal, Mealer argues that his sentence is excessive and contrary to the law. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David Wortman
Defendant, David Wortman, pled guilty to two counts of aggravated assault and one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in exchange for an effective sentence of four years and six months, with the manner of service of the sentence to be determined by the trial court at a sentencing hearing. After the sentencing hearing, the trial court denied alternative sentencing, ordering Defendant to serve his sentence in incarceration. Defendant appeals the denial of alternative sentencing. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion in denying alternative sentencing, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
William Charles Angel, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, William Charles Angel, Jr., appeals the Giles County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his guilty plea to three counts of first degree premeditated murder (counts 1, 2, and 3), three counts of first degree felony murder (counts 4, 5, and 6), one count of aggravated arson, one count of setting fire to personal property, one count of aggravated burglary, one count of theft under $500, and one count of aggravated cruelty to an animal, for which he received an effective sentence of life imprisonment without parole. He argues that his convictions were based upon a coerced confession to law enforcement and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, which rendered his guilty plea involuntary. Upon review, we affirm the judgment denying post-conviction relief. However, because the judgments of conviction in this case fail to reflect the merger of the first degree premeditated convictions with the surviving first degree felony murder convictions, we vacate the judgments in counts 1 through 6 and remand the case for entry of three judgments of conviction showing that count 1 was merged with count 4, count 2 was merged with count 5, and count 3 was merged with count 6. |
Giles | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bobby Daniel Pettie
The Defendant, Bobby Daniel Pettie, was found guilty by a Bedford County Circuit Court jury of initiating the manufacture of methamphetamine, a Class B felony, promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, a Class D felony, possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, a Class D felony, and possession of methamphetamine, a Class A misdemeanor. See T.C.A. §§ 39-17-435 (2014), 39-17-433 (2014), 39-17-1324 (2014), 39-17-418 (2014). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to sixteen years for initiating the manufacture of methamphetamine, six years for promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, six years for possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and eleven months, twenty-nine days for possession of methamphetamine. The court ordered the initiating the manufacture of methamphetamine and the promotion of methamphetamine manufacture sentences be served concurrently with each other and consecutively to the possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony and to the possession of methamphetamine sentences, for an effective sentence of twenty-two years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions, (2) the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress, and (3) his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Timothy Roy Bozza
The Defendant, Timothy Roy Bozza, was convicted of first degree murder by a Davidson County Criminal Court Jury. See T.C.A. § 39-13-202 (2014). He was sentenced to life in prison. On appeal, he contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred in denying him counsel of his choice. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Richard Barefoot
In 2014 the Defendant, Richard Barefoot, pleaded guilty to identity theft, fraudulent use of a credit card, and theft of property. The trial court sentenced him to fifteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Defendant reserved a certified question of law pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2) about whether the trial court improperly denied his motion to dismiss by holding that the time limitation for prisoner transfer as proscribed by the Interstate Compact on Detainers was not applicable. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals |
