State of Tennessee v. Rashe Moore
The defendant was found guilty of six counts of aggravated rape, seven counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, five counts of aggravated robbery, and one count of aggravated burglary. The defendant contends on appeal that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress the photographic identification, (2) the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions, (3) the trial court erred in excluding evidence of a scar upon the defendant's abdomen, (4) the trial court erred in not requiring the State to make an election of offenses as to the aggravated rape convictions, (5) the trial court did not properly instruct the jury on lesser included offenses, and (6) the sentence was improper. Finding no reversible error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Steven Bernard Wlodarz v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Steven Bernard Wlodarz, appeals the Hawkins County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his guilty pleas to first degree premeditated murder, attempted first degree premeditated murder, two counts of aggravated assault, and one count of manufacturing a Schedule VI controlled substance and resulting sentence of life without parole. He claims that his guilty pleas were not knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily entered because (1) his trial counsel coerced him into pleading guilty, (2) his trial counsel failed to inform him of important defense evidence before he accepted the state's plea offer, and (3) he was taking medications that may have affected his ability to understand his pleas. In addition, he contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorneys waived one of his preliminary hearings without his consent, failed to file a motion to suppress evidence, and failed to prepare a defense. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petition. |
Hawkins | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Steve McKenzie
The defendant, Steve McKenzie, pled guilty to DUI, a Class A misdemeanor, and violation of the open container law, a Class C misdemeanor, and was sentenced, respectively, to concurrent sentences of eleven months, twenty-nine days, all suspended except for seven days, and thirty days, to be served on probation. As a condition of his guilty pleas, the defendant reserved two certified questions of law: (1) whether the trial court should have dismissed the charges or ordered another preliminary hearing because the tape recording of the initial hearing was inaudible; and (2) whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained as the result of his alleged illegal arrest. On appeal, the defendant pursued only the second question, which the State argues is not dispositive of the charges, resulting in this matter not properly being before the court. We agree that the certified question is not dispositive and, accordingly, dismiss the appeal. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lillian Ileene Thornton
The defendant pled guilty to forgery and agreed to a sentence of eighteen months, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. The trial court denied her request for alternative sentencing based on her lack of potential for rehabilitation and her lack of honesty at the sentencing hearing. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Alejandro Rivera
The Cocke County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant for first degree premeditated murder pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-202 (1997). After a trial, the jury convicted the Defendant of the indicted charge and then sentenced him to life in prison with the possibility of parole. The Defendant appeals contending that: (1) the prosecutor made improper statements to the jury; (2) the trial court improperly admitted into evidence two pieces of evidence and statements of his co-defendants; (3) the trial court erred when it refused to grant his request for a continuance; (4) the trial court erred when it refused to grant him a judgment of acquittal; (5) the trial court erred when it instructed the jury; (6) the voir dire was improper; (7) the trial court erred when it refused the Defendant's request to change venue; (8) the trial court erred when it refused to admit drawings made by a key prosecution child-witness; (9) the trial court erred when it allowed two witnesses to remain in the courtroom for the duration of the trial; (10) the trial court erred when it refused to consider evidence regarding statements allegedly made by the jury foreman; (11) the trial court erred when it refused to allow a New York search warrant and affidavit to be admitted into evidence; (12) the trial court erred when it allowed a photograph of the deceased to be admitted into evidence; and (13) the trial court erred when it did not review the "TBI file." Finding no error in the judgments of the trial court, we affirm the Defendant's conviction. |
Cocke | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jason D. Seiler
The defendant, Jason D. Seiler, appeals from the Sullivan County Circuit Court's revoking his probation that he received for his guilty pleas to four counts of failure to appear. The defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his probation and sentencing him to confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Jones v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, David Jones, appeals the Claiborne County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for attempted second degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault and resulting effective sentence of fifteen years. He claims that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because his trial attorney failed to request a mental evaluation for him and that his guilty pleas were not knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily entered. We affirm the trial court's denial of the petition. |
Claiborne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Angalee Love
The defendant was convicted of aggravated child abuse of her seventeen-month-old daughter. The defendant contends on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support the conviction, and the trial court erred in allowing testimony by Dr. Lazar concerning the effects of acetone. We conclude that the evidence presented was sufficient to support the conviction, and any error in admitting the testimony of Dr. Lazar concerning the effects of acetone was harmless. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James A. McCurry
The defendant was charged with driving on a revoked license and misdemeanor evading arrest. The jury found him not guilty of driving on a revoked license and guilty of evading arrest. The defendant contends on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antray Terrill Morrow
A Hardin County jury convicted the appellant of four counts of aggravated assault and one count of felony reckless endangerment. The trial court imposed an effective twelve-year sentence. In this appeal, the appellant argues: (1) there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions; and (2) the trial court erred in sentencing him. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the appellant’s convictions and sentences for aggravated assault. However, because felony reckless endangerment is not a lesser-included offense of aggravated assault, the jury was improperly instructed on that offense. Accordingly, we reverse the appellant’s conviction for felony reckless endangerment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Hardin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Timothy Wakefield
The Defendant, Timothy Wakefield, pled guilty to DUI, fourth offense, and was sentenced to two years in confinement, suspended after service of 150 days. The Defendant was placed on community corrections. A petition for the revocation of the Defendant’s community corrections sentence was subsequently filed and granted. The sole issue on appeal is whether the trial court erred by not allowing the Defendant full credit for the time that the Defendant had served in the community corrections program. We conclude that the trial court erred and remand to the trial court to modify its judgment to reflect ninety-eight days of credit for time served. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jasper Turner
Following a jury trial, Defendant, Jasper Turner, was convicted of identity theft, a Class D felony. He was sentenced to twelve years incarceration as a career offender. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support the conviction, argues that the trial court erred in sentencing him, and contends that it was plain error for the trial court to allow the State to refer to the victim being attacked at the time the victim’s wallet and credit cards were taken. After a thorough review of the evidence, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Detrick Cole
Capital defendant Detrick Cole appeals as of right his sentence of death resulting from the October 2000 murder of Santeife Thomas. A Shelby County jury found the defendant guilty of premeditated first degree murder. Following a separate sentencing hearing, the jury unanimously found the presence of one statutory aggravating circumstance, i.e., the defendant had previously been convicted of one or more violent felony offenses; determined that this aggravating circumstance outweighed any mitigating circumstances; and imposed a sentence of death. The defendant now appeals, presenting for our review the following issues: (1) whether the evidence is sufficient to support premeditated first degree murder; (2) whether the trial court erred in permitting the state to introduce a photograph of the victim while he was alive; (3) whether the trial court erred in permitting the introduction of post-mortem photographs of the victim; (4) whether the fingerprinting of the defendant in the presence of the jury at the penalty phase was constitutional error; (5) whether the trial court erroneously prohibited the defendant from introducing hearsay evidence during the penalty phase; (6) whether the trial court's instructions to the jury as to the (i)(2) aggravating circumstance were contrary to the United States Supreme Court's holdings in Apprendi v. New Jersey and Ring v. Arizona; (7) whether there is a reasonable probability that the instruction on victim impact evidence coerced the death sentence from the jury; (8) whether the evidence is sufficient to establish the defendant had previously been convicted of one or more violent felony offenses; (9) whether the jury verdict form was clear as to whether the jury found the aggravating circumstance relied upon by the state; (10) whether the Tennessee death penalty statutory scheme is constitutional; and (11) whether the sentence of death imposed in this case is disproportionate. Upon review, we question, but need not determine, whether the trial court in the penalty phase had the authority under Apprendi and Ring to find the defendant's prior felony convictions were crimes of violence and to instruct the jury that these prior convictions were crimes of violence; however, we conclude that if there were error, any error was harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Thus, we discern no error of law requiring reversal. Accordingly, we affirm the defendant's conviction for first degree murder and the jury's imposition of the sentence of death. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Calvin Reginald Edwards
The defendant, Calvin Reginald Edwards, entered a plea of guilt to simple possession of marijuana, explicitly reserving a certified question of law challenging the legality of an investigatory stop. See Tenn. R. Crim. P. 37(b)(2)(i). Because the stop was based upon a reasonable and articulable suspicion, the judgment is affirmed. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Richard Dilling
Following a bench trial in the Circuit Court of Obion County, Defendant, Richard Dilling, was convicted of misdemeanor reckless endangerment. He was sentenced to serve 11 months and 29 days, with all but 30 days to be suspended. He now appeals, challenging both the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain the conviction and the sentence imposed by the trial court. After a careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Obion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Carolyn Diane Brown v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Carolyn Diane Brown, appeals the trial court's denial of post-conviction relief. In addition to a challenge of the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, the petitioner alleges that she was denied the effective assistance of counsel. The judgment is affirmed. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Reginald D. Hughes
The Appellant, Reginald D. Hughes, was convicted by a Williamson County jury of felony evading arrest and misdemeanor possession of cocaine. As a result of these convictions, Hughes was sentenced as a Range III persistent offender to an effective sentence of five years in the Department of Correction. The single issue presented for our review is whether the evidence was sufficient to support the verdicts. After review of the record, we find the evidence sufficient and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Garrett Nicholas Sons
The defendant pled guilty to aggravated robbery and felony evading arrest. The trial court ordered the sentences for the offenses committed in Loudon County to be served consecutively to a sentence for robbery in Knox County. The defendant contends on appeal that the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentencing. The trial court did not err in imposing consecutive sentencing because the defendant was on probation when the current offenses were committed. The judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Loudon | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Traci L. Crews
The defendant entered a best interest plea to theft over $10,000, as a Range I, standard offender. She was sentenced to six years, with eight months of confinement and the remainder suspended with ten years of intensive probation. Restitution was included. On appeal of her sentence, the sentence was modified to three years and the remaining terms of the sentence affirmed in all respects. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William O. Ewerling
The Appellant, William O. Ewerling, appeals his conviction by a Davidson County jury for driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), first offense. On appeal, Ewerling raises three issues for our review: (1) whether the trial court's admission of certain evidence at trial was error; (2) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction; and (3) whether Ewerling's refusal to submit to a breath alcohol test was protected by his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Because the record on appeal fails to include either a transcript of the evidence from Ewerling's trial or a statement of the evidence as permitted by Tenn. R. App. P. 24, we find that these issues are procedurally defaulted. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Teresa Gail Presson
The defendant, Teresa Gail Presson, appeals from the Dickson County Circuit Court's order revoking her probation that she received upon her guilty plea to theft of property valued more than $10,000 but less than $60,000. The defendant contends that although she violated her probation, the trial court erred by ordering her to serve the remainder of her sentence in confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Frank Crittenden v. State of Tennessee
The Appellant, Frank Crittenden, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court's dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. Crittenden pled guilty to eight counts of aggravated rape and, following a sentencing hearing, received an effective one-hundred-year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the single issue presented for our review is whether Crittenden was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Following a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court dismissing the petition. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Anderson Peek v. State of Tennessee
A Hamilton County jury convicted the Petitioner, Michael Anderson Peek, of four counts of aggravated rape, one count of attempted aggravated rape, three counts of rape, one count of aggravated robbery, two counts of robbery, and three counts of aggravated burglary. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of ninety-nine years in prison. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed the convictions, and the Tennessee Supreme Court denied the Petitioner's application for permission to appeal. The Petitioner then sought post-conviction relief, alleging that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. Following a hearing on the post-conviction petition, the trial court dismissed the petition, and this appeal ensued. We affirm the trial court's dismissal of the petition. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Richard Rehagen v. State of Tennessee
The Defendant, Richard Rehagen, pled guilty to one count of first degree murder, one count of attempted first degree murder, and one count of aggravated arson. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for the murder, and to twenty-five years for each of the other two offenses, to run concurrently. The Defendant subsequently challenged his pleas by filing a petition for post-conviction relief. The trial court denied the Defendant’s petition after an evidentiary hearing, and the Defendant now appeals. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ira Miles v. State of Tennessee
The Defendant, Ira Miles, brings this appeal from the trial court’s denial of post-conviction relief. The Defendant pled guilty to especially aggravated robbery and received an agreed sentence of seventeen years to be served at one hundred percent. In this appeal, he argues that he is entitled to post-conviction relief because he was denied the effective assistance of counsel during the course of his plea. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals |
