Juan Markeith Collier v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Juan Markeith Collier, pled guilty to aggravated kidnapping and attempted second degree murder, both Class B felonies, and was sentenced to concurrent sentences of eleven years. The eleven-year sentence for aggravated kidnapping was required by statute to be served at one-hundred percent. In this appeal from the denial of the post-conviction petition, Petitioner asserts that his guilty plea was involuntary because trial counsel and two “loved ones” coerced him into accepting the plea. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that Petitioner has failed to show that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel and affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jarret Alan Guy v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Jarret Alan Guy, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief in which he alleged that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel. Specifically, Petitioner contends that (1) counsel failed to file a motion to suppress his statement because Petitioner and is family were threatened by a police detective; and that (2) counsel failed to file a motion to suppress his statement based on Petitioner’s alleged intoxication at the time of the interview. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that Petitioner has failed to show that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel and affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Karim El-Amin
The appellant, Karim El-Amin, pled guilty in the Washington County Criminal Court to two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card involving a value more than five hundred dollars but less than one thousand dollars, a Class E felony, and one count of fraudulent use of a credit card involving a value equal to or less than five hundred dollars, a Class A misdemeanor. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the appellant was to receive an effective four-year sentence with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. On appeal, the appellant challenges the trial court’s denial of his request of alternative sentencing. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Washington | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Joseph Brown v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Joseph Brown, appeals as of right from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief challenging his guilty plea to one count of facilitation of first degree murder and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping. The Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel and that his guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered into. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jason Lee White v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Jason Lee White, appeals from the order of the trial court dismissing his “Motion to Correct Illegal Sentence.” The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the judgment of the trial court pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. We grant the State’s motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Fallon Lynn Tallent v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Fallon Lynn Tallent, was convicted in Wilson County of two counts of premeditated murder and sentenced to two, consecutive life terms. The convictions were affirmed on direct appeal, and the supreme court denied permission to appeal. State v. Fallon L. Tallent, No. M2005-00183-CCA-R3-CD, 2006 WL 47090 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Jan. 10, 2006), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. May 1, 2006). Petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief. It was denied without a hearing. Petitioner appealed to this Court. On appeal, this Court reversed the judgment of the post-conviction court and remanded the case for appointment of counsel. Fallon Lynn Tallent v. State, No. M2007-01336-CCA-R3-PC, 2008 WL 762486, at *5 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Mar. 24, 2008). On remand, counsel was appointed, and an amended petition for post-conviction relief was filed. After a hearing on the petition, the post-conviction court denied relief and dismissed the petition. Petitioner has appealed the denial of post-conviction relief. After a thorough review of the record, we determine that Petitioner has failed to show that she received ineffective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ashley Mai Cook
Defendant, Ashley Mai Cook, was convicted of conspiracy to commit first degree premeditated murder, a Class A felony, and first degree premeditated murder. She received consecutive sentences of twenty years as a Range I offender for conspiracy to commit first degree murder and life imprisonment for first degree murder. On appeal, she contends that the evidence is insufficient to support her convictions; that the trial court erred in denying her motion for expert services; that the trial court erred in not charging the jury that Megan Jones was an accomplice; and that her sentence was excessive. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jonathan Londono
Appellant, Jonathan Londono, was convicted by a Davidson County jury of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, facilitation of felony murder, facilitation of especially aggravated robbery and facilitation of aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to an effective sentence of forty-nine years. Appellant was resentenced after an unsuccessful appeal to this Court, an unsuccessful appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, a remand from the United States Supreme Court to the Tennessee Supreme Court, and a remand from the Tennessee Supreme Court to the trial court for resentencing. As a result, Appellant’s sentence was enhanced based upon one enhancing factor, that he had a previous history of criminal convictions and criminal behavior. The trial court sentenced Appellant to an effective sentence of forty-nine years. Appellant appeals his sentence arguing that the trial court erred in basing the application of the enhancing factor on convictions that occurred in the time between the commission of the offenses in question and the imposition of his sentence for the offenses in question. We determine that based upon prior case law in this State the trial court did not err. Therefore, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Arlie Ray Thomas v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Arlie Ray Thomas, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief in which he alleged that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because counsel failed to challenge the affidavits supporting the arrest and search warrants, and that counsel failed to properly interview a witness. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that Petitioner has failed to show that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel and affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Anthony Partin
The Sequatchie County Grand Jury indicted Appellant, John Anthony Partin, for one count of driving under the influence (“DUI”) and one count of violation of the implied consent law. Appellant filed a motion to suppress the evidence collected as a result of his interaction with the law enforcement officer. The trial court denied the motion to suppress. Subsequently, Appellant pled guilty to one count of DUI, first offense and reserved a certified question of law for appeal to this Court. After a review of the record on appeal, we conclude that Appellant did not properly reserve his certified question. Therefore, this Court has no jurisdiction to hear this appeal, and the appeal is dismissed. |
Sequatchie | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Conal Decker v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Conal Decker, filed a pro se petition for writ of error coram nobis or writ of habeas corpus challenging judgments in cases from 1994 and 1998 which were used to enhance the federal sentence he is currently serving. He claims in the cases he is challenging that he was never provided counsel or that his waiver of counsel was improper. The coram nobis court dismissed the petition. The State filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the coram nobis court’s denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. After review, we conclude that the petition was properly dismissed. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted and the judgment of the coram nobis court is affirmed. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Amado Rubio Tavera
The Defendant-Appellant, Amado Rubio Tavera, has filed a petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of the Davidson County Criminal Court’s order denying his motion to expunge. The indictment charged Tavera with one count of vehicular assault and one count of aggravated assault. For the charge of vehicular assault, Tavera pled guilty to the lesser included offense of driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the State entered a nolle prosequi for the charge of aggravated assault. Tavera subsequently filed a motion to expunge the charge of aggravated assault from all public records. He now appeals the denial of this motion. Upon review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael W. Poe
Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Michael W. Poe, was convicted of first degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse, a Class A felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-202, -15-402(b). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to consecutive terms of life in prison for his first degree felony murder conviction and twenty-five years as a violent offender for his aggravated child abuse conviction. In this direct appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred when it denied his motion for judgment of acquittal; (2) the trial court erred when it failed to declare a mistrial after one juror made a comment to another juror about the trial; (3) the trial court erred in failing to ask the other jurors whether they heard the comment at issue; (4) the trial court erred when it failed to remove or disable the televisions and radios from the jurors’ motel rooms; (5) the trial court erred when it applied two inapplicable enhancement factors and failed to consider one mitigating factor; (6) the trial court erred when it imposed consecutive sentences; (7) the trial court did not award the proper amount of jail credit; and (8) the trial court erred when it failed to dismiss the indictment. After our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Rhea | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Darrell Lamar Fritts v. David Sexton, Warden
A Monroe County jury convicted Petitioner of second degree murder. State v. Darrell Fritts, No. 132, 1992 WL 236152, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Knoxville, Sept. 25, 1992), perm. app. dismissed, (Tenn. Feb. 1, 1993). Petitioner was unsuccessful on appeal. Id. at *10. Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief that was denied. Darrell Fritts v. State, No. 03C01-9803-CR-00116, 1999 WL 604430, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Knoxville, Aug. 12, 1999). On appeal, this Court upheld the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. Petitioner subsequently filed two petitions for writ of habeas corpus relief in the Monroe County Court. The first writ was dismissed because it was filed in Monroe County as opposed to the Johnson County Court which is the closest court in distance. With regard to the second writ, the State filed a motion to dismiss based upon the fact that the issues had already been determined by this Court on appeal from the denial of the post-conviction petition and that ineffective assistance of counsel at trial is not a cognizable issue for habeas corpus. The habeas corpus court granted the motion. Petitioner appeals the dismissal of both writs. The appeals have been consolidated in this Court. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the dismissal of the writs was correct. Therefore, we affirm the dismissals by the habeas corpus court. |
Monroe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeremy Stephens Parks
The Defendant, Jeremy Stephen Parks, pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class D felony. See T.C.A. § 39-17-1003 (2010). He was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to four years’ confinement, with six months to be served in the Blount County Jail and the remainder to be served on supervised probation with multiple special conditions. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred during sentencing by (1) denying judicial diversion, (2) imposing the maximum sentence in the range and ordering confinement, and (3) imposing unreasonable terms of probation. We affirm the conviction and the length of the Defendant’s sentence, but we modify the special conditions of probation. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Charles Lamb v. State of Tennessee
Aggrieved of his convictions of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder, the petitioner, Charles Lamb, filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief alleging that he had been deprived of the effective assistance of counsel. In this appeal, he challenges the denial of his bid for post-conviction relief. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Andrew Thomas v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner Andrew Thomas appeals as of right the judgment of the Shelby County Criminal Court denying his petition for post-conviction relief. A Shelby County jury found Petitioner guilty of felony murder based on the killing of James Day during an attempt to perpetrate a robbery. The jury found that Petitioner had previously been convicted of one or more felonies for which the statutory elements involved the use of violence to the person. See T.C.A. § 39-13-204(i)(2). The jury further found that this aggravating circumstance outweighed mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury then sentenced Petitioner to death. Petitioner’s conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the Tennessee Supreme Court. See State v. Thomas, 158 S.W.3d 361 (Tenn. 2005). On January 3, 2006, Petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief. On November 13, 2006, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis and an amended petition for post-conviction relief. The post-conviction court held an evidentiary hearing in October 2007. On August 4, 2008, the post-conviction court entered an order denying Petitioner postconviction relief. On appeal to this Court, Petitioner presents a number of claims that can be characterized in the following categories: (1) Petitioner’s trial counsel were ineffective; (2) Petitioner’s appellate counsel were ineffective; (3) Petitioner is entitled to a new trial based upon newly discovered evidence; and (4) Tennessee’s death penalty statutory scheme is unconstitutional. Following a thorough and exhaustive review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Danny Lynn Davis
The Defendant, Danny Lynn Davis, was convicted at a bench trial in the Washington County Criminal Court of theft of property valued at $60,000 or more, a Class B felony; official misconduct, a Class E felony; and twenty-five counts of forgery, Class E felonies. See T.C.A. §§ 39-14-103 (theft); 39-16-402 (official misconduct); 39-14-114 (forgery). He was sentenced to ten years for the theft conviction and to one year for each of the Class E felony convictions, all to be served concurrently with one year of split confinement and the remaining nine years on probation. In this appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the victim, the city of Johnson City, had no standing to allege the crimes, (2) the prosecution of the forgery and official misconduct offenses was barred by the statute of limitations; (3) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; (4) the trial judge should have recused himself because the judge’s wife was an employee of the city of Johnson City; and (5) he was deprived of the opportunity to prepare a proper defense because the trial court failed to release his income tax records during discovery. We note that two of the convictions were rendered on counts dismissed by the State during trial. We vacate the convictions for forgery in Counts 23 and 27, but we affirm the remaining judgments of the trial court. |
Washington | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
James Patterson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, James Patterson, appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief by the Criminal Court of Shelby County. He was convicted of especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony, criminal attempt to commit second degree murder, a Class B felony, and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, Class A felonies. The petitioner received an effective sentence of thirty-two years. The convictions and sentence were upheld on direct appeal. See State v. James Patterson, No. W2005-01416-CCA-R3CD, 2007 WL 162175, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Jan. 23, 2007). The petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which alleged that trial counsel was ineffective. The post-conviction court denied the petitioner relief. On appeal, the petitioner claims he is entitled to a new post-conviction hearing because post-conviction counsel failed to diligently investigate and present reasonable claims for relief. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Adrian Ann Crain
The defendant, Adrian Ann Crain, appeals the revocation of her probation sentence, claiming that the state denied her right to a speedy trial and that the trial court did not have jurisdiction when it revoked her sentence and ordered that she serve the remainder of her sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Aaron Jenkins and Perley Winkler, Jr.
A Monroe County Circuit Court jury convicted the appellants, Michael Aaron Jenkins and Perley Winkler, Jr., of two counts of attempted first degree premeditated murder and one count of attempted aggravated arson. After sentencing hearings, Jenkins received an effective seventeen-year sentence and Winkler received an effective forty-year sentence. On appeal, the appellants contend that the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions and that the trial court erred by prohibiting them from questioning one of the victims, David Senn, about a prior felony conviction. In addition, Jenkins contends that the trial court should have allowed him to cross-examine Senn in front of the jury about Senn’s untruthfulness during an offer of proof, that the trial court should have granted his motion to sever his trial from that of his codefendant, and that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct during its closing argument. Winkler contends that the trial court erred by allowing the State to question a second victim about a threatening message Winkler allegedly left on a cellular telephone and that his sentence is excessive. After a review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support the convictions and that the trial court properly sentenced Winkler. The appellants’ remaining issues are waived because the appellants failed to provide an adequate record on appeal. |
Monroe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Valentine Hill
Defendant, Joseph Valentine Hill, was charged with one count of DUI, second offense, a class A misdemeanor, and with seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a class C felony. He entered pleas of guilty as charged in each count and submitted to a sentencing hearing with no agreement as to the length or manner of service of the sentences. The trial court sentenced Defendant to four years for each aggravated assault conviction and to 11 months and 29 days for the DUI second offense conviction. The DUI sentence and three of the aggravated assault sentences were ordered to be served concurrently with each other. The remaining four aggravated assault sentences were ordered to be served concurrently with each other, but consecutively to the first grouping of sentences, for an effective sentence of eight years. The trial court ordered the eight-year sentence to be served in incarceration. Recognizing that the DUI, second offense conviction requires a mandatory minimum period of incarceration, Defendant argues on appeal that the trial court erred by declining to grant him probation after serving the above-noted mandatory minimum confinement. After careful review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bobby Hughlett
The defendant, Bobby Hughlett, appeals from the trial court’s denial of any form of alternative sentencing, including probation. The defendant entered pleas of nolo contendere to attempted aggravated robbery and robbery, both Class C felonies. The defendant was given an agreed sentence of ten years for each count, to run concurrently, as a persistentoffender, with a 45% release eligibility date. The defendant contends that the court abused its discretion in denying him an alternative sentence, including probation, and erred in finding the defendant was on probation at the time of committing these offenses. After review, we affirm the sentences imposed by the trial court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Derrick D. Crutcher
A Davidson County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Derrick D. Crutcher, of simple possession of cocaine, in this case a Class E felony, see T.C.A. § 39-17-418(a), (e) (2006), and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor, see id. § 39-17- 425(a)(1). In this appeal as of right, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Because the evidence is sufficient, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Robert J. Montville v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Robert J. Montville, appeals the Hickman County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for simple assault and reckless driving and his resulting effective sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine days to be served as twenty-four hours in jail and the remainder on supervised probation. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals |
