State of Tennessee v. James Arthur Johnson
The Defendant, James Arthur Johnson, was charged with two counts of premeditated firstdegree murder, two counts of felony murder, and one count of aggravated robbery for events that occurred on the evening of June 18, 2006. Co-defendant Rodney Lenier Williams was also charged in all five counts, but his case was severed from the defendant's case before trial. A jury sitting in the Criminal Court for Davidson County found the defendant not guilty of the two counts of premeditated first-degree murder, guilty of the two counts of felony murder, and guilty of the count of aggravated robbery. The defendant was given concurrent life sentences for the felony murder convictions. For the aggravated robbery conviction, the defendant was given an eleven year sentence to run consecutively to the two life sentences. In this appeal as of right, the defendant argues (1) that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions, (2) that the trial court erred in allowing a non-expert witness to give his opinion, and (3) that the trial court erred in sentencing the defendant. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dallas R. Myers, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Dallas R. Myers, Jr., appeals the trial court's summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. He alleges that his sentence is illegal because the trial court sentenced him above the presumptive minimum sentence absent a finding of enhancement factors. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Frank Deangelo Taylor
The Defendant-Appellant, Frank Deangelo Taylor, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of first degree felony murder and criminal attempt to commit especially aggravated robbery. He received a life sentence for the first degree felony murder and a concurrent term of eight years imprisonment for the attempted especially aggravated robbery. On appeal, Taylor claims: (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress, and (2) the insufficiency of the evidence. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Javonte Demontez Terrell v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Javonte Demontez Terrell, was indicted for first degree murder. He entered a best interest plea to second degree murder in exchange for a twenty-year sentence. Petitioner then filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief. After an amended petition was filed, the post-conviction court held a hearing. The petition was dismissed by the post-conviction court. Petitioner filed an untimely notice of appeal. This Court waived the timely filing of the notice of appeal. Petitioner challenges the dismissal of the petition. After a review of the record on appeal, we conclude that Petitioner has failed to prove that his guilty plea was involuntary or that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Raymond Douglas Myers v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Raymond Douglas Myers, was convicted of three counts of first degree murder, two counts of felony murder, one count of aggravated arson, and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. See State v. Raymond Douglas Myers, Sr., No. M2003-01099-CCA-R3-CD, 2004 WL 911280, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Apr. 20, 2004), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Nov. 8, 2004). The trial court merged the felony murder convictions and the conspiracy to commit murder conviction with the three convictions for first degree murder. Id. Petitioner was sentenced to consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole for the murder convictions, and a consecutive twenty-four year sentence for the aggravated arson conviction. On direct appeal, this Court affirmed the judgments of the trial court. Id. at *7. Petitioner sought post-conviction relief in a lengthy pro se petition. Counsel was appointed. After a hearing on the petition for relief, the post-conviction court denied the petition. Petitioner has appealed the denial of post-conviction relief, arguing that the postconviction court should have determined that Petitioner received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. After a thorough review of the record, we determine that Petitioner has failed to show that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Accordingly, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jermaine Smith
Defendant, Jermaine Smith, appeals the trial court's order revoking Defendant's probation in various sentences and ordering Defendant to serve his sentences in confinement. It appears from the record that as of the probation violation hearing on February 9, 2009, a "fourth amended" probation violation warrant was pending against Defendant. This warrant alleged that Defendant had violated various terms and conditions of his probation in Montgomery County cases numbered 40300037, 40600256, and 40601232. In this appeal, Defendant acknowledges that the evidence showed he violated the terms of his probation. However, he argues that the trial court should have reinstated probation rather than order service of the sentence by incarceration. After full review we affirm the orders of the trial court. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joel Adam Alexander
Defendant, Joel Adam Alexander, was indicted for possession of more than .5 grams of a Schedule II substance containing a cocaine base with the intent to sell, possession of more than .5 grams of a Schedule II substance containing a cocaine base with intent to deliver, possession of more than .5 ounces of marijuana with the intent to sell, possession of more than .5 ounces of marijuana with the intent to deliver, and possession of drug paraphernalia. On June 16, 2008, defendant entered a plea of guilty to possession of more than .5 grams of a Schedule II substance containing a cocaine base with intent to sell, with an agreed sentence of ten years as a Range I, standard offender. The manner of service of the sentence was left to the trial court's determination. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered the sentence to be served by incarceration. On appeal, defendant challenges the trial court's denial of alternative sentencing. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Veric Dean Osgood v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Veric Dean Osgood, pled guilty in the Blount County Circuit Court to two counts of aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated robbery, and one count of aggravated burglary. He received a total effective sentence of thirty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Subsequently, he filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective and that his pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered. The post-conviction court denied the petition, and the Petitioner now appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Phedrek T. Davis v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Phedrek T. Davis, appeals from the dismissal of his petition for writ of error coram nobis. In this appeal, he contends that the coram nobis court erred by summarily denying his petition. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Phillippe Rogers
A Davidson County jury convicted the defendant of one count of conspiracy to sell 300 grams or more of cocaine, see T.C.A. __ 39-17-417(a)(3), (j)(5); 39-12-103 (2003), and one count of possession with intent to sell 300 grams or more of cocaine, see id. _ 39-17- 417(a)(4), (j)(5). The defendant appeals, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of conspiracy to sell 300 grams or more of cocaine. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Gary Wayne Armstrong
The defendant, Gary Wayne Armstrong, appeals from his Marshall County Circuit Court jury convictions of assault and aggravated assault. He claims that the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions and that the trial court erroneously sentenced him. Upon our review of the record, we affirm the trial court's judgments. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Herman Majors, Jr.
The defendant, Herman Majors, Jr., appeals the Montgomery County Circuit Court's revocation of his community corrections sentence for his conviction of aggravated assault, alleging that the trial court erred in not returning him to community corrections or placing him on probation. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Edward Thompson
The defendant, Edward Thompson, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court's denial of his petition to suspend his sentence to probation. The defendant pled guilty to attempted rape of a child, a Class B felony, and received an agreed sentence of ten years. However, as part of the agreement, he reserved the right to request that the trial court sentence him to probation. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred in its decision by "not appropriately bas[ing] the denial of probation upon the sentencing considerations set forth in Tennessee Code Annotated 40-35-103." Following review of the record, we conclude that the trial court did not err in denying the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
William Patrick Robinson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, William Patrick Robinson, appeals pro se from the Circuit Court of Carroll County's dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. He pled guilty to first degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery and was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and a concurrent term of twenty-five years imprisonment, respectively. The State filed a motion requesting this court to affirm the post-conviction court's order pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Carroll | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jonathon C. Hood v. State of Tennessee
Defendant, Jonathon C. Hood, appeals the dismissal of his motion to discharge fines. More specifically, he contends that because his sentence was expired, the trial court erred in dismissing the motion. The State argues that this Court does not have jurisdiction to hear this appeal because Rule 3 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure does not provide for an appeal as of right from the denial of a motion to discharge fines. We agree. Additionally, the record is incomplete. Therefore, Defendant's appeal is dismissed. |
Franklin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kardius Wilkes v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Kardius Wilkes, was convicted by a jury of one count of first degree murder. This Court affirmed his conviction on direct appeal, and his application for permission to appeal was denied by the Tennessee Supreme Court. See State v. Kardius Wilkes, No. W2001-02172-CCA-R3-CD, 2002 WL 818255 (Tenn. Crim. App., Jackson, Apr. 26, 2002), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Oct. 7, 2002). He later filed a petition for post-conviction relief. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied the Petitioner relief. In this appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred in denying him relief because his trial counsel failed to: (1) impeach a particular witness using transcripts of the Petitioner's first trial, which ended in a mistrial; (2) adequately meet with the Petitioner before his second trial; (3) call the Petitioner's brother as a witness; and (4) adequately investigate and interview potential witnesses. After our review, we affirm the post-conviction court's denial of relief. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Shane Hayes
Following a jury trial, Defendant, Joshua Shane Hayes, was convicted of possession with intent to deliver three-hundred grams or more of cocaine (count one), manufacturing twenty or more marijuana plants (count two), and possession with intent to deliver more than ten pounds but less than seventy pounds of marijuana (count three). The trial court conducted a sentencing hearing and imposed a sentence of twenty-four years for count one, five years for count two, and four years for count three. The court ordered counts one and two to run consecutively to each other and concurrently to count three for an effective twenty-nine year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Defendant argues that (1) the trial court erred in failing to suppress the evidence seized from the residence at Deer Valley Trail; (2) that the trial court erred in allowing the State to introduce evidence of seventeen firearms, ammunition, and photographs of multiple firearms at trial; and (3) that the trial court erred in sentencing Defendant to an effective twenty-nine year sentence. Following our review of the record, we reverse the judgments of the trial court because the warrant does not comply with the requirements of Rule 41 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brandon Taylor Fisher
The defendant, Brandon Taylor Fisher, stands convicted of robbery and kidnapping, both Class C felonies. The trial court sentenced him as a Range I standard offender to five years for robbery and four years for kidnapping and ordered him to serve the sentences consecutively in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant challenges the trial court's imposition of consecutive sentences. Following our review, we conclude that the trial court failed to make findings sufficient to justify consecutive sentences under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-115(b) and remand for a new sentencing hearing solely on the issue of whether consecutive sentences are appropriate in this case. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brent R. Stewart
In this appeal, the defendant claims that his due process rights were violated because the judge presiding over his probation revocation had previously served as a member of his drug court team and had received ex parte information regarding the defendant's conduct at issue by virtue of his prior involvement. After due consideration, we agree that the Due Process Clause requires that a defendant's probation revocation be adjudicated by a judge who has not previously reviewed the same or related subject matter as part of the defendant's drug court team. Accordingly, we reverse the decision below and remand the defendant's case for a new hearing in front of a different judge. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Carlos Kennedy
The Defendant-Appellant, Carlos Kennedy, was convicted by a jury in the Circuit Court of Chester County of rape of a child, a Class A felony, attempted rape of a child, a Class B felony, assault, a Class A misdemeanor, and coercion of a witness, a Class D felony. He was sentenced to twenty-five years for rape of a child, ten years for attempted rape of a child, eleven months and twenty-nine days for assault, and four years for coercion of a witness. The trial court ordered the sentence for attempted rape of a child to be served consecutively with the sentence for rape of a child. It also ordered the sentences for assault and coercion of a witness to run concurrently with the conviction for rape of a child. Thus, Kennedy received an effective sentence of thirty-five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Kennedy claims: (1) that the conviction for rape of a child is not supported by sufficient evidence; (2) the trial court erred by prohibiting defense counsel from questioning the victim and her mother about a prior allegation of sexual abuse made by the victim; and (3) the trial court erred by imposing consecutive sentencing. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Chester | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mario Chambers
In the Shelby County Criminal Court, the Defendant-Appellant, Mario Chambers, entered guilty pleas to four Class E felonies and one Class A misdemeanor. Specifically, Chambers pled guilty to possession of Morphine with intent to sell, possession of Hydrocodone with intent to sell, possession of Alprazolam with intent to sell and possession of marijuana. As a part of his plea agreement, Chambers received concurrent two-year sentences for each of the felony convictions to be served in the county workhouse and a concurrent thirty-four day sentence to be served in the county jail for the misdemeanor conviction, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. On appeal, Chambers argues that the trial court erred in denying an alternative sentence. Upon review, we affirm the trial court's judgments. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Telly Savalas Johnson
A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Telly Savalas Johnson, of five counts of criminal attempt to commit first degree murder. The trial court sentenced him as a Range I standard offender to an effective sentence of seventy-five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant argues that the evidence at trial was insufficient to prove identity and premeditation. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Marvin Anthony Matthews v. Tony Parker, Warden
The petitioner, Marvin Anthony Matthews, appeals pro se the Circuit Court of Lake County's order dismissing his petitions for habeas corpus relief. The petitioner claims he is being illegally detained because his sentence for third degree burglary has expired. The State filed a motion requesting this court to affirm the trial court's order pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Lake | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Bryant McClain
The Defendant, Joshua Bryant McClain, pleaded guilty to vandalism of cemetery monuments in an amount over $10,000. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court denied the defendant's request for judicial diversion and sentenced the defendant to five years; after the service of 150 days in jail, his sentence was to be suspended for a six-year period. The trial court also ordered the defendant to pay $5,000 in restitution to the cemetery association. The defendant now appeals, challenging the denial of judicial diversion, the length of his sentence, and the restitution award. After a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David Lynn Harrison
The Defendant, David Lynn Harrison, appeals from his conviction by a jury in the Knox County Criminal Court for theft of property valued at $1,000 or more, a Class D felony, for which he was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to three years in the Department of Correction. The defendant contends (1) that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction, (2) that the trial court erred when it failed to instruct the jury on the lesser included offenses of unauthorized use of a vehicle and attempted theft, and (3) that the trial court committed plain error when it failed to instruct the jury on the defenses of duress and necessity. Because the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the lesser included offense of unauthorized use of a vehicle, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for a new trial. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals |
