Levi Battle, III v. State of Tennessee
A Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Levi Battle, III, of possession of twenty-six grams or more of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver, and the trial court sentenced him as a career offender to thirty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On direct appeal, the Petitioner challenged the denial of his motion to suppress, and we affirmed the trial court's judgment. State v. Levi Battle, III, No. M2006-00288-CCA-R3-CD, 2007 WL 957207, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Mar. 29, 2007), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Aug. 13, 2007). The Petitioner then filed a petition for post-conviction relief in which he alleged that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel, and, after a hearing, the post-conviction court dismissed the petition. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Thomas T. Nicholson v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Thomas T. Nicholson, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief in the Criminal Court for Loudon County from his conviction upon a plea of nolo contendere to sexual battery by an authority figure, a Class C felony, for which he received a six-year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and that as a result, his plea was not voluntarily, knowingly, or intelligently entered. We hold that the Petitioner received the ineffective assistance of counsel because he was given erroneous advice about release eligibility. We reverse the judgment of the trial court denying post-conviction relief, we vacate the Petitioner's conviction, and we remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Loudon | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Marvin J. Hill
A Knox County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Marvin J. Hill, of first degree premeditated murder, see T.C.A. _ 39-13-202 (2003), and abuse of a corpse, see id. _ 39-17-312. The trial court imposed sentences of life imprisonment and six years, respectively, and ordered the sentences to be served concurrently for an effective sentence of life in prison. In this appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court should have suppressed bodily fluids obtained from the victim's body as fruit of the defendant's unconstitutionally procured statement, contends that the trial court erred by admitting into evidence telephone calls the defendant placed while in jail and a videotape recording of the victim's body being recovered by authorities, asserts that the trial court should not have ruled that he could be impeached by convictions greater than 10 years old, claims that the trial court erred by permitting the State to argue that the victim had been raped prior to her death, and challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jason Lee White
The Defendant, Jason Lee White, was convicted by a jury of one count of burglary, one count of aggravated robbery, and one count of especially aggravated kidnapping. In this direct appeal, he contends that the trial court erred: (1) in denying his motion to set aside his conviction for especially aggravated kidnapping; and (2) in upholding the State's use of a peremptory challenge under Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986). After our review, we reverse and dismiss the Defendant's especially aggravated kidnapping conviction. In all other respects, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jonathan Jasper Smith
The Defendant, Jonathan Jasper Smith, entered guilty pleas in the Sullivan County Circuit Court to one count of attempting to obtain narcotics by fraud, a Class D felony, and one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the Defendant received concurrent sentences of two years as a Range I, standard offender, and eleven months twenty-nine days, respectively. In a separate case, the Defendant pled guilty to violation of a habitual traffic offender order, a Class E felony; speeding, a Class C misdemeanor; and failure to show proof of financial responsibility, a Class C misdemeanor. He received an effective sentence of two years for these offenses to be served consecutively to the drug-related cases. The manner of service was left to the trial court's determination. Following an alternative sentencing hearing, the trial court denied probation and all other forms of alternative sentencing. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying him alternative sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Pollard
A Shelby County jury found the defendant, Joseph Pollard, guilty of first degree murder, attempted voluntary manslaughter, a Class D felony, and aggravated assault, a Class C felony. He received a life sentence for his first degree murder conviction, two years as a standard offender for attempted voluntary manslaughter, and three years as a standard offender for aggravated assault, to be served concurrently in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support a first degree murder conviction and that the trial court erred in dismissing his motion for mistrial. Following our review of the record, the parties’ briefs, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Laythaniel Haney
The Defendant was indicted for sale and delivery of less than .5 grams of a Schedule II controlled substance, both Class C felonies. A jury acquitted the Defendant of the sale of a Schedule II controlled substance but convicted him of the lesser-included offense of simple possession or casual exchange of a Schedule II controlled substance. The jury also convicted the Defendant of delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a career offender to fifteen years confinement for the delivery conviction. In his appeal as of right, the Defendant raises five issues for this court's review: (1) whether the verdicts were inconsistent; (2) whether the convictions for simple possession or casual exchange merge with the delivery conviction; (3) whether the Defendant received a fair trial when jurors were found sleeping during the presentation of evidence; (4) whether the evidence was sufficient to convict the Defendant of delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance; and (5) whether the Defendant received a fair trial when he was intoxicated and unable to assist trial counsel at the time of trial. We conclude that the issues regarding the sleeping jurors and the Defendant's alleged intoxication are waived because the Defendant failed to file a timely motion for a new trial. Following our review, we conclude that the verdicts were not inconsistent and that the evidence was sufficient to support his convictions. However, we conclude that the judgments do not properly reflect the jury's verdict or the trial court's merger of the offenses Therefore, we remand the case for correction of the judgments. |
Cocke | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brittany Scott Pye
The Defendant, Brittany Scott Pye, was convicted by a Maury County jury of sale of .5 gramsor more of cocaine, a Class B felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. _ 39-17-417. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed a fifteen-year sentence for this conviction, which was ordered to be served consecutively to two prior sentences. In this direct appeal, the Defendant challenges only the imposition of consecutive sentences. After a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. However, we must remand for entry of a corrected judgment. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christina Kay Deering
The petitioner, Christina Kay Deering, appeals from the Jefferson County Circuit Court's dismissal of a petition for post-conviction relief filed on her behalf by her mother, Melissa Deering. The State has moved to have this court summarily affirm the dismissal pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. We grant the motion and affirm the order of dismissal pursuant to Rule 20. |
Jefferson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antonio Santial Jones
The Defendant, Antonio Santial Jones, appeals his conviction by a jury in the Davidson County Criminal Court for second degree murder, a Class A felony, for which he was sentenced as a Range I, violent offender to twenty-two years in the Department of Correction. The Defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction and that the testimony of two witnesses should have been considered accomplice testimony, requiring independent corroboration. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ronald Dillman, Jr.
The Defendant, Ronald Dillman, Jr., was convicted of especially aggravated burglary, a Class B felony, aggravated assault, a Class C felony, robbery, a Class C felony, attempted aggravated assault, a Class D felony, and assault, a Class A misdemeanor. He was sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender to serve eighteen years for especially aggravated burglary, eight years for aggravated assault, eight years for robbery, and five years for attempted aggravated assault. He was sentenced to serve eleven months and twenty-nine days for the misdemeanor conviction. All sentences were concurrent, resulting in an effective eighteen-year sentence. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, the trial court's denial of his motion for judgment of acquittal, the trial court's approval of the verdict in its role as thirteenth juror, and the exclusion from evidence of Robert Collins's plea agreement document. We affirm the convictions, but we vacate the judgments for aggravated assault and attempted aggravated assault and remand the case for entry of a judgment merging the attempted aggravated assault conviction with the aggravated assault conviction. |
Claiborne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Johnny Tate
The defendant, Johnny Tate, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, Class A felonies; two counts of aggravated robbery, Class B felonies; and aggravated burglary, a Class C felony. He was subsequently sentenced to two sentences of life without parole, to two sentences of twelve years, and to a sentence of six years for the respective convictions. Further, the trial court ordered that the two sentences of life be served consecutively to each other, with the other sentences to be served concurrently. On appeal, the defendant raises the single issue of sufficiency of the evidence. Specifically, he contends that the evidence presented is insufficient to establish his identity as the perpetrator of the crimes. Following review of the record, we affirm the judgments of conviction. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Abron Spraggins
The defendant, Abron Spraggins, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, a Class E felony, and was sentenced by the trial court to an effective term of thirteen years in the Department of Correction. The defendant raises three issues on appeal: (1) whether the trial court committed plain error by instructing the jury that felony reckless endangerment was a lesser-included offense of aggravated assault as charged in the indictment; (2) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain the convictions; and (3) whether the trial court erred by enhancing the defendant's aggravated assault sentence and ordering that the aggravated assault and reckless endangerment sentences be served consecutively. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Crystal Miranda Kirby
A Campbell County Criminal Court Jury found the appellant, Crystal Miranda Kirby, guilty of the first degree premeditated murder, second degree murder, and especially aggravated robbery of Jonathan Pierce. The trial court imposed concurrent sentences of life, twenty-one years, and eighteen years, respectively. On appeal, the appellant challenges the trial court's pretrial ruling on the admissibility of a statement she made in the course of plea negotiations and the sufficiency of the evidence sustaining her conviction of first degree premeditated murder. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court; however, we remand for an entry of a judgment reflecting that the conviction for second degree murder is merged into the conviction for first degree murder. |
Campbell | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Abron Spraggins
The defendant, Abron Spraggins, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, and reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, a Class E felony, and was sentenced by the trial court to an effective term of thirteen years in the Department of Correction. The defendant raises three issues on appeal: (1) whether the trial court committed plain error by instructing the jury that felony reckless endangerment was a lesser-included offense of aggravated assault as charged in the indictment; (2) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain the convictions; and (3) whether the trial court erred by enhancing the defendant’s aggravated assault sentence and ordering that the aggravated assault and reckless endangerment sentences be served consecutively. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Johnathan Norman
The defendant, Johnathan Norman, appeals the trial court’s denial of his motion to withdraw guilty pleas that he entered to charges of (1) being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun, a Class E felony, and (2) unlawful possession of a controlled substance (marijuana), a Class A misdemeanor. After careful review, we conclude that the defendant’s motion to withdraw his pleas was not timely, and we affirm the judgments from the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Clois Dean Asbury
A Campbell County Criminal Court jury convicted the appellant, Clois Dean Asbury, of driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), sixth offense, and violating the Tennessee implied consent law. On appeal, the appellant contends that (1) there was insufficient evidence to convict him on either count because he was not specifically identified in court, and (2) the trial court's admission of the appellant's medical records, which revealed the appellant had a blood alcohol content level of 0.26 percent, violated his right to confront witnesses against him. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Campbell | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Shannon Gene Taylor
The Defendant, Shannon Gene Taylor, appeals the revocation of his probation by the Circuit Court of Coffee County. 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. After our review, we grant the State's motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Coffee | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Larquietta Taylor-Fisher
The defendant, Larquietta Taylor-Fisher, pled guilty in the Shelby County Criminal Court to DUI, first offense, a Class A misdemeanor; leaving the scene of an accident, a Class B misdemeanor; and three counts of reckless aggravated assault, a Class D felony, and was sentenced by the trial court to an effective sentence of two years, with thirty days to serve and the remainder of the time on supervised probation. In a timely appeal to this court, she argues that the trial court abused its discretion in denying her request for judicial diversion. Following our review, we affirm the sentencing determinations of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Matthew Melton Jackson v. State of Tennessee
On August 10, 2001, Petitioner, Matthew Melton Jackson, pled guilty in Sumner County Circuit Court to four counts of aggravated robbery. The trial court sentenced Appellant to four, ten-year sentences to be served concurrently with each other, but consecutively to a previous sentence. On August 7, 2009, Petitioner filed a Petition for Post-conviction Relief arguing that a decision of this Court rendered after the entry of his guilty plea created a constitutional right that should be given retroactive application. Alternatively, he also argues that his incarceration in another state required a tolling of the statute of limitations. The postconviction court summarily dismissed his petition. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the dismissal of his petition. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Quantraveous Williams v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Quantraveous Williams, appeals the post-conviction court's dismissal of his postconviction petition in which Petitioner alleged that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel in connection with the entry of his pleas of guilty and that his pleas of guilty were not entered into voluntarily or knowingly. After a through review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jamie Bailey v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Jamie Bailey, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his three first degree murder convictions, arguing that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel and that his guilty pleas were therefore unknowing and involuntary. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph S. Rittenberry
The Defendant-Appellant, Joseph S. Rittenberry, pled nolo contendere in Sumner County to three counts of attempted aggravated sexual battery, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced Rittenberry to six years in the Tennessee Department of Correction for each conviction, to be served concurrently. On appeal, Rittenberry claims the trial court erred in denying alternative sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Troy Allen Pruitt
A Montgomery County jury convicted the Defendant, Troy Allen Pruitt, of two counts of aggravated robbery and two counts of fraudulent use of a credit card, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of fifteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction ("TDOC"). On appeal, the Defendant contends: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; and (2) the trial court erred when it found the Defendant waived review of the issue of whether recent case law on expert witness testimony entitled him to a new trial. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we affirm the trial court's judgments. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Edward Garcia Summers
The defendant, Edward Garcia Summers, was indicted for possession with the intent to sell .5 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, all charges based upon evidence seized during a search of his residence. The defendant filed a motion to suppress the evidence, alleging that there was no probable cause to support the issuance of the search warrant. The trial court granted the defendant's motion, and the State now appeals. Upon review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals |
