State of Tennessee v. Mack T. Transou
The defendant, Mack T. Transou, stands convicted of rape and sexual battery, for which he received an effective sixteen-year sentence. Aggrieved of his convictions and sentence, the defendant brings the instant appeal challenging the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress DNA evidence and the imposition of his sentence in violation of his right to trial by jury. Following our review upon the record, we affirm the defendant’s convictions and sentence. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Beverly Dixon
The defendant, Beverly Dixon, pleaded guilty to one count of felony Class B theft of property over $60,000. The trial court imposed an incarcerative eight-year sentence and denied any form of alternative sentencing. On appeal, the defendant argues that the sentencing process was flawed by the introduction of prejudicial hearsay and that the trial court should have granted probation or placement into a community corrections program. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James Erskin McCullough
The Defendant, James Erskin McCullough, pled guilty to various offenses, and, while he was on probation for these convictions, a probation violation report was filed, stating that the Defendant failed to report to his probation officer and was arrested for theft. After a hearing, the trial court revoked the Defendant's probation, and it ordered that the Defendant serve the remainder of his sentence in prison. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to revoke the Defendant's probation, and, therefore, the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his probation. After thoroughly reviewing the record and the applicable authorities, we affirm the trial court's judgment. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jeffrey Lynn Myers v. State of Tennessee
This is an appeal as of right from the denial of post-conviction relief. The Defendant, Jeffrey Lynn Myers, was convicted of one count of attempted rape upon entry of a best-interest guilty plea. He was sentenced to six years' imprisonment as a Range I, standard offender. The Defendant filed a petition for post-conviction relief and received an evidentiary hearing. The trial court subsequently denied the Defendant's petition, and he now appeals to this Court. He argues multiple issues, all of which we find to have been waived because the claims are either (1) not proper issues for a post-conviction proceeding, (2) not properly preserved for appeal, or (3) not reviewable due to an incomplete record. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
White | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roland R. Smith
The Defendant, Roland R. Smith, was convicted by a jury of nine counts of statutory rape and three counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to two years on each of the statutory rape convictions and eleven years on each of the sexual exploitation convictions. The sentences were ordered to be served in such fashion as to result in an effective term of seventeen years in the Department of Correction. In this direct appeal, the Defendant raises the following issues: 1) whether the evidence is sufficient to support certain of his convictions of statutory rape; 2) whether certain of the Defendant's convictions must be reversed under the doctrine of election of offenses; 3) whether certain of the Defendant's convictions violate principles of double jeopardy; 4) whether the trial court erred in refusing to sever some of the offenses; and 5) whether the Defendant's sentence is excessive. We reverse and remand for retrial the Defendant's convictions of statutory rape arising out of Counts Four, Five, Eight and Nine. We reverse and dismiss the Defendant's conviction of statutory rape arising out of Count Six. The Defendant's effective sentence is thereby modified to fifteen years. In all other respects, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Augustine John Lopez, III
The Appellant, Augustine John Lopez, III, was convicted by a Davidson County jury of first degree felony murder and theft of property over $1000 and subsequently received concurrent sentences of life imprisonment and five years for the respective convictions. On appeal, Lopez raises four issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence is sufficient to support the convictions: (2) whether the trial court erred in allowing testimony by a police officer concerning fingerprint evidence; (3) whether the trial court erred in excluding the hearsay statements of a witness which indicated her possible involvement in the murder; and (4) whether the trial court's sequential jury instruction was error. After review of the record, the judgments of conviction are affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David Wayne Fountain
The defendant, David Wayne Fountain, appeals from the Rhea County Circuit Court’s revocation of his probation. Because the record supports the revocation of probation, we affirm the revocation; however, to avoid a length of confinement that exceeds the defendant’s release eligibility as a Range I offender, we modify the post-revocation terms of the manner of service of the defendant’s two-year sentence. |
Rhea | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Archie L. Miller v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Archie L. Miller, appeals the Sullivan County Criminal Court's dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief in which he challenged his three 2002 convictions of selling cocaine. The post-conviction court appointed counsel, who filed an amended petition, and the court conducted an evidentiary hearing. Following the hearing, the court found that the petitioner failed to establish the ineffective assistance of trial counsel and denied post-conviction relief. We affirm the action of the post-conviction court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Benjamin Hernandez v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, challenging: (1) the jury instruction given on the mens rea term "knowingly," and (2) the trial court's failure to instruct on the lesser included offenses of aggravated assault and assault. Upon review, we conclude that the issues are waived for failure to provide a completed record on appeal. Furthermore, notwithstanding waiver, the errors were harmless beyond a reasonable doubt. Therefore, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kenneth Hayes
The Appellant, Kenneth Hayes, appeals the revocation of his probation by the Davidson County Criminal Court. In 1997, Hayes pled guilty to felony possession of cocaine and was sentenced to a term of eight years with service of one year in confinement followed by supervised probation. In 2004, a probation violation warrant was issued alleging that Hayes violated probation by possessing cocaine. At the revocation hearing, Hayes sought suppression of the cocaine upon grounds that it was illegally seized. The trial court found that the police search was valid and revoked Hayes' suspended sentence. After review, we conclude that the cocaine was illegally seized. Notwithstanding, we further conclude that in the absence of police harassment or that the evidence was obtained in a particularly offensive manner, the exclusionary rule is not applicable to probation revocation proceedings. Accordingly, the order of revocation is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jason Ray Taylor v. State of Tennessee
The Defendant, Jason Ray Taylor, pled guilty to aggravated burglary, burglary, two counts of vandalism and three counts of forgery. He subsequently filed for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. After an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied relief; this appeal followed. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Henry | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kennath Henderson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Kennath Henderson, appeals as of right from the May 21, 2003 judgment of the Fayette County Circuit Court denying his petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner entered guilty pleas to first degree premeditated murder, two (2) counts of especially aggravated |
Fayette | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lorenzo Malone
A Wilson County jury convicted the defendant, Lorenzo Malone, for first degree felony murder under the theory of criminal responsibility. The trial court sentenced him to life with the possibility of parole. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred by: (1) refusing to strike a potential juror for cause; (2) admitting photographs of the victim and a videotape into evidence; and (3) failing to grant a mistrial based upon impropriety in the State's closing argument. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jason Allen Ruiz
The Appellant, Jason Allen Ruiz, appeals the sentencing decision of the Marshall County Circuit Court denying his motion for suspension of his sentence. Following a guilty plea to Class B felony sale of cocaine, Ruiz received an eight-year sentence with service of one year in confinement. At the sentencing hearing, Ruiz refused to name his drug sources. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court informed Ruiz that after serving 120 days in jail, the remainder of his incarceration period would be suspended if he revealed the names of those who supplied him drugs. Ruiz petitioned for suspension of his sentence after serving 120 days in confinement. He persisted, however, in his refusal to identify his drug sources because he feared retaliation. Ruiz's motion for suspension of his sentence was denied. After de novo review, we conclude that the trial court improperly considered Ruiz's refusal to reveal his drug sources. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is reversed, and the balance of the Appellant's sentence of incarceration is suspended. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Quinton G. Stewart v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner appeals from the trial court's dismissal of his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Norris Ray
Following a jury trial, Defendant, Norris Ray, was convicted of one count of unlawful possession of a handgun; one count of first degree felony murder; and one count of especially aggravated kidnapping. Defendant was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole on the felony murder conviction. The trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range II, multiple offender, to forty years for the especially aggravated kidnapping conviction and as a Range II, multiple offender, to four years for the felony possession of a handgun conviction. The trial court ordered Defendant’s sentences to be served consecutively for an effective sentence of life plus forty-four years. On appeal, Defendant argues (1) that the evidence is insufficient to identify him as the perpetrator of the offenses; (2) that the trial court erred by not allowing the impeachment of the testimony of the victim of especially aggravated kidnapping with evidence of the victim’s misdemeanor drug convictions; and (3) that the trial court erred in determining the length of Defendant’s sentences and in imposing consecutive sentencing. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darrell Toomes
A Lauderdale County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Darrell Toomes, of robbery, a Class C felony. The trial court sentenced him as a Range I, standard offender to five years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant contends (1) that the evidence is insufficient to convict him as the perpetrator, (2) that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress evidence relating to a photograph array and a subsequent in-court identification of him, and (3) that his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Robert Howell v. Tony Parker, Warden
The Petitioner, Robert Howell, appeals the trial court's denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner has failed to allege any ground that would render the judgment of conviction void. Accordingly, we grant the |
Lake | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ronald Benjamin Irwin
The appellant, Ronald Benjamin Irwin, was convicted by a jury of aggravated robbery. As a result, the appellant was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to a nine-year sentence. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and his sentence as excessive. Because we determine that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction and that the trial court did not err in sentencing the appellant to serve nine (9) years in incarceration, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Thomas Wray v. State of Tennessee
The appellant, Thomas Wray, appeals from the denial of his petition for the writ of habeas corpus wherein he alleges that his guilty pleas and sentences in the Hamilton County Criminal Court to two (2) offenses committed while he was a juvenile are void. For the reasons stated below we find that the habeas court properly denied habeas corpus relief and we therefore affirm the decision of the lower court. |
Bledsoe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kevin Bufford
The appellant, Kevin Bufford, pled guilty to one (1) count of aggravated robbery and one (1) count of carjacking while reserving a certified question of law for appeal. In that certified question of law, the appellant challenges the trial court's denial of a motion to suppress the evidence obtained as the result of what the appellant argues was an illegal arrest. Because we determine that the certified question is not dispositive, we dismiss the appeal and remand the matter to the trial court for any further proceedings which may be necessary. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Anthony D. Forster v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Anthony D. Forster, appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. The judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Ricardo Martin
On March 25, 2002, the defendant, Michael Ricardo Martin, was indicted by the Davidson County Grand Jury on two (2) counts of rape for an incident that occurred on November 27, 2001. A jury trial was held and the defendant was convicted of one (1) count of rape and one (1) count of sexual battery. The trial court sentenced the defendant to concurrent sentences of ten (10) years for the rape conviction and two (2) years for the sexual battery conviction. On appeal the defendant argues that the trial court erred by not granting his motion for judgment of acquittal, by granting the State's motion in limine regarding evidence concerning a prior hymenal injury sustained by the victim and by sentencing the defendant to a ten (10) year effective sentence. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kenneth Buford, alias
The defendant appeals his conviction for reckless endangerment, contending specifically that the evidence was insufficient to prove that he placed anyone in imminent danger of death or serious bodily injury. Upon review, we conclude that because the defendant fired the gun in the air, away from any person or potentially occupied building, the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction. Therefore, we reverse the conviction and dismiss the charges. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael L. Calandros
The defendant appeals the trial court's denial of pretrial jail credits. We conclude that Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 3 does not provide an appeal as of right from the trial court's action. Moreover, because the sentence is neither illegal nor void, the appeal cannot be treated as a writ of certiorari. Therefore, because this matter is not properly before us, we dismiss the appeal. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals |
