State of Tennessee v. Ashton Buford, Devante Terrell and Melvin Hopkins
A Shelby County Criminal Court Jury convicted the Appellants, Ashton Buford, Devante Terrell, and Melvin Hopkins, of two counts each of first degree felony murder; one count each of especially aggravated kidnapping, a Class A felony; and one count each of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony. The trial court merged the felony murder convictions, and the Appellants received effective sentences of life in confinement. On appeal, the Appellants contend that the trial court erred by deleting “killing” from portions of the jury instructions for first degree felony murder; by denying severance motions, admitting evidence of codefendants’ statements, and failing to give a limiting instruction in violation of Bruton v. United States, 391 U.S. 123 (1968); and by allowing the State to engage in improper jury voir dire and closing arguments. In addition, Appellant Buford contends that the trial court erred by failing to list the elements for the underlying felonies in the jury instructions for first degree felony murder, that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on facilitation of the charged offenses, that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions of first degree felony murder and especially aggravated kidnapping, and that cumulative error warrants a new trial. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we find no reversible error and affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David Tyrone Green
The Defendant, David Tyrone Green, was convicted of driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor. See T.C.A. § 55-10-401 (2012) (amended 2013, 2015). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to serve fifteen days’ confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the court erred in sentencing him to a greater sentence than the minimally required forty-eight hours’ confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Rodney Jennings
A Hamilton County jury convicted the Defendant, Rodney Jennings, of second degree murder, and the trial court sentenced him to serve twenty-five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Defendant appeals, asserting: (1) the trial court improperly allowed into evidence testimony concerning the Defendant’s gang affiliation and the Defendant’s 2013 domestic assault conviction; (2) the State improperly impeached the Defendant during cross-examination; and (3) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Benjamin Murrell v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Benjamin Murrell, appeals the denial of his post-conviction petition, arguing the post-conviction court erred in finding he received effective assistance of counsel regarding the jury instructions presented at trial. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeremy Peres Duncan
The defendant, Jeremy Peres Duncan, was indicted for two counts of aggravated assault, one count of possession of cocaine with the intent to sell, one count of possession of cocaine with the intent to deliver, two counts of possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, one count of being a felon in possession of a handgun, and one count of tampering with evidence. The defendant was convicted as charged for all of the offenses. The trial court sentenced the defendant as a Range II offender and imposed an effective twenty-four-year sentence. On appeal, the defendant argues the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for aggravated assault, possession of cocaine with the intent to sell and/or deliver, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The defendant also challenges the trial court’s evidentiary rulings regarding evidence of the defendant’s gang affiliation. Finally, the defendant challenges the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentences. After our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kervin Jackson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Kervin Jackson, appeals the denial of his post-conviction petition, arguing the post-conviction court erred in finding he received effective assistance of counsel at trial. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Bradley Cox v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Bradley Cox, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief, asserting the post-conviction court erred when summarily dismissing his petition as untimely because trial counsel’s misconduct tolled the statute of limitations. Discerning no error, we affirm the post-conviction court’s dismissal of the petition pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Henderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Deangelo Jackson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Deangelo Jackson, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief from his convictions for especially aggravated robbery, attempted second-degree murder, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. On appeal, the petitioner alleges he received ineffective assistance of counsel due to trial counsel’s failure to call material witnesses at trial. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Delmontae Godwin
The defendant, Delmontae Godwin, appeals the revocation of his judicial diversion by the Madison County Circuit Court. The defendant contends the trial court improperly revoked his diversion. After our review, we affirm the trial court’s revocation pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ronald Orlando Glenn
Defendant, Ronald Orlando Glenn, was convicted of domestic assault following a bench trial. He was sentenced to eleven months and twenty-nine days, to be released on supervised probation after serving ten days, and to complete a Batterer’s Intervention Program. On appeal, Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Demond Starks
After a jury trial, the defendant, Michael Demond Starks, was convicted of one count of second-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder, four counts of attempted second-degree murder, and two counts of aggravated assault. On appeal, the defendant argues the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions because he was suffering from severe mental delusions. Additionally, the defendant argues the jury was improperly instructed on the lesser-included offense of voluntary manslaughter and that the trial court improperly excluded hearsay statements from a defense witness. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Fredrick R. Ross, Jr.
Defendant, Frederick R. Ross, Jr., appeals the trial court’s decision to revoke his probation and place his twelve-year sentence into effect. Defendant argues that the State violated his due process rights by failing to give proper notice of the alleged violations of probation and by failing to disclose the evidence to be used against him. Additionally, Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion by placing Defendant’s full sentence into effect. Upon review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court but remand the case for the correction of clerical errors on the judgment forms. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ryan Michael Ramey
The Defendant, Ryan Michael Ramey, was convicted by a jury of rape, a Class B felony; and theft of $500 or less, a Class A misdemeanor. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-503, -14-103, -14-105 (2015). The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of fifteen years. On appeal, the Defendant contends (1) that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions and (2) that the trial court erred in admitting the victim’s “single photo identification” and in-court identification of the Defendant. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Unicoi | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Waylon Hanson
A Marshall County Circuit Court Jury convicted the Appellant, William Waylon Hanson, of violating an order declaring him to be a motor vehicle habitual offender, failing to provide evidence of financial responsibility, and passing another vehicle in a no passing zone. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the trial court erred by granting the State’s motion in limine to prohibit the Appellant from collaterally attacking the order declaring him to be a motor vehicle habitual offender, by limiting the defense’s closing argument, and by admitting the Appellant’s driving record into evidence through an employee of the Department of Safety and Homeland Security. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Terry Lea Bunch v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Terry Lea Bunch, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief from his guilty pleaded conviction for third offense driving under the influence (“DUI”). The pro se petition alleged a defect in the charging instrument and was summarily dismissed by the post-conviction court for failure to state a colorable claim. Petitioner argues on appeal that the post-conviction court should have allowed him the opportunity to amend his petition to include an allegation of ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Sidney B. Ray
Pursuant to a plea agreement, the Defendant, Sidney B. Ray, entered a guilty plea to ten felonies and one misdemeanor and received an effective sentence of fourteen years, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court denied the Defendant’s request for an alternative sentence and ordered his sentence to be served in confinement. In this appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in determining the manner of service of his sentence. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Calvin Douglas v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Calvin Douglas, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief and the denial of his motion to reconsider, in which he argued that the facts presented at the post-conviction evidentiary hearing supported a writ of error coram nobis on the basis of newly discovered evidence. Pursuant to an order by this court, the Petitioner was permitted to file an untimely notice of appeal. After a review of the record, we hold that this court’s order allowing the Petitioner to late-file his notice of appeal was improvidently granted. Accordingly, we dismiss the appeal. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donald Douglas v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Donald Douglas, filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that he did not knowingly and voluntarily waive his right to a direct appeal in exchange for a sentence of eight years and that his trial counsel was ineffective. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition. On appeal, the Petitioner challenges the postconviction court’s ruling. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Langlinais
A jury convicted the Defendant, Joseph Langlinais, of rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, and attempted rape of a child, and he received an effective sentence of twenty eight years in prison. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. The Defendant also challenges the admission of his recorded statement to law enforcement, alleging that the recording was inadmissible due to its poor quality, that the recording contained inadmissible evidence of the Defendant’s bad acts, and that the recording violated his right to confront witnesses. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Chester | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Bell v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Michael Bell, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner pled guilty to two counts of aggravated rape and two counts of aggravated robbery and received an effective sentence of twenty-one years with community supervision for life. The Petitioner sought post-conviction relief, asserting that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was not voluntarily and knowingly entered. Following a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. After review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kimberly Johnson Hart
A Maury County jury convicted the Defendant, Kimberly Johnson Hart, of facilitation of possession with intent to sell one-half ounce or more of marijuana and facilitation of possession with intent to sell less than two pounds of tetrahydrocannabinol, a schedule VI narcotic. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to concurrent terms of eleven months and twenty-nine days for each conviction, thirty days to be served in jail, with the remainder to be served on supervised probation. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the evidence is insufficient to support her convictions and that the trial court erred when it denied her request for judicial diversion. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Teffeteller
In February 2013, the Defendant, Joshua Teffeteller, pleaded guilty to identity theft, and the trial court granted judicial diversion and ordered him to serve three years on Community Corrections. On September 17, 2015, the Defendant was charged with numerous offenses and, the following day, the Defendant’s Community Corrections officer filed an affidavit, alleging that the Defendant had violated his Community Corrections sentence on multiple grounds. The Defendant pleaded guilty to the charges on March 7, 2016, and received additional Community Corrections sentences. On August 25, 2016, another probation violation warrant was issued and, after a hearing, the trial court revoked the Defendant’s Community Corrections sentences and ordered the Defendant to serve the balance of his sentences in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends: (1) that the trial court erred when it ordered him to serve his sentences in confinement rather than reinstating his Community Corrections sentences; and (2) that one of his sentences had expired. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Randel Lee Burnett, II
The Appellant, Randel Lee Burnett, II, pled guilty in the Fayette County Circuit Court to vehicular homicide by intoxication, aggravated child neglect, and three counts of vehicular assault. After a sentencing hearing, he received an effective twenty-four-year sentence. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the trial court improperly enhanced his sentences and erred by ordering consecutive sentencing based upon his being a dangerous offender. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the trial court improperly applied two enhancement factors during sentencing but that the length of the Appellant’s sentences is not excessive. We also conclude that the trial court did not err by ordering consecutive sentencing. Accordingly, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Fayette | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darlene F. Hottiman
A Hardin County Circuit Court Jury convicted the Appellant, Darlene F. Hottiman, of operating a motor vehicle after having been declared a motor vehicle habitual offender, a Class E felony, and driving on a revoked license, a Class A misdemeanor, and she received an effective four-year sentence to be served in confinement. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support her convictions due to her defense of necessity; that the trial court made improper comments to an alternate juror, made improper comments about the length of jury deliberations, and made improper comments about plea negotiations during the sentencing hearing; and that the trial court improperly enhanced her felony sentence based upon her prior criminal history and should have granted her request for probation. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Hardin | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Cedric Taylor v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Cedric Taylor, filed a post-conviction petition, seeking relief from his convictions of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. In the petition, the Petitioner alleged that his trial counsel was ineffective by calling an alibi witness whose testimony was not favorable to the Petitioner. The post-conviction court denied the petition, and the Petitioner appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals |
