State of Tennessee v. James Durand Favors, III
The Defendant-Appellant, James Durand Favors, was charged by information with four counts of aggravated domestic assault. He entered open guilty to pleas to all four counts. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range I, standard offender to a total effect sentence of fifteen years’ incarceration to run consecutively to his sentence in two prior cases. The sole issue raised on appeal is whether the trial court abused its discretion in denying the Defendant alternative sentencing. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re Payton G. Et Al.
The mother of two minor children appeals the termination of her parental rights. The trial court terminated the mother’s parental rights upon finding that the Department of Children’s Services established three grounds for termination: (1) abandonment prior to incarceration that exhibits wanton disregard for the welfare of the children; (2) substantial noncompliance with a permanency plan; and (3) failure to manifest an ability or willingness to assume custody, and that termination was in the best interest of the children. This appeal followed. We affirm. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Stephen Maurice Mobley
Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Stephen Maurice Mobley, was convicted of two counts of first degree premeditated murder and one count each of attempted first degree murder, aggravated assault, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The trial court merged the attempted first degree murder and aggravated assault convictions and imposed an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus twenty-six years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions; (2) the trial court improperly denied the Defendant’s challenge to the State’s striking a prospective juror as violating Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79 (1986); (3) a juror failed to disclose her prior knowledge of the Defendant during voir dire and provided extraneous information to other jurors in violation of the Defendant’s right to a fair trial; (4) the trial court erred in admitting hearsay statements under the excited utterance hearsay exception; and (5) the trial court improperly admitted evidence that the Defendant had been placed on a most wanted list by law enforcement prior to his arrest. We remand the case to the trial court for a hearing as to whether the State struck a potential juror in violation of Batson. We conclude that none of the other issues raised by the Defendant warrant relief. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Caleb Josiah Cannon
A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, Caleb Josiah Cannon, of premeditated firstdegree murder, and the trial court sentenced him to life in prison. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred when it denied his motion in limine to exclude evidence that a human remains detection dog alerted to the presence of the scent of human remains in the Defendant’s home and car; (2) the evidence is insufficient to prove that the victim was deceased or that the Defendant caused her death; (3) the trial court erred when it admitted testimony from a witness identifying him in court because such testimony was tainted; and (4) the trial court erred when it excluded defense proof. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Gross
The Defendant, John Gross, was convicted after a bench trial in the Davidson County Criminal Court of violation of an order of protection, a Class A misdemeanor, and aggravated stalking, a Class E felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-113 (2018) (subsequently amended) (violation of an order of protection), 39-17-315 (Supp. 2017) (subsequently amended) (aggravated stalking). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective sentence of two years, eleven months, twenty-nine days’ incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that plain error exists because the trial court admitted as evidence the recordings of the Defendant’s phone calls to the victim. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Andre Terry and Nolandus Sims
In a joint trial, a Knox County jury convicted the defendants, Andre Terry and Nolandus Sims, of two counts of felony murder, one count of second-degree murder, two counts of attempted especially aggravated robbery, two counts of carjacking, one count of employing a firearm during a dangerous felony, two counts of aggravated robbery, and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping. For the crimes, Defendant Terry received an effective sentence of life plus fourteen years, and Defendant Sims received an effective sentence of life plus fifteen years. On appeal, the defendants separately challenge the sufficiency of the evidence supporting their convictions and the introduction of gang-related evidence during trial. Defendant Terry also challenges the trial court’s jurisdiction, suggesting the juvenile court failed to conduct a proper transfer hearing, and the trial court’s denial of his numerous motions to sever. Following our review of the briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mickey Verchell Shanklin
A jury convicted the Defendant, Mickey Verchell Shanklin, of the sale of heroin, the delivery of heroin, the sale of fentanyl, and the delivery of fentanyl and assessed fines of $50,000 for the heroin convictions and $25,000 for the fentanyl convictions. The trial court merged the heroin convictions and the fentanyl convictions and ordered the Defendant to serve concurrent terms of thirty years for the heroin convictions and fifteen years for the fentanyl convictions as a Range III, persistent offender at forty-five percent. The trial court also affirmed the total fines of $75,000. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that the fines are excessive. We remand the case to the trial court for a hearing with regard to the fines. We otherwise affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mickey Verchell Shanklin - Dissent
I dissent from the conclusion reached by the majority that it is necessary to remand the case to the trial court for a hearing on the fines owed by the Defendant. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Stephen A. Simpson
The Loudon County Grand Jury indicted Defendant, Stephen A. Simpson, with one count of driving under the influence (“DUI”) and one count of simple possession of a Schedule II controlled substance. Following trial, a jury convicted Defendant of both counts. For the DUI count, the trial court sentenced Defendant to eleven months and twenty-nine days, suspended to forty-eight hours in confinement and the remainder to serve on supervised probation. For possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, the court sentenced Defendant to eleven months and twenty-nine days to be served on supervised probation. The trial court ran the sentences concurrently. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence and that the evidence was insufficient to support his DUI conviction. Following a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Loudon | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Wesley H. Luthringer v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Wesley H. Luthringer, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, which petition challenged his convictions of aggravated vehicular homicide, alleging that the trial court erred by denying his motion for new counsel and that he was deprived of the effective assistance of trial counsel. Discerning no error, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeremy W. Alexander
The Defendant, Jeremy W. Alexander, appeals as of right from the Henderson County Circuit Court’s revocation of his probation and reinstatement of his effective twenty-seven-year sentence in the Department of Correction for his three guilty-pleaded convictions for sale of 0.5 grams or more of methamphetamine. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by fully revoking his sentence and that an alternative to full incarceration should have been imposed to allow him to seek treatment for his methamphetamine addiction. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Henderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Aaron Joseph Dinguss
The Defendant-Appellant, Aaron Joseph Dinguss, pled guilty to vehicular homicide and was sentenced by the trial court as a Range I offender to nine years in the Department of Correction. The sole issue the Defendant raises on appeal is whether the trial court erred in finding enhancement factor (10) applicable without proof that anyone other than the victim was placed at actual risk by the Defendant’s conduct. We conclude that the trial court misapplied enhancement factor (10) because there was no proof of a high risk to the life of any human other than the victim, but that the nine-year sentence is nonetheless entitled to a presumption of reasonableness. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Union | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Anthony Santillan
Joseph Anthony Santillan, Defendant, appeals from his convictions for second degree murder, felony murder, attempted especially aggravated robbery, and attempted aggravated robbery, and effective sentence of life imprisonment plus five years for his involvement in the shooting death of a Nashville tourist in September of 2016. After the denial of a motion for new trial, Defendant appeals, raising the following issues: (1) whether the trial court erred by limiting the questioning about a witness’s criminal history; (2) whether the trial court erred by prohibiting defense counsel from questioning a witness about leniency in exchange for her testimony; (3) whether the trial court erred by prohibiting evidence of Defendant’s cooperation with law enforcement; (4) whether the trial court erred by admitting gruesome crime scene photographs into evidence; and (5) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain the convictions. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ricardo Antonio Demling v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Ricardo Antonio Demling, was convicted by a jury of theft of property valued between $10,000 and $60,000, for his involvement in stealing two utility trailer vehicles (UTVs), and sentenced to fifteen years as a Range III persistent offender to be served consecutively to any unexpired sentences.1 He now appeals from the denial of postconviction relief claiming ineffective assistance of counsel based on the following grounds: (1) upon receipt of the State’s amended discovery response containing a statement by the petitioner and the name Christopher Brown, the alleged owner of a UTV, trial counsel’s failure to move to dismiss the charge, failure to suppress the statement by the petitioner, and failure to file a motion to continue the trial; (2) failure to interview and secure the testimony of Christopher Brown; (3) failure to file a motion based on Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), and State v. Ferguson, 2 S.W.3d 912, 916 (Tenn. 1999), concerning the alleged destruction of a dash cam recording of the instant traffic stop; (4) failure to file a speedy trial motion to dismiss based on the sixty-seven month delay between the date of the alleged crime and the date of the arrest; and (5) failure to file a motion to dismiss based upon the sixteen month delay between the date of the arrest and the trial.2 Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James D. Duncan
The Defendant-Appellant, James D. Duncan, pleaded guilty to possession of methamphetamine for resale and was give a suspended sentence of ten years on supervised probation. The trial court later revoked the Defendant’s probation following the issuance of a violation of probation warrant and a revocation hearing. The Defendant now argues on appeal that the trial court should have sua sponte recused itself due to comments made during the probation revocation hearing. Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Anderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Cordalro Strickland v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner entered a plea of nolo contendere to the lesser-included offense of second degree murder, two counts of attempted first degree murder, and reckless endangerment. Thereafter, the Petitioner timely filed a post-conviction petition, alleging that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court denied relief, concluding that the Petitioner had not proven that Counsel was ineffective, and that the Petitioner’s pleas were made knowingly and voluntarily. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dejavone Lee Woods
A jury convicted the Defendant, Dejavone Lee Woods, of attempted voluntary manslaughter and employing a firearm in the attempted commission of a dangerous offense, and he received an effective ten-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the State failed to negate self-defense, that the trial court erred in admitting hearsay evidence, that the trial court erred in admitting testimony about a surveillance video, that the trial court erred in refusing to give an instruction on misdemeanor reckless endangerment, and that he is entitled to cumulative error relief. After a review of the record, we conclude that the Defendant is not entitled to appellate relief and affirm the judgments. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Mainor Canales v. State of Tennessee
Mainor Canales, Petitioner, was convicted of aggravated sexual battery and sentenced to twelve years’ incarceration. State v. Mainor Celin Avilez Canales, No. E2017-01222- CCA-R3-CD, 2018 WL 2084957, at *5 (Tenn. Crim. App. May 4, 2018). This court affirmed his conviction on direct appeal. Petitioner filed a pro se post-conviction petition and an amended petition through counsel, which the post-conviction court dismissed following a hearing. On appeal, Petitioner argues that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel because trial counsel (1) failed to investigate and present an expert witness; and (2) deprived him of his right to a Rule 11 application to appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Sevier | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David Lee Richardson
The defendant, David Lee Richardson, appeals the revocation of the sentence of probation imposed for his convictions of false imprisonment and domestic aggravated assault, arguing that the trial court erred by ordering that he serve the balance of the total effective sentence in confinement. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Edward G. Jameson
The Defendant-Appellant, Edward G. Jameson, was convicted of three counts of statutory rape by an authority figure and eight counts of incest. See §§ 39-13-532 (statutory rape by an authority figure); 39-15-302 (incest). The trial court classified the Defendant as a Range II offender and imposed a total effective sentence of fifty-four years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that 1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions in Counts One through Four; 2) the indictments for Counts One, Three, Seven, and Ten are barred by the statute of limitations; 3) the State failed to elect a specific offense in Count Ten; 4) the trial court committed plain error in sentencing him as a Range II offender; and 5) the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentences. Upon our review, we affirm the convictions and sentences in Counts Five, Six, Eleven, Twelve, and Thirteen, and we reverse and vacate Counts One, Two, Three, Four, Seven, and Ten and dismiss those indictments. We finally remand to the trial court for proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Cheatham | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jackson Chapman North
The Defendant, Jackson Chapman North, pleaded guilty in the Bedford County Circuit Court to two counts of vandalism valued at $2,500 or more but less than $10,000, a Class D felony, vandalism valued at more than $1,000 but less than $2,500, a Class E felony, vandalism valued at $1,000 or less, a Class A misdemeanor, and unlawful possession of a weapon, a Class C misdemeanor. See T.C.A. §§ 39-14-408 (2018) (vandalism); 39-14-105 (2018) (grading); 39-17-1307 (2018) (unlawful weapon possession). The trial court ordered partial consecutive service and imposed an effective six-year sentence, with four years, sixty days in confinement and the remainder on probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that his sentence is excessive. We affirm the Defendant’s sentence, but as a matter of plain error, we reverse the trial court’s restitution order and remand the case for proper restitution determinations. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Justin C. Howell v. Grady Perry, Warden
Pro se petitioner, Justin C. Howell, appeals from the summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus relief. Upon our review, we affirm. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Edward Cohen
The Appellee, Michael Edward Cohen, was charged in the Davidson County Criminal Court with sexual exploitation of a minor involving more than one hundred images, a Class B felony. He filed a motion to suppress evidence, arguing that he turned over the images to a police officer involuntarily after the officer threatened to obtain a search warrant for his residence when the officer did not have probable cause for a warrant. The trial court held an evidentiary hearing and granted the motion, and the State appeals. Based upon our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mario Nathaniel Wade
In this delayed appeal, Mario Nathaniel Wade, Defendant, challenges his convictions for robbery and carjacking. Defendant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions, that the trial court erred by failing to require the State to make an election with respect to the carjacking charge, and that he was sentenced improperly. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Vincent Parker Lee
Aggrieved of his convictions of rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, and incest, the defendant, Vincent Parker Lee, appeals. In this appeal, the defendant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions of rape of a child; that the trial court erred by permitting the State to ask leading questions of the child rape victim; that the State’s failure to make an election of offenses at the close of its case-in-chief resulted in plain error; that the cumulative effect of the alleged errors deprived him of the right to a fair trial; and that the trial court erred by imposing consecutive sentences. We find no deficiency in the State’s proof and no error in either the trial court’s ruling with regard to the State’s examination of the child rape victim or the consecutive alignment of the sentences. The State’s failure to elect offenses at the close of its case-in-chief was error, but, because the error can be classified as harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, it does not rise to the level of plain error. Consequently, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Macon | Court of Criminal Appeals |
