State of Tennessee v. Frank E. Fankam
Defendant, Frank E. Fankam, was indicted by a Davidson County Grand Jury for one count of rape. A petit jury convicted Defendant as charged, and the trial court sentenced Defendant to ten years with one year to be served in confinement and nine years to be served on supervised probation. On appeal, Defendant asserts that: 1) it was plain error for the trial court to allow into evidence text messages between Defendant and the victim; 2) the State impermissibly delayed in bringing an indictment against him in order to gain a tactical advantage at trial; 3) the State committed prosecutorial misconduct in its cross-examination of Defendant and during closing argument; 4) the evidence was insufficient to sustain Defendant’s conviction; and 5) cumulative error requires reversal. Having reviewed the record and the arguments of the parties, we find no error and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles Randolph Carter
The Defendant, Charles Randolph Carter, appeals the trial court’s revocation of his |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Gabriel Dotson v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Gabriel Dotson, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that the post-conviction court erred in denying his claim that trial counsel was ineffective by conceding guilt during closing argument against Petitioner’s wishes. Upon review of the entire record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Erwin Tyrone Halfacre
Before the court is the petition of the Defendant, Erwin Tyrone Halfacre, for an |
Court of Criminal Appeals | ||
Kevin Dewayne Stinnett v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Kevin Dewayne Stinnett, appeals from the Marshall County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner is serving an effective eighteen-year sentence following his jury trial convictions for multiple drug-related offenses. On appeal, he contends that the post-conviction court erred in denying relief on his ineffective assistance of counsel claims related to trial counsel’s failures to: (1) move for a dismissal for one count of the indictment, (2) object to the State’s introduction of evidence, and (3) request a jury instruction. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Billy J. Coffelt
The Defendant, Billy J. Coffelt, was convicted in March 2000 by a Davidson County jury of felony escape, two counts of aggravated assault, and three counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, for which he is serving an effective ninety-year sentence. The Defendant filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, alleging that the trial court failed to consider mitigating evidence and that his consecutive sentencing was not consistent with other similarly situated defendants. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the court erred in summarily denying relief. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kwame D. Chihombori-Quao
Defendant, Kwame D. Chihombori-Quao, appeals from his guilty-pleaded convictions for four counts of statutory rape, for which he was sentenced to two years in confinement and six years on supervised probation. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred by ordering him to register as a sex offender. Following our review, we affirm. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Roger Campbell
Defendant, William Roger Campbell, was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, and the trial court sentenced him to consecutive life sentences. In his direct appeal, this court affirmed the convictions but reversed the imposition of consecutive sentences and remanded the case to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing, during which the trial court was to address the consecutive sentencing factors outlined in State v. Wilkerson, 905 S.W.2d 933 (Tenn. 1995). State v. Campbell, No. M2023-00779-CCA-R3-CD, 2024 WL 3888342, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Aug. 21, 2024). Following a hearing in which no new proof was presented, the court again aligned the sentences consecutively. Defendant now asserts that the trial court erred in doing so. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Marcus Willingham v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Marcus Willingham, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing the post-conviction court erred in denying his ineffective assistance of counsel claim. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeremy Michael Fowler
A Williamson County jury convicted Jeremy Michael Fowler (“Defendant”) in Case No. W-CR22-213-A (“the Waffle House Case”) of seven counts of Class A misdemeanor reckless endangerment (Counts 1-7), two counts Class C felony aggravated assault (Counts 8 and 9), and one count of Class A misdemeanor unlawful possession of a weapon after having been convicted of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence (Count 11). At the outset of the sentencing hearing in the Waffle House Case, Defendant entered guilty pleas in Case No. W-CR230286 (“the Jail Case”) to two counts of Class A misdemeanor assault, which stemmed from incidents that occurred while Defendant was incarcerated awaiting trial in the Waffle House Case. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant in the Waffle House Case to two consecutive terms of six years on the aggravated assault convictions, six consecutive terms of eleven months and twenty-nine days on the reckless endangerment convictions, and a consecutive term of eleven months and twenty-nine days on the weapons charge. The court merged the reckless endangerment conviction in Count 7 with Count 6. Additionally, pursuant to his plea agreement in the Jail Case, the trial court sentenced Defendant to concurrent terms of eleven months and twenty-nine days on the assault convictions and ordered the sentence to run consecutively to the sentence in the Waffle House Case. On appeal, Defendant claims the court erred by (1) failing to merge all the reckless endangerment convictions in the Waffle House Case, (2) misapplying enhancement and mitigating factors resulting in an excessive sentence, and (3) imposing consecutive sentences. Based upon the proof presented at trial, the indictment, and the jury verdicts in the reckless endangerment offenses, we reverse the court’s merger of Count 7 into Count 6 and remand for the trial court to enter an amended judgment omitting the merger language in Count 7 and aligning the sentence in Count 7 concurrently with Count 6. In all other regards, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Eugene St. Clair v. State of Tennessee et al.
The petitioner, Michael Eugene St. Clair, appeals the denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus by the Circuit Court for Williamson County, arguing the habeas court erred in dismissing his petition due to improper venue and failure to include the necessary transcript. Upon our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the habeas court. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jake Christopher Reynolds
A Giles County jury convicted the defendant, Jake Christopher Reynolds, of criminal trespass, preventing or obstructing service of legal process, and resisting arrest, for which he received an effective sentence of ten days in confinement. On appeal, the defendant contends the trial court erred in admitting evidence of the defendant’s prior convictions and in incorrectly charging the jury on the statutory defense to criminal trespass. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Giles | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Couch
The Defendant, William Couch, pled guilty to two counts of theft of property. The trial court imposed an effective ten-year sentence and placed the Defendant on supervised probation. While on probation, the Defendant absconded from supervision and committed new misdemeanor offenses. Following a revocation hearing, the trial court revoked his suspended sentences and ordered him to serve the balance of those sentences in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by declining to impose a lesser sanction, such as reinstatement to probation or split confinement. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lorenza Zackery
The defendant, Lorenza Zackery, appeals the order of the trial court denying his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Upon our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we dismiss the appeal as untimely. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Rex A. Moore
The Defendant, Rex A. Moore, pleaded guilty to theft of property and two counts of violating the Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration, Verification and Tracking Act of 2004 (“Sexual Offender Registry”). The trial court imposed an effective four-year sentence and suspended the sentences, placing the Defendant on probation. Thereafter, the Defendant violated the terms of his probation by misrepresenting his residence in violation of the Sexual Offender Registry requirements and by assaulting a corrections officer while incarcerated. After a hearing, the trial court fully revoked the Defendant’s suspended sentences and ordered him to serve his sentences in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion by fully revoking his suspended sentences and by failing to consider lesser sanctions. Upon our review, we respectfully affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Taivaun Marquise Mallory
The Defendant, Taivaun Marquise Mallory, appeals his Montgomery County Circuit Court conviction of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, for which he received a sentence of twelve years’ incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress a firearm recovered after a traffic stop and that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tyler Christian
A Knox County Jury convicted Defendant, Tyler Christian, of two counts of carjacking and one count of driving on a revoked license. The trial court merged the carjacking convictions and imposed an effective sentence of sixteen years’ confinement as a Range II offender. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions, the trial court’s decision to supplement the pattern jury instructions with definitions of “force” and “violence,” and the trial court’s denial of Defendant’s motion for new trial. After review, we affirm. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Rikiya Joy Parks
Defendant, Rikiya Joy Parks, appeals her Hawkins County Criminal Court jury convictions for aggravated child neglect, making a false report, and child abuse, challenging the admission of photographs of the minor victim, the admission of what she claims was improper character evidence, the exclusion of printed screenshots of Facebook messages, the sufficiency of the convicting evidence, and the imposition of consecutive sentences. Following our review, we affirm. |
Hawkins | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Stanley William Havens
A jury convicted Defendant, Stanley William Havens, of driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI) and of driving with a blood alcohol concentration of .08% or higher (DUI per se), and it found that this was Defendant’s third DUI offense for enhanced sentencing. The offenses were merged, and Defendant was assessed a fine and sentenced to serve 11 months and 29 days in confinement, with a release eligibility of 75%. Defendant appeals, challenging: (1) the sufficiency of the evidence; (2) the redacted video of the traffic stop; (3) the trial court’s failure to excuse a juror for cause; (4) a statement during voir dire that he asserts constitutes prosecutorial misconduct; and (5) his sentence. We affirm and remand for entry of a corrected judgments in Counts 2 and 3. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Andrew Levi Jefferson v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Andrew Levi Jefferson, appeals the denial of his petition seeking post-conviction relief from his guilty-pleaded convictions in Coffee County Circuit Court case numbers 40579, 42946, 43169, and 43688. Petitioner pleaded guilty to two counts of sale of 0.5 grams or more of a Schedule II controlled substance; possession of a Schedule II controlled substance with the intent to sell or deliver; possession of 0.5 grams or more of a Schedule II controlled substance with the intent to sell or deliver; and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, for which he is serving an effective twenty-five-year sentence. On appeal, Petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because counsel failed to (1) investigate evidence tampering by a police officer; (2) file several motions to suppress; and (3) adequately explain the plea agreement. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Coffee | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Robert Lee Adams, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Robert Lee Adams, Jr., appeals the Tipton County Circuit Court’s denial of his post-conviction petition, seeking relief from his conviction of attempted second degree murder and resulting thirty-year sentence. On appeal, he claims that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on direct appeal of his convictions. Based on our review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Antonio Kendrick v. State of Tennessee
The pro se Petitioner, Antonio Kendrick, appeals the Weakley County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. Based on our review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Weakley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Dewayne Wright, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Michael Dewayne Wright, Jr., was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of first degree felony murder, voluntary manslaughter, and first degree premeditated murder, for which he is serving two consecutive life sentences. Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied after a hearing. On appeal, Petitioner contends that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel based upon (1) trial counsel’s conflict of interest stemming from representing two other suspects at the same time he represented Petitioner; (2) trial counsel’s failure to compel the same two suspects to testify at trial; (3) trial counsel’s failure to consult or call as a witness a firearms expert; (4) trial counsel’s failure to conduct an adequate investigation and prepare for trial; and (5) the cumulative effect of these errors. Petitioner also asserts that the trial court failed in its duty to inquire about trial counsel’s conflict of interest. Finally, Petitioner asserts that the trial court failed to adjudicate Petitioner’s request for DNA testing pursuant to the Post-Conviction DNA Analysis Act (“the DNA Act”). Following a thorough review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of relief. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tony Mar-Kee Mosley
Petitioner, Tony Mar-Kee Mosley, appeals the Obion County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief. Following our review of the entire record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we conclude that Petitioner filed an untimely notice of appeal and the interest of justice does not warrant a waiver of the notice requirement. Therefore, we dismiss this appeal as untimely. |
Obion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Felix Mandiel Leach
The Defendant, Felix Mandiel Leach, pleaded guilty to possession with the intent to sell or to deliver a Schedule II controlled substance as a Range II, multiple offender and received a twelve-year sentence to be served on probation. The Defendant filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, which the trial court summarily denied. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the court erred in denying relief. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals |
