Delvin Allison v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Delvin Allison, pled guilty to aggravated robbery with an agreed sentence of seven years and two months as a mitigated offender, which was ordered to be served in the Department of Correction. Petitioner now appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief in which he contends: the post-conviction court improperly determined that he was not entitled to discovery of the audio recording of the juvenile court transfer hearing; trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance both prior to and during the guilty plea proceedings; and his guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary. Upon reviewing the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jamie Crowell
The Defendant, Jamie Crowell, was convicted by a Chester County Circuit Court jury of aggravated kidnapping, a Class B felony; facilitation of aggravated assault, a Class D felony; possession of methamphetamine with intent to sell, a Class B felony; possession of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, a Class B felony; possession of a Schedule II controlled substance, oxymorphone, a Class A misdemeanor; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court merged the methamphetamine convictions into one conviction and sentenced the Defendant to a total effective term of seventeen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant argues that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the State’s questioning about the prior methamphetamine use of defense witnesses denied him a fair trial; and (3) the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Chester | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bobby Ray Graves, Jr.
A Warren County Circuit Court Jury convicted the Appellant, Bobby Ray Graves, Jr., of failure to appear, a Class E felony, and the trial court sentenced him to six years in confinement. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction because the State failed to prove that he “went into hiding to avoid prosecution” and that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct during closing arguments. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Warren | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Peterpal T. Tutlam
A Davidson County Criminal Court Jury convicted the Appellant, Peterpal T. Tutlam, of two counts of especially aggravated robbery, two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, and two counts of aggravated rape, Class A felonies. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced the Appellant to twenty-five years for each conviction and ordered that the sentences be served consecutively for a total effective sentence of one hundred fifty years. On appeal, the Appellant contends that his effective sentence is excessive. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
William Boatwright v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, William Boatwright, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his especially aggravated robbery, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, and two aggravated assault convictions, for which he is serving a forty-seven-year sentence. The Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. We reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand the case for additional findings of fact and conclusions of law. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ashley N. Menke
On July 14, 2016, Ashley N. Menke, the Defendant, entered an open guilty plea in Case No. 925-CR-2015 to five felonies and three misdemeanors, including one count of theft in the amount of $1,000 or more but less than $10,000 (Count 9), and to a violation of probation in Case No. 268-CR-2014. The value of the property taken in Count 9 was exactly $1,000, and the Defendant was released on bail for felony offenses in Counts 3, 4, 5, and 6 at the time she committed the theft in Count 9. Following the December 2, 2016 sentencing hearing, the trial court took the matter under advisement without sentencing the Defendant. On January 1, 2017, the Public Safety Act of 2016 became effective. Section 5 of the Public Safety Act “deleted and replaced” Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-14-105(a), the “grading of theft” statute. Theft in the amount of $1,000 or less committed after January 1, 2017, is now graded as a Class A misdemeanor. In its March 10, 2017 sentencing order, the trial court imposed an eleven month and twenty-nine day sentence in Count 9 based on the criminal savings statute, Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-11-112, and ordered the sentence to be served concurrently with the effective three-year sentence for the other seven counts. The judgment states that the conviction offense is a Class D felony. We hold that the criminal savings statute does not apply and that the trial court erred in sentencing the Defendant in Count 9 to a concurrent sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days because of the following: (1) the General Assembly did not specifically indicate that Section 5 of the Public Safety Act operated retrospectively so the statute is presumed to operate prospectively; (2) “the value of the property or services obtained” is an essential element of the offense of theft; and (3) the legislature changed an essential element of, not the sentence for, Class A misdemeanor theft, Class E felony theft, and Class D felony theft. We affirm the judgment of conviction for the Class D felony theft in Count 9, vacate the sentence in Count 9, and remand the case to the trial court for resentencing within the applicable range for Class D felony theft and for consecutive alignment of the sentence pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-20-111(b) and Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(c)(3)(C). |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Robert Earl Borner v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Robert Earl Borner, appeals the dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. He argues that the indictment is void because it failed to state the essential elements of the conviction offense. After a thorough review of the record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Trousdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Morgan Nyle Janyja
The Defendant, Morgan Nyle Janyja, appeals the trial court’s revocation of his probation. On appeal, he argues that the evidence was insufficient to support the revocation. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Nathan Chaleunsak v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Nathan Chaleunsak, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief from his 2015 guilty-pleaded conviction of second degree murder, for which he received an agreed, out-of-range sentence of thirty years to be served at 100%. 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 postconviction court denied relief. After review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dustin Lucio v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Dustin Lucio, appeals from the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. Petitioner was convicted by a jury of aggravated rape and sentenced by the trial court to 23 years in confinement to be served at 100 percent release eligibility. Petitioner’s conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. State v. Dustin Matthew Lucio, No. E2014-00642-CCA-R3-CD, 2015 WL 1510830 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 31, 2015), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Aug. 13, 2015). Petitioner contends that his appellate counsel was ineffective for failing to include in the record on appeal a transcript of the hearing on the State’s motion in limine. In that motion, the State sought to exclude from evidence the victim’s medical records showing that she received treatment for drug abuse after the offense occurred. Following a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Sevier | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Frederick Wendell Thomas v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Frederick Wendell Thomas, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief from his 2013 Shelby County Criminal Court jury conviction of first degree murder, for which he received a life sentence. In this appeal, the petitioner contends only that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Nasir Hakeem v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Nasir Hakeem, appeals the Montgomery County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief, arguing that his attorneys were ineffective for failing to inform him of the deportation and other immigration consequences of a conviction at trial pursuant to Padilla v. Kentucky, 559 U.S. 356 (2010). The State contends that the petition is time-barred and that the post-conviction court erred in tolling the one-year statute of limitations based on the Petitioner’s ignorance of Padilla. Because the postconviction court erred in tolling the limitations period, this court is deprived of jurisdiction to hear this appeal. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Curtis Morris
A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Curtis Morris, of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, aggravated child neglect, and felony murder of his seventeen-month-old son. On appeal the defendant argues: the trial court erred when excluding a daycare record; the trial court erred when permitting the jury to view autopsy photos of the victim; the trial court erred when allowing certain expert testimony; the State failed to properly elect offenses; the trial court erred when failing to define “knowing” in its aggravated child abuse instructions; the State presented insufficient evidence to support the jury’s verdict; and the cumulative effect of these errors resulted in the denial of a fair trial. Based on our thorough review of the record, pertinent authorities, and arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dequevion Lamar Lee
The defendant, Dequevion Lamar Lee, was convicted by a Madison County jury for attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault. On appeal, he argues the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court but remand the case for entry of a corrected judgment form as to count two reflecting the defendant’s aggravated assault conviction was merged with count one. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Nathaniel Morton Champion
A Coffee County jury convicted the Defendant, Nathaniel Morton Champion, of possession of contraband in a penal institution, a Class C felony, for which the trial court imposed an eight-year sentence to run consecutively to the Defendant’s prior sentences. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred by denying his motion to dismiss the indictment based on the State’s failure to preserve evidence pursuant to State v. Ferguson, 2 S.W.3d 912 (Tenn. 1999); (2) the evidence introduced at trial was insufficient to support his conviction; (3) the trial court abused its discretion by denying the Defendant’s request for a continuance based on the failure of a defense witness to appear to testify at trial; (4) the Defendant’s waiver of the right to counsel was not knowing and intelligent; and (5) the trial court abused its discretion by enhancing the Defendant’s sentence to eight years and ordering consecutive sentencing. Following a thorough review, we affirm the Defendant’s judgment of conviction. |
Coffee | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donald Scott Kimbrough v. State of Tennessee
In April 2005, Donald Scott Kimbrough (“the Petitioner”) pled guilty to second degree murder and attempted second degree murder. Pursuant to a plea agreement, the Defendant received an effective sentence of twenty-five years’ incarceration. Almost twelve years after his guilty plea, in March 2017, the Petitioner filed an untimely petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner acknowledged that his petition was untimely filed but asserted that the statute of limitations should be tolled because he was a minor at the time of the offenses. The post-conviction court summarily dismissed the petition as time-barred after finding that no statutory exception existed to toll the limitations period and that the Petitioner failed to establish a basis for due process tolling. The Petitioner now appeals the post-conviction court’s order. However, because the Petitioner filed an untimely notice of appeal with this court and the interest of justice does not favor a waiver of the timely filing requirement in this case, the Petitioner’s appeal is dismissed. |
Anderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Pamela Moses
Defendant, Pamela Moses, was placed on intensive probation following the entry of guilty pleas to several offenses. The State filed two petitions to revoke her probation. After a lengthy hearing, the trial court revoked Defendant’s probation and ordered the “original judgment of conviction” into execution with additional jail credit for time served in confinement. Defendant argues on appeal that the trial court improperly revoked probation. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tina Nelson v. State of Tennessee
A jury convicted the Petitioner, Tina Nelson, of first degree felony murder committed during the perpetration of aggravated child abuse and of the underlying felony of aggravated child abuse. She petitioned for post-conviction relief, asserting ineffective assistance of counsel, and her petition was denied. On appeal, the Petitioner alleges that she is entitled to post-conviction relief because her trial counsel failed to properly investigate her case or present witnesses, failed to move for a severance, failed to properly challenge testimony that she showed no emotion, and failed to establish that her mental impairment prevented her from assisting in her own defense. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Chris Jones v. State of Tennessee
Pro se Petitioner, Chris Jones, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s dismissal of his petition for writ of error coram nobis. The Petitioner concedes that his petition was filed nearly seven years beyond the one-year statute of limitations and argues that due process consideration warrants tolling of the limitations period. Upon review, we affirm the dismissal of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Zachary Weatherly
In this appeal, we address the constitutionality of police officers’ search of trash located within the curtilage of the home of the Defendant, Williams Zachary Weatherly. The police officers utilized evidence obtained from the Defendant’s trash to secure a search warrant for the Defendant’s home and vehicle. As a result of evidence seized from the Defendant’s trash and during the execution of the search warrant, the Defendant was charged with possession with the intent to sell or deliver more than one-half ounce of marijuana and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The Defendant filed a motion to suppress. Following a hearing, the trial court granted the motion, finding that the warrantless search of the Defendant’s trash was unconstitutional and that the search warrant failed to establish probable cause. The State appealed. Upon reviewing the record and the applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s granting of the motion to suppress. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Trevor Wallace
The State of Tennessee appeals from the Houston County Circuit Court’s order granting the Defendant, Trevor Wallace’s, motion to dismiss the indictment charging him with driving under the influence. See T.C.A. § 55-10-401(a) (Supp. 2014) (amended 2015). The trial court granted the motion on the basis that the indictment failed to state an offense. The State contends that the trial court erred in granting the motion to dismiss. We reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for further proceedings. |
Houston | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In re: Justin P., et al
This is a termination of parental rights case. Appellant/Mother appeals the trial court’s termination of her parental rights on the ground of: abandonment by willful failure to visit. Appellant also appeals the trial court’s finding that termination of her parental rights is in the children’s best interests. Because Appellee/Father thwarted Appellant’s attempts to visit the children, we conclude that Appellees failed to meet their burden to show, by clear and convincing evidence, that Appellant abandoned the children. Accordingly, we reverse the order terminating Appellant’s parental rights. |
Moore | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
William Casey v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, William Casey, appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief in which he challenged his convictions for first degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of aggravated rape for offenses that occurred in 1979 and 1980. The Petitioner raised numerous issues in his petition, alleging errors at trial, prosecutorial misconduct, and ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal. The post-conviction court entered a preliminary order dismissing all of the Petitioner’s claims of errors at trial, prosecutorial misconduct, and ineffective assistance of appellate counsel and the majority of his claims of ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Following an evidentiary hearing on the Petitioner’s remaining claims, the postconviction court entered an order denying the Petitioner relief. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred in dismissing the majority of his claims before the evidentiary hearing and in finding that the Petitioner failed to establish during the evidentiary hearing that he is entitled to relief as to his remaining claims. We conclude that the post-conviction court properly dismissed the Petitioner’s claims of errors during the trial and prosecutorial misconduct and properly denied the Petitioner relief as to his claims presented during an evidentiary hearing. We also conclude the post-conviction court erred in dismissing the Petitioner’s claims of ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal without conducting an evidentiary hearing. Accordingly, the post-conviction court’s judgment is affirmed in part and reversed in part, and we remand the case to the post-conviction court for an evidentiary hearing on the issues of ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal that were dismissed by the court in its preliminary order and properly preserved by the Petitioner on appeal. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kenneth Michael McIntosh
The defendant, Kenneth Michael McIntosh, pled guilty to sixteen counts of aggravated child abuse and a single count of child abuse. The trial court sentenced the defendant to eight years for each aggravated child abuse conviction and eleven months and twentynine days for the single child abuse conviction and ordered two of the sentences for aggravated child abuse to be served consecutively for an effective sentence of sixteen years. On appeal, the defendant argues the trial court erred in ordering two of his eightyear sentences to be served consecutively. Upon review, we affirm the findings of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Daniel Lee Mooneyhan
The Defendant, Daniel Lee Mooneyhan, appeals his Bedford County convictions for Count 1: aggravated burglary, and Counts 2 and 4: theft of property between the value of $1,000 and $10,000, for which he received an effective sentence of five years with a 30% release eligibility, to serve in the Department of Correction. The Defendant contends that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his convictions in Counts 1, 2, and 4 because the State offered no independent evidence to corroborate an accomplice’s testimony about the Defendant’s involvement in the offenses. The Defendant does not appeal his conviction in Count 3, felon in possession of a handgun. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the convictions, but remand for merger of Counts 2 and 4. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals |
