Ray L. Morehead v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Ray L. Morehead, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel and that his guilty pleas were unknowing, unintelligent, and involuntary. Based on our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court denying the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ambreia Washington
The Defendant, Ambreia Washington, was convicted by a Madison County Circuit Court |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Terrance Lawrence v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Terrance Lawrence, appeals from the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, domestic assault, driving while his license was suspended, and possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony involving the use or attempted use of force, violence, or a deadly weapon, for which he is serving an effective sixty-year sentence. On appeal, he contends that the post-conviction court erred in denying relief based upon his ineffective assistance of counsel allegations. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William James Andrews
Following a bench trial, the trial court found the Defendant, William James Andrews, guilty of two counts of vehicular homicide by intoxication, two counts of vehicular homicide by recklessness, two counts of reckless aggravated assault resulting in death, and two counts of vehicular homicide with a prior DUI conviction. The trial court imposed an agreed-upon twenty-year sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress evidence of drugs in his blood, contending that he did not give consent for a blood draw. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Timothy Alan Stephenson
Defendant, Timothy Alan Stephenson, was indicted by the Knox County Grand Jury for |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jerome Nchiyako Dooley, Alias
Defendant, Jerome Nchiyako Dooley, appeals the Knox County Criminal Court’s partial |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dariun Bailey v. State of Tennessee
A Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner, Dariun Bailey, of second-degree murder, |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Cantrell Devon Hodges
The defendant, Cantrell Devon Hodges, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of a |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Stasey Tyrome Gregory, Jr.
In 2022, the Defendant, Stasey Tyrome Gregory, Jr., pleaded guilty to six counts of methamphetamine related charges, and the trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective sentence of fifteen years of incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the trial court erred when it sentenced him. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Lincoln | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lemonderius Antwan Goodner
The defendant, Lemonderius Antwan Goodner, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of premeditated first-degree murder, felony murder, and attempted especially aggravated robbery, for which he received an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus ten years. On appeal, the defendant argues that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Lee Woods, Jr.
Michael Lee Woods, Jr., Defendant, was convicted by a jury of two counts of first degree murder, one count of felony murder, one count of attempted first degree murder, one count of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and one count of possession of a firearm after having been convicted of a felony drug offense. The convictions stemmed from an incident that left two people dead and one person paralyzed. Defendant was sentenced to an effective sentence of two consecutive life sentences plus 10 years. Following the denial of a motion for new trial, Defendant appealed, challenging: (1) the trial court’s decision to permit the State to introduce evidence of Defendant’s involvement in two unrelated shootings in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b); (2) the trial court’s decision to permit the State to introduce a video clip in which Defendant is seen brandishing a gun; (3) the sufficiency of the evidence with respect to the convictions for first degree murder, felony murder and attempted first degree murder; and (4) his sentence. Defendant also alleges that cumulative errors during the trial entitle him to reversal of the convictions. Because trial counsel failed to object to the introduction of evidence about the two unrelated shootings as well as the video clip of Defendant brandishing a gun and Defendant failed to establish all five factors necessary for plain error review, he is not entitled to relief on those issues. Moreover, we determine that the evidence was sufficient to support the convictions and that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Defendant. Consequently, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. However, we remand the matter to the trial court for correction of the judgment form in Count 5 to reflect that the sentence runs consecutively to Counts 1, 2, and 4. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Shawn Rafael Bough
The petitioner, Shawn Rafael Bough, appeals the Knox County Criminal Court’s summary |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Shaffighi
A Knox County jury found the Defendant, John Shaffighi, guilty of aggravated rape and aggravated sexual battery from events occurring in 1992. He was sentenced to an effective term of twenty-five years. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the legal sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions. He also asserts the trial court erred by (1) denying a motion to dismiss in light of missing evidence; (2) allowing the victim’s forensic interview to be played at trial; (3) denying his motion for a mistrial after testimony from the victim; (4) limiting the testimony of his expert witness; (5) instructing the jury on its deliberation during its deadlock; and (6) imposing the maximum sentence after misapplying enhancement factors and failing to apply mitigating factors. The State concedes that the Defendant was not sentenced properly under the pre-2005 sentencing statutes. Upon our review, we affirm the Defendant’s convictions but respectfully remand the case for resentencing in accordance with Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004). |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roger Dean Guin
The defendant, Roger Dean Guin, appeals his Knox County Criminal Court jury |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert W. Pitt, II
This appeal concerns sentencing issues only. Defendant, Robert W. Pitt, II, pleaded guilty in the Sumner County Criminal Court to five counts of statutory rape by an authority figure, involving one victim. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant to six years in confinement on each conviction and ordered the sentences to run consecutively, for an effective thirty-year sentence. Defendant argues on appeal that his sentences are excessive and that the trial court abused its discretion in ordering consecutive sentencing. We affirm. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeremy Wayne Stephens
The Defendant, Jeremy Wayne Stephens, appeals his conviction for theft of property |
Hamblen | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Guillermo Zapata
The Defendant, Guillermo Zapata, was convicted in the Shelby County Criminal Court of |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dantis Lakka-Lako
A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, Dantis Lakka-Lako, of one count of especially aggravated robbery, two counts of aggravated rape, one count of especially aggravated burglary, and two counts of theft of property. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective sentence of fifty years of incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress his confession. He additionally contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions for especially aggravated robbery and aggravated rape, and that the trial court erred when it sentenced him. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Leroy Littleton, III
The defendant, Robert Leroy Littleton, III, appeals his Johnson County Criminal Court |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jerry L. Dismukes
A Knox County jury convicted Defendant, Jerry L. Dismukes, of possession of more than fifteen grams of heroin with intent to sell or deliver; possession of less than 200 grams of fentanyl with intent to sell or deliver; possession of more than twenty-six grams of a substance containing cocaine with intent to sell or deliver; and possession of drug paraphernalia. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court provided the improper remedy when it modified one of his convictions to a lesser offense after the jury’s verdict. Defendant also argues that there was insufficient evidence to prove an unbroken chain of custody. The State argues that Defendant waived his first argument, and that the evidence was sufficient to establish an unbroken chain of custody. We agree with the State. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darious Gory
A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant of rape of a child for which he received a |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Henry Moore v. State of Tennessee
The pro se petitioner, Henry Moore, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donald Gwin v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Donald Gwin, appeals from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Elvin Pearson v. State of Tennessee
A Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Elvin Pearson, of one count of felony murder and two counts of attempted first degree murder, for which he received an effective sentence of life imprisonment. He filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied after a hearing. On appeal, pro se, he contends that the post-conviction court erred when it denied him relief because: (1) the trial court committed plain error when it failed to give correct and complete jury instructions, denied his judgment of acquittal, and merged the offense of attempted voluntary manslaughter into felony murder; (2) he was deprived of his Sixth Amendment right to the effective assistance of counsel based on trial counsel’s failure to move to dismiss the indictment; and (3) the State violated Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963), by failing to disclose a witness prior to trial. He further contends that: (4) his post-conviction counsel deprived him of a full and fair post-conviction hearing by not presenting the mother of his children, Diane Reid, as a witness, not asking trial counsel questions relevant to his issues, and failing to investigate the subject matter of his questions; and (5) the post-conviction court erred when it did not allow post-conviction counsel to withdraw from the case and denied the Petitioner the opportunity to address the court. Upon review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Deirdre Marie Rich
Defendant, Deirdre Marie Rich, appeals from her conviction for first degree premediated murder, for which she received a sentence of life imprisonment. Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support her conviction; (2) the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury on self-defense; and (3) the trial court erred in admitting entries from the victim’s ex-wife’s journal in violation of Defendant’s right to confrontation. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals |
