COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OPINIONS

State of Tennessee v. Michael Notaro
E2022-01642-CA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Timothy L. Easter
Trial Court Judge: Judge William K. Rogers

Michael Notaro, Defendant, pled guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor
with an agreed-upon sentence of 10 years for each conviction, to be served consecutively
for a total effective sentence of 30 years at 100% in exchange for the State agreeing not to
seek further prosecution for any other offenses under investigation. Defendant did not seek
a direct appeal of his sentence. Instead, Defendant filed a motion pursuant to Rule 36.1 of
the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure in which he argued that his sentence was
illegal. The trial court dismissed the motion for failure to state a colorable claim.
Defendant appeals. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Christopher Kirk Stack
E2022-01755-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Steven W. Sword

The Defendant, Christopher Kirk Stack, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court’s
probation revocation of the six-year sentence he received for his guilty-pleaded conviction
for attempted aggravated sexual battery. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial
court abused its discretion by revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the
remainder of his sentence in confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Alain Benitez
M2023-00074-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge John W. Campbell, Sr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Brody N. Kane

The Defendant, Alain Benitez, appeals the Smith County Criminal Court’s imposition of consecutive sentencing for his two convictions of first degree felony murder. Upon review, we conclude that we must dismiss the appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

Victor Wise v. State of Tennessee
W2022-01109-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge James M. Lammey, Jr.

In 2019, a Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner, Victor Wise, of two counts of
aggravated robbery, one count of attempted aggravated robbery, and two counts of
aggravated assault. The trial court sentenced him to forty-four years of incarceration. The
Petitioner appealed his convictions to this court, and we affirmed the convictions but
concluded that the trial court erred by imposing consecutive sentences. This court modified
the Petitioner’s total effective sentence to twelve years. State v. Wise, No. W2018-01343-
CCA-R3-CD, 2019 WL 4492910, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Sept. 18, 2019), no perm. app.
filed. Subsequently, the Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming that
he received the ineffective assistance of counsel, which the post-conviction court denied
after a hearing. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

Kimberly Miller v. State of Tennessee
M2022-00901-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert L. Holloway, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Stella L. Hargrove

Petitioner, Kimberly Miller, appeals as of right from the Maury County Circuit Court’s denial of her petition for post-conviction relief, wherein she challenged her convictions for first degree premeditated murder and first degree felony murder, for which she received a life sentence.  On appeal, Petitioner asserts that she was denied the effective assistance of counsel based upon trial counsel’s failure to permit Petitioner “to make a knowing, intelligent, and voluntary decision on whether to assert—or not assert—the statute of limitations for all lesser[-]included offenses of first degree murder and first degree felony murder” and counsel’s failure to file a motion to dismiss, “along with alternative requests for mandatory or permissive jury instructions, related to the violation of [Petitioner’s] Due Process rights under the federal and state constitutions” based upon a lengthy, pre-indictment delay.  Following a thorough review, we affirm. 

State of Tennessee v. James Tyler Fucci
M2022-01425-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert Bateman

The defendant, James Tyler Fucci, appeals the denial of his request for judicial diversion of the six-year sentence imposed for his Montgomery County Criminal Court guiltypleaded conviction of aggravated assault. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. We remand for entry of a judgment on Count 2 reflecting that the charge was dismissed in accordance with the plea agreement.

State of Tennessee v. Christopher A. Williams
E2023-00332-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Timothy L. Easter
Trial Court Judge: Judge James F. Goodwin, Jr.

Defendant, Christopher A. Williams, while on parole under a sentence from the Sullivan
County Criminal Court, was convicted in federal court for conspiracy to distribute and
possess with intent to distribute 28 grams or more of cocaine base. The State filed a
detainer based on Defendant's violation of parole. Defendant filed a pro se "Motion to
Terminate Parole as Unsatisfactorily Completed/Alternatively Revoke Parole and Impose
Sentence in Absentia to Run Concurrent with Federal Supervise Release," which the trial
court denied, finding that the Interstate Agreement on Detainers ("IAD") "does not apply
to probation violations." Defendant filed a pro se motion to reconsider, asserting that he
was denied a due process hearing on his parole revocation. The trial court denied the
motion, and Defendant appeals. We dismiss Defendant's appeal for lack of jurisdiction.

State of Tennessee v. Markettus L. Patrick
W2022-01774-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Donald H. Allen

A Madison County jury convicted the Appellant, Markettus L. Patrick, of aggravated
assault by strangulation or attempted strangulation, a Class C felony, see Tenn. Code Ann.
§ 39-13-102(a)(1)(A)(iv), for which he received a sentence of five years to be served on
supervised probation following service of 150 days in confinement. The sole issue
presented for our review is whether the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction.
Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Amanda Nicole George
W2023-00124-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Joseph T. Howell

A Madison County jury convicted the Appellant of aggravated assault for which she
received a four-year sentence to be served on supervised probation after service of eleven
months and twenty-nine days at 75% release eligibility. The sole issue presented for our
review is whether the evidence is sufficient to support the serious bodily injury element of
aggravated assault and self-defense. Upon our review, we affirm.

State of Tennessee v. Dustin Len Lovelace
W2022-01516-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert L. Holloway, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Brent Bradberry

A Decatur County Jury found Dustin Len Lovelace, Defendant, guilty of facilitation of
aggravated robbery. Defendant claims that the evidence was insufficient to support the
conviction. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the
judgment.

Paul Jerome Johnson, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
E2022-00295-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Jill Bartee Ayers
Trial Court Judge: Judge Kyle A. Hixson

Petitioner, Paul Jerome Johnson, Jr., appeals the denial of his post-conviction petition,
arguing that the post-conviction court erred by dismissing his claim of alleged bias by the
trial court and in finding that he received the effective assistance of counsel at trial.
Following our review of the entire record, oral arguments, and the briefs of the parties, we
affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

William Heath v. State of Tennessee
W2022-01459-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Chris Craft

The Petitioner, William Heath, appeals from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of
his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for especially aggravated
robbery, aggravated assault,1 and reckless endangerment, for which he is serving an
effective forty-year sentence. On appeal, he contends that the post-conviction court erred
in “failing to view the cumulative effect of [his] claims as a constructive denial of the right
to counsel.” We affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

State of Tennessee v. Nicolas Wayna Johnson
W2022-01041-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr.

A Madison County jury convicted the Appellant, Nicolas Wayna Johnson, of possession
of marijuana with intent to sell or deliver (counts one and two), possession of a firearm
with intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony (counts three and
four), theft of property up to $1,000 (count five), and possession of unlawful drug
paraphernalia (count six). Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court merged counts
one and two and imposed a concurrent sentence of two years. The trial court also merged
counts three and four and imposed a sentence of three years to be served in the Tennessee
Department of Correction. By operation of law, the trial court ordered the concurrent two year
term for counts one and two to be served consecutively to the three-year term in counts
three and four. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-1324(a), (e)(1), (g)(1). For counts five and
six, the trial court imposed a concurrent term of eleven months and twenty-nine days, to be
served concurrently with all other counts, for an effective sentence of five years in
confinement. The sole issue for our review is whether the trial court abused its discretion
in denying alternative sentencing. Because the Appellant was eligible for probation on the
theft and drug-related offenses, we remand for resentencing.

State of Tennessee v. Taylor Jenkins Littrell
W2022-01433-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Bruce Irwin Griffey

The Appellant, Taylor Jenkins Littrell, appeals the Carroll County Circuit Court’s order
revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the remainder of his four-year sentence
in confinement. The Appellant alleges that the trial court abused its discretion by: (1)
admitting a blood alcohol report in violation of his confrontation rights; and (2) ordering
him to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement. Finding no reversible error, we
affirm the trial court’s judgment.

State of Tennessee v. Marco Luciano Cianfarani
M2022-01200-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Chancellor Howard W. Wilson

The Defendant, Marco Luciano Cianfarani, was convicted by a Rutherford County Circuit Court jury of aggravated rape, a Class A felony; three counts of aggravated assault, a Class C felony; reckless endangerment with a deadly weapon, a Class E felony; and possession of a weapon by a person with a prior felony conviction, a Class B felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-502(a)(2) (2018) (subsequently amended) (aggravated rape), 39-13-102(a)(1)(A) (2018) (subsequently amended) (aggravated assault), 39-13-103(a) (2018) (subsequently amended) (reckless endangerment), 39-17-1307(b)(1)(A) (2018) (subsequently amended) (weapon possession by a convicted felon). The Defendant was sentenced to serve an effective twenty-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his aggravated rape and aggravated assault convictions, (2) the trial court erred in permitting the testimony from a witness of whom the defense received late notice, (3) the trial court erred in allowing evidence of the Defendant’s prior assault of the victim, and (4) the trial court erred in instructing the jurors to continue deliberating after being notified that one juror disagreed with the other eleven. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Donald H. Runions v. State of Tennessee
M2022-01347-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Kyle A. Hixson
Trial Court Judge: Judge James G. Martin, III

The Petitioner, Donald H. Runions, appeals the Lewis County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his multiple convictions for violation of the Child Protection Act, rape of a child, and aggravated sexual battery. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred by denying relief on his claims alleging that he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel. The Petitioner argues that trial counsel was ineffective by (1) failing to lodge an objection or move for a continuance due to the Petitioner’s absence from certain pretrial evidentiary hearings; (2) failing to present a sound trial strategy based upon adequate preparation; and (3) failing to allow the Petitioner to testify on his own behalf at trial. After review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

State of Tennessee v. Billy Ray Turner
W2022-01165-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Matthew J. Wilson
Trial Court Judge: Judge Lee V. Coffee

A Shelby County jury found Defendant, Billy Ray Turner, guilty of first degree murder, conspiracy to commit first degree murder, and attempted first degree murder. The trial court sentenced him to an effective term of life in prison plus forty-one years. On appeal, Defendant contends: (1) the trial court improperly prevented Defendant from impeaching a witness when it excluded a conversation between the witness and the victim’s ex-wife; (2) the trial court improperly allowed the State to ask a witness leading questions; (3) the trial court erred by allowing a speaking objection by the State; (4) Shelby County was not the proper venue for the attempted first degree murder case; and (5) the evidence was insufficient to sustain Defendant’s convictions. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Andy F. Nunez v. State of Tennessee
M2022-01748-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Steve R. Dozier

A Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Andy F. Nunez, of first degree premeditated murder, felony murder, attempted especially aggravated robbery, and attempted especially aggravated robbery, and the trial court sentenced the Petitioner to life plus five years. The Petitioner appealed, challenging the trial court’s decision to quash subpoenas for information on plea agreements, and this court affirmed the Petitioner’s convictions. State v. Nunez, No. M2019-00473-CCA-R3-CD, 2020 WL 4734916, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Aug. 14, 2020), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Jan. 13, 2021). The Petitioner timely filed a post-conviction petition, alleging that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

Hershel Wayne Grimes v. State of Tennessee
M2022-01020-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge Curtis Smith

A Grundy County jury convicted the Petitioner, Hershel Wayne Grimes, of first degree murder, and the trial court sentenced him to life in prison. This court affirmed his conviction on appeal. State v. Grimes, No. M2000-01531-CCA-R3-CD, 2007 WL 1670188, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. June 8, 2007), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Nov. 13, 2007). The Petitioner filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief, which he later amended, that alleged that he had received the ineffective assistance of counsel and that the State had suppressed exculpatory evidence. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred when it denied his petition because: (1) trial counsel was ineffective for not calling as witnesses Steven Groves, Tracy Marie Pressley, Billy Ray Griffith, and Billy Eugene Caldwell; and (2) the State failed to disclose exculpatory information in the form of a letter written by Special Agent Larry Davis to U.S. District Judge Sparks. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

State of Tennessee v. Spenser Curtis McGuiggan
M2022-01504-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Forest A. Durard, Jr.

The defendant, Spenser Curtis McGuiggan, appeals the Marshall County Circuit Court’s order revoking his probation and requiring him to serve in confinement the balance of his six-year sentence for sexual battery of a minor. Discerning no error, we affirm.

State of Tennessee v. Willie Brown
W2022-01188-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Tom Greenholtz
Trial Court Judge: Judge Paula L. Skahan

A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Willie Brown, of rape of a child, and the trial court sentenced him to serve twenty-seven years. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence is legally insufficient to support his conviction. He also asserts that (1) the trial court erred in admitting text messages that were not properly authenticated; (2) the State violated Brady v. Maryland, 373 U.S. 83 (1963), when it failed to disclose records related to an investigation of the victim’s mother; and (3) the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. On our review, we respectfully affirm the judgment of the trial court.

State of Tennessee v. Cody Lee Wilson
M2022-00864-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge William R. Goodman, III

The defendant, Cody Lee Wilson, appeals his Robertson County Circuit Court jury convictions of sexual battery, rape, and two counts of incest, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions. Discerning no error, we affirm.

State of Tennessee v. Zion Robinson
W2022-01460-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Timothy L. Easter
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jennifer Johnson Mitchell

The Shelby County Grand Jury indicted Defendant, Zion Robinson, for rape of a child, a
Class A felony. Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Petitioner entered an open guilty
plea to the substantially reduced offense of sexual battery, a Class E felony. Following a
sentencing hearing, the trial court denied Defendant’s requests for judicial diversion and
probation and sentenced Defendant to serve two years incarcerated. Additionally, the trial
court ordered Defendant to register with the Sex Offender Registry. Defendant appeals,
arguing that the trial court abused its discretion in denying judicial diversion. We conclude
that Defendant has waived appellate review of his sentence by failing to prepare an
adequate record and we therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court. We remand this
case, however, for the entry of a corrected judgment form reflecting the indicted offense of
rape of a child.

Anthony Tremayne Cartwright v. State of Tennessee
M2022-00754-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Steve R. Dozier

The Petitioner, Anthony Tremayne Cartwright, appeals from the denial of his petition seeking post-conviction relief from his convictions of aggravated assault and domestic assault, for which he received consecutive sentences of fourteen years and eleven months, twenty-nine days, respectively. He alleges that trial counsel’s failure to investigate and present witnesses deprived him of his right to the effective assistance of counsel. After review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

State of Tennessee v. Rico Reed
W2022-01072-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Matthew J. Wilson
Trial Court Judge: Judge Carolyn Wade Blackett

A Shelby County jury convicted Defendant, Rico Reed, of one count of aggravated sexual
battery. The trial court sentenced Defendant to twenty years in prison. On appeal,
Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction because there
was no evidence produced at trial that the contact was for sexual arousal or gratification.
After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.