State of Tennessee v. Adrian R. Brown
The appellant, Adrian R. Brown, was convicted in 1995 of three counts of the sale of less than 0.5 grams of cocaine, a Class C felony, and one count of the sale of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine, a Class B felony. The appellant was given concurrent sentences of eight years’ imprisonment for the Class B felony and six years’ imprisonment for each Class C felony. The appellant entered the community corrections program, and he was recommended for a transfer to probation one year later. In October 2003, shortly before his eight-year sentence was set to expire, a violation of probation affidavit was completed. However, the petition for revocation of the appellant’s probation was dismissed in 2005. The appellant now challenges his sentences as illegal, asserting that he did not receive the pretrial jail credits to which he was entitled. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the issue is moot, and accordingly, the trial court properly dismissed the appellant’s motion to correct his sentence. |
McMinn | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jamayl Stoudemire
Defendant, Jamayl Stoudemire, was charged by indictment with three counts of attempted first degree premeditated murder (Counts One through Three), three counts of aggravated assault (Counts Four through Six), and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony (Count Seven). Defendant entered a best interest plea of guilty to three counts of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, as charged in Counts Four, Five, and Six. The remaining counts of the indictment were dismissed. The parties agreed that the three counts would run concurrently with the trial court to determine length and manner of service. At the sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant to five years for each conviction of aggravated assault to be served concurrently in the Department of Correction as a Range I offender. The trial court also denied Defendant’s request to be placed on judicial diversion. Defendant raises two issues on appeal. He argues that his five-year sentence is excessive and that the trial court should have ordered judicial diversion. After a thorough review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dannaer Beard
A Shelby County jury found Appellant Dannaer Beard guilty of criminal attempt: second degree murder and two counts of aggravated assault. The trial court sentenced him to an effective term of twelve years' imprisonment. Appellant now challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his conviction for criminal attempt: second degree murder. Appellant also argues that the trial judge erred in not merging the two aggravated assault convictions. Because a jury could find that Appellant’s stabbing of the victim was a substantial step in a knowing attempt to kill Mr. Moore, we affirm the criminal attempt conviction. Additionally, we find that the two aggravated assault charges arose from a single incident, and we remand the case for entry of a single judgment noting merger of the two offenses in counts 2 and 3. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dana Keith Woods
The Petitioner, Dana Keith Woods, appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of relief from his convictions for first degree premeditated murder, felony murder, aggravated burglary, especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated assault, and attempted first degree murder. The trial court merged the convictions for first degree premeditated murder and felony murder and also merged the convictions for attempted first degree murder and aggravated assault. For his convictions, the Petitioner received an effective sentence of life without the possibility of parole plus fifty years. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the postconviction court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
John J. Kratochvil v. James M. Holloway, Warden
The petitioner, John J. Kratochvil, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, seeking relief from his conviction of second degree murder. The habeas corpus court denied the petition, and the petitioner appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Corey M. Willis
The defendant, Corey M. Willis, was charged with various driving under the influence (DUI) offenses. He filed a motion to suppress, alleging that the police lacked reasonable suspicion to perform the traffic stop. The trial court granted the motion, and the State appeals. Upon review, we affirm the trial court’s ruling. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lee Ann Lynch
The Defendant, Lee Ann Lynch, appeals the Blount County Circuit Court’s order revoking her community corrections sentence for her conviction for promotion of methamphetamine manufacture and ordering her four-year sentence into execution. The Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking her community corrections sentence. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Bo Heath v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Michael Bo Heath, appeals the Sullivan County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for second degree murder and three counts of tampering with or fabricating evidence and his effective twenty-seven-year sentence. The Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Racris Thomas
A Shelby County Criminal Court Jury convicted the appellant, Racris Thomas, of two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, one count of aggravated robbery, one count of attempted aggravated robbery, and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a handgun. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of seventy years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant contends that the evidence is not sufficient to sustain his convictions and that the trial court erred by refusing to declare a mistrial after the jury instructions revealed that the felony underlying the charge for being a felon in possession of a handgun was a prior aggravated robbery. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Caleb Lawrence Mullins
The Defendant, Caleb Lawrence Mullins, pleaded guilty to second degree murder, theft of property, and tampering with evidence. The trial court sentenced him to serve an effective sentence of thirty-seven years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court misapplied one enhancement factor and two consecutive sentencing factors. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable authorities, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Omar Robinson
Appellant, Omar Robinson, pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of cocaine with intent to sell and two counts of simple possession of marijuana. Appellant later filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, which the trial court summarily dismissed, holding that appellant’s sentence had expired. On appeal, appellant argues that the trial court erred by summarily dismissing his motion because an illegal sentence may be challenged at any time pursuant to Rule 36.1. The State concedes that this case should be remanded to the trial court. Following our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we reverse the trial court’s judgment and remand for proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Loudon | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ibrahim Talafhah
The Defendant, Ibrahim Talafhah, was convicted after a bench trial in the Wilson County Criminal Court of harassment, a Class A misdemeanor. See T.C.A. § 39-17-308(a)(2) (2014). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to serve ten days in jail with the balance of his eleven-month, twenty-nine-day sentence to be served on probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred by denying him his constitutional right to a jury trial. We conclude that the Defendant was denied his right to a jury trial, and we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for a new trial. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Cynthia Gail Harvey
The Defendant, Cynthia Gail Harvey, appeals from her Humphreys County jury conviction for felony theft, (1) challenging the trial court’s denial of her motion to dismiss for lack of a speedy trial and (2) contending that she received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Upon considering the relevant authorities and the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Humphreys | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Delquan Bolton
The defendant, Delquan Bolton, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of rape of a child, a Class A felony, and aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony. He was sentenced to terms of twenty-five years and ten years, respectively, to be served concurrently in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in admitting character evidence and that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Brent
The defendant, John Brent, was convicted of aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, for which he was sentenced, respectively, to thirty years at 100% and fifteen years at 45%, the sentences to be served concurrently. On appeal, he argues that he is entitled to a new trial because the court erred in allowing into evidence a photograph of a pair of scissors which were similar to those in the victim’s home; that the evidence was insufficient to support either of his convictions; and that his sentence is excessive. Following our review, we conclude that the defendant’s claims are without merit and affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
O'Neal Johnson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, O’Neal Johnson, appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. After review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antonio Lamont Freeman
The defendant, Antonio Lamont Freeman, was convicted of one count of possession of contraband in a penal facility, a Class C felony. On appeal, the defendant argues: (1) the trial court abused its discretion in removing the defendant from the courtroom during his trial; (2) the trial court abused its discretion by introducing evidence into the record during the motion for new trial; (3) the trial judge’s alleged continued acts of prejudice warrant a new trial; (4) the State committed prosecutorial misconduct when it assumed facts not in evidence; (5) the trial court abused its discretion by denying the motion for new trial based upon newly discovered evidence; and (6) numerous grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brian Oneal Elliott
The appellant, Brian Oneal Elliott, challenges the length of the twenty-five-year maximum sentence the trial court imposed for his conviction of second degree murder. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Cary Arnaz Harbin, III
The Defendant, Cary Arnaz Harbin, III, was charged with violating the sexual offender registration act by establishing his primary residence within one thousand feet of a licensed day care facility. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-39-211(a). The trial court dismissed the charge, finding that the Defendant, convicted in Michigan in 2008 of criminal sexual conduct in the third degree, did not meet the statutory definition of “sexual offender.” The State appeals the order of dismissal, arguing that the record was insufficient for the trial court to make this determination. Following our review of the record and applicable authorities, we conclude that the Defendant, an out-of-state sexual offender required to register in Michigan, is subject to the requirements of Tennessee sexual offender registration act upon sufficient contact with this State. Therefore, we reverse the order of the trial court dismissing the indicted charge and remand the case for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Robert Quinton Jackson
The record in this matter is very sparse. Much of our understanding of its history comes from the decision of this court in the defendant’s direct appeal, State v. John Robert Q. Jackson, No. M2012-00511-CCA-R3-CD, 2013 WL 791621 (Tenn. Crim. App. Mar. 4, 2013). As best we can understand, the defendant, John Robert Quinton Jackson, pled guilty in February 2009 to five counts of aggravated burglary, two counts of automobile burglary, one count of theft over $10,000, and one count of theft over $1000, receiving an effective sentence of six years in community corrections. In September 2009, he was served with a violation warrant and subsequently pled guilty to an additional count of aggravated burglary, receiving a four-year sentence in community corrections, to be served concurrently with the six-year community corrections sentence reinstated by the court. Later, he was served with another violation warrant, based upon his participation in a home invasion and aggravated robbery. Pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, he filed a motion for correction of an illegal sentence, which the trial court dismissed. He appeals that dismissal. Based upon our review, we affirm the trial court’s dismissal of his motion. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In RE: A-Action Bonding Company
This is an appeal by A-Action Bonding Company of Columbia (“A-Action”) of an order of the Maury County Circuit Court, sitting en banc, which suspended the bonding authority of the company, its principal, and one of its agents based on its finding that the agent solicited an inmate at the county jail, in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-11-126(6). The appellant argues that the court improperly considered as evidence a cell phone recording of a videotaped conversation between the agent and the inmate when the original jail videotape had been destroyed and the cell phone recording was made by a competitor and contained an altered version of the original. We agree. We also agree that, without the improperly admitted recording, there was insufficient evidence that the agent solicited business in violation of the statute. Accordingly, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and dismiss the motion to suspend the bonding authority of A-Action, its principal, and its agent. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jameson Delgizzi a/k/a Decharme
The defendant, Jameson Delgizzi, also known as Decharme, pled no-contest to attempted aggravated sexual battery, a Class C felony, and agreed to be sentenced outside his range, as a Range III offender, with the sentence and manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the defendant received a sentence of eleven years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that an eleven-year term is excessive and that he should have been granted probation or split confinement. After review, we affirm the sentencing decision of the trial court. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Daryll Shane Stanley
Defendant, Daryll Shane Stanley, was charged by presentment with four counts of aggravated rape, one count of attempted first degree murder, two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, and one count of especially aggravated robbery. Defendant was tried in a bench trial. Defendant appeals from his convictions as charged on all counts except one count of especially aggravated kidnapping, in which he was acquitted. Defendant was sentenced to 25 years for each of his 7 convictions, and his sentences were ordered to be served consecutively for a total effective sentence of 175 years. In this appeal as of right, Defendant raises the following issues for our review: 1) whether the 16-year delay between the presentment of charges and Defendant’s trial violated his right to a speedy trial; 2) whether he was denied due process by the State’s failure to preserve evidence; 3) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain Defendant’s convictions for four counts of aggravated rape; and 4) whether the trial court’s comments at the conclusion of the bench trial indicated that the trial court found Defendant guilty of the lesser-included offense of theft of property in count 8 charging especially aggravated robbery. Having carefully reviewed the record before us, we affirm the judgments of the trial court in counts one through six, but we conclude that Defendant’s conviction for especially aggravated robbery in count eight should be modified to a conviction for Class A misdemeanor theft and remand this case to the trial court for entry of a modified judgment. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kenzo A. Quezergue v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Kenzo A. Quezergue, was indicted in Davidson County for first degree felony murder and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. Petitioner pled guilty to the lesser included offense of second degree murder in exchange for a sentence of forty years, to be served at 100% as a violent offender. Petitioner filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief alleging, inter alia, that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief, finding that Petitioner had not proven his claims by clear and convincing evidence. Upon thorough review of the record, we agree. The judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jerry Lynn Driver v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Jerry Lynn Driver, appeals as of right from the Davidson County Criminal Court’s summary dismissal of his “motion to set aside guilty plea or in the alternative petition for a writ of error coram nobis or a petition for a writ of habeas corpus.” The Petitioner contends that the Criminal Court erred in summarily dismissing his motion as being untimely filed. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the Criminal Court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals |
