State of Tennessee v. James Williams
The defendant, James Williams, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of first degree premeditated murder, three counts of attempted first degree premeditated murder, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. The jury sentenced him to life imprisonment for the first degree murder conviction, and the trial court sentenced him as a Range I offender to twenty-five years for each of the attempted murder convictions and as a Range III offender to fifteen years for the firearm conviction, with each of the sentences to be served consecutively to each other and consecutively to the life sentence. However, at the hearing on the motion for new trial, the trial court overturned and dismissed the firearm conviction, leaving the defendant with an effective sentence of life plus seventyfive years in the Department of Correction for the murder and attempted murder convictions. In a timely appeal to this court, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence in support of his murder and attempted murder convictions and argues that the trial court erred in admitting prior bad act evidence and in ordering consecutive sentences. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles Franklin Smith
The appellant, Charles Franklin Smith, appeals as of right from the judgments of the Knox County Criminal Court convicting the appellant of two counts of burglary. The appellant’s counsel has filed a motion to withdraw pursuant to Rule 22 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. We conclude that the motion is well-taken and, in accordance with Rule 22(F), affirm the trial court’s judgments pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Marvin Green v. State of Tennessee
The pro se petitioner, Marvin Green, appeals the dismissal of two petitions for habeas corpus relief. He was sentenced to fifteen years under the Drug Free School Zone Act. He argues that he is a standard offender and should be released after service of thirty percent of the sentence, and he alleges errors in his indictment. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Frederick Leon Tucker
Petitioner, Frederick Leon Tucker, sought a writ of error coram nobis. The hearing court found there were no due process concerns which would entitle petitioner to relief and dismissed the petition as not being filed within the applicable statute of limitations. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Lawrence Ralph v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Lawrence Ralph, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief, alleging that counsel provided ineffective assistance by not requesting the transcript of voir dire, and that the trial court erred by merging two convictions. Finding that the trial court properly denied post-conviction relief, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Warren | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jeremy Jarvis v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Jeremy Jarvis, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance by counsel. Petitioner alleges that trial counsel was unaware of the law concerning self-defense until trial and was ineffective by asserting the defense of self-defense with regard to the death of an innocent third person; and was ineffective by failing to attempt to negotiate a settlement of the case short of trial. Finding that the court properly denied post-conviction relief, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Andrew Quinn
The defendant, Andrew Quinn, appeals a certified question of law pertaining to the stop of his vehicle and the denial of a motion to suppress. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Craig Beene v. State of Tennessee
The pro se petitioner, Craig Beene, appeals the summary dismissal of a petition for habeas corpus relief. Petitioner alleges he did not enter a knowing and voluntary guilty plea. The habeas court found he had litigated this issue in his post-conviction hearing, and it was not a proper subject for habeas corpus relief. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Anthony Lewis v. Sharon Taylor, Warden
Michael Anthony Lewis (“the Petitioner”) filed a petition for a writ habeas corpus regarding his conviction for attempt to commit first degree premeditated murder. The habeas corpus court summarily dismissed the petition, and this appeal followed. Upon our thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the habeas corpus court’s judgment. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Ethen Doyle
The defendant, Joshua Ethen Doyle, appeals a certified question of law pertaining to the stop of his vehicle, and the denial of a motion to suppress the breath alcohol test. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Stormy Condry
Stormy Condry (“the Defendant”) pleaded guilty to two counts of attempt to commit aggravated assault and reserved a certified question of law concerning the retroactivity of an amendment to Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-107 (Supp. 2011). The Defendant contends that the amendment should be applied retroactively so as to render her conduct non-criminal. Upon our thorough review of the record and applicable law, we reject the Defendant’s argument and affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ronald Lee West, Jr.
The Defendant, Ronald Lee West, Jr., appeals from his jury convictions for initiation of a process intended to result in the manufacture of methamphetamine, Count 1, and possession of drug paraphernalia, Count 2. In this appeal, he alleges (1) that the evidence presented at trial is insufficient to sustain his conviction in Count 1; (2) that the trial court erred in refusing to grant his request for a mistrial after improper character evidence was admitted by a witness at trial; and (3) that the trial court also erred in declining to apply any mitigating factors, resulting in a longer sentence. Upon consideration of the record and the applicable authorities, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Greene | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Larry Baltimore
Appellant, Larry Baltimore, was acting as a bail bondsman in Dyer County at the time this Court decided in In re: The Application of Tony Cox (Seeking to Qualify as Agent for Memphis Bonding), 389 S.W.3d 794 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2012), that a convicted felon could not act as a bail bondsman under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-11-128. After Cox was decided, the trial court determined that Appellant could not be a bail bondsman because of a previous conviction for felony assault. Appellant appeals from this order and asks this Court to reverse its decision in Cox. After a thorough review of Appellant’s arguments, we find no reason to reverse our earlier determination. Therefore, the trial court’s decision is affirmed. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Phtra Oum
Defendant, Phtra Oum, was indicted by the Montgomery County grand jury for first degree premeditated murder, attempted second degree murder, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of first degree premeditated murder and possession of a firearm with intent to go armed during an attempt to commit second degree murder. The trial court set aside the firearm conviction and sentenced Defendant to life imprisonment for his first degree murder conviction. Defendant appeals his conviction, asserting that the evidence was insufficient to sustain a conviction for first degree murder. We conclude that the evidence was sufficient to sustain Defendant’s conviction and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brian Garrett Wallace
Appellant, Brian G. Wallace, pled guilty to five counts of attempted especially aggravated exploitation of a minor and one count of attempted sexual battery. The plea was an open guilty plea, and the trial court sentenced Appellant to an effective sentence of eighteen years which included consecutive sentencing. On appeal, Appellant argues that the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentences. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Robertson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles E. May, Jr.
Appellant appeals from the trial court’s denial of his motion to suspend the balance of a six-year sentence he was serving in the Rutherford County jail. He claims that the trial court erred; (1) in limiting Appellant’s opportunity to present proof at the motion hearing; (2) denying his motion to suspend sentence because of a waiver included in a probation violation agreement; (3) denying Appellant’s motion on an improper basis; and (4) that Appellant received ineffective assistance of counsel at the motion hearing. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dustin Mark Vaughn
Defendant, Dustin Mark Vaughn, entered guilty pleas to the promotion of methamphetamine manufacture and the initiation of the process to manufacture methamphetamine. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant to concurrent sentences of four years for the promotion of methamphetamine manufacture conviction and twelve years for the methamphetamine initiation process conviction. The trial court denied Defendant’s request for alternative sentencing. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred by denying his request for alternative sentencing. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kevin Allen Gentry
The Petitioner, Kevin Allen Gentry, appeals the Sevier County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his conviction for rape of a child. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Sevier | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher D. Seals
The appellant, Christopher D. Seals, pled guilty to aggravated burglary, and the trial court imposed a sentence of three years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant asserts that the trial court erred by denying judicial diversion and in determining the amount of restitution. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamblen | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Selwyn Forbes George v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Selwyn Forbes George, was indicted by the Davidson County Grand Jury for one count of possession with intent to sell or deliver .5 grams or more of cocaine in a drug-free school zone. Petitioner entered a negotiated plea agreement in which he pled guilty to possession of more than .5 grams of cocaine for resale in exchange for a twenty-year sentence to be served as a Range I, standard offender. Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief in which he alleged that trial counsel was ineffective. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. Petitioner appeals. After a review, we determine that Petitioner has failed to show clear and convincing evidence that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. Further, we determine that Petitioner has failed to show that his guilty plea was involuntarily or unknowingly entered. As a result, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
William Artel Townsend aka Abdullah R.S. Ashanti v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, William Atrel Townsend aka Abdullah R.S. Ashanti, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for a writ of error coram nobis regarding his conviction for attempt to commit especially aggravated robbery, for which he is serving an eight-year sentence. The Petitioner contends that the trial court erred by denying him relief. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Alan F. Watson
Appellant, Alan F. Watson, was indicted by the Houston County Grand Jury for aggravated robbery. Prior to trial, Appellant sought to suppress the evidence seized after execution of a search warrant at his home. The trial court denied the motion to suppress. At the conclusion of the jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of the aggravated robbery of Crystal’s Check Cashing. As a result, he was sentenced to nine years in incarceration as a Range I, standard offender. Appellant appeals, arguing: (1) that the trial court improperly denied the motion to suppress; (2) that he was denied a fair trial when the trial court excluded evidence; and (3) that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction. After a review of the evidence, we determine that the trial court properly denied the motion to suppress where the affidavit in support of the search warrant established probable cause and did not contain false and misleading information. Additionally, we determine that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in excluding irrelevant evidence and that the evidence is sufficient to support the conviction for aggravated robbery. As a result, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Houston | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Steven Malone v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Steven Malone, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel pretrial and at trial. After review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David Lee Hutcherson
The Defendant, David Lee Hutcherson, pled guilty to one count each of possession of less than .5 grams of methamphetamine with intent to deliver, promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, and possession of drug paraphernalia. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-17-417, - 17-433, -17-425. He received an effective sentence of three years on all counts. As a condition of his guilty plea, the Defendant sought to reserve the right to appeal a certified question of law challenging the trial court’s denial of his motion to suppress. Following our review of the record, we dismiss the appeal because the Defendant failed to properly certify his question of law in accordance with Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2). |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Steven Deshawn Crawley
In two indictments, the Defendant, Steven Deshawn Crawley, pled guilty to one count of aggravated burglary, one count of aggravated robbery, one count of especially aggravated kidnapping, and three counts of aggravated rape. The trial court sentenced him to serve an effective sentence of forty-five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred when it sentenced him because it misapplied enhancement factors, failed to apply applicable mitigating factors, and failed to follow the sentencing guidelines set forth in Tennessee Code annotated sections 40-35-102, -103, and -115. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable authorities, we conclude no error exists in the judgments of the trial court. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals |
