State of Tennessee v. Kevin Lamont Church
A Davidson County Jury convicted Appellant, Kevin Lamont Church, of kidnapping and simple assault. The trial court sentenced him to twelve years as a Range III, persistent offender. The judgments were entered January 6, 2010. A motion for new trial was never filed. On July 6, 2011, Appellant filed a post-conviction petition requesting a delayed appeal. The trial court granted the request on October 7, 2011, and Appellant filed a motion for new trial on November 8, 2011. At the hearing on the motion for new trial, the State conceded that the simple assault conviction should be merged into the kidnapping conviction. The trial court agreed and dismissed count two for assault. The trial court denied the remaining arguments included in the motion on October 10, 2012. Appellant subsequently filed a notice of appeal on November 13, 2012. On appeal, Appellant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for kidnapping. The State argues that Appellant did not file a timely notice of appeal, and this Court should dismiss the appeal. Although we agree with the State that the notice of appeal is untimely, we have decided to waive the timely notice of appeal in the interest of justice and address Appellant’s claim that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of kidnapping on the merits. We have thoroughly reviewed the record on appeal and conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support Appellant’s conviction. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mickey Lee Williams
This case is before this court on a delayed appeal of appellant’s 2004 convictions for second degree murder and arson. Appellant received an effective sentence of twenty-four years. Appellant now argues that the trial court erred by (1) allowing a witness to testify about appellant’s propensity for violence during the State’s case-in-chief; (2) allowing the testimony of a witness when appellant did not have notice of her testimony until two days before the trial; (3) incorrectly instructing the jury on self-defense; and (4) ruling that a defense witness’s testimony was irrelevant. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Grainger | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brandon L. Brawner
Appellant, Brandon L. Brawner, pleaded guilty to one count of vandalism of property valued at $10,000 or more and received a six-year sentence, to be served in a community-based alternative to incarceration (community corrections). A violation of probation warrant was subsequently filed, alleging that appellant perpetrated a domestic aggravated assault, aggravated assault, and vandalism of $1,000 or more while using a knife and that appellant owed $9,438.50 in fines, costs, and restitution. The trial court revoked his probation, and this appeal follows. Appellant now alleges that the trial court abused its discretion by ordering him to serve the remainder of his sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. After our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Curtis Moore
A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Curtis Moore, of attempted second degree murder, employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and aggravated assault. The trial court merged the aggravated assault conviction with the attempted second degree murder conviction and ordered the Defendant to serve an effective sentence of fourteen years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction for attempted second degree murder and that the trial court erred when it found him statutorily ineligible for probation. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to sustain the Defendant’s conviction. We further conclude, and the State concedes, that the trial court erred when it found the Defendant statutorily ineligible for probation. As such, we reverse the case for the trial court to consider the Defendant’s suitability for probation on the eight-year sentence for attempted second degree murder. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Aivar Lang
The Defendant, Aivar Lang, pled guilty to one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor, and agreed to allow the trial court to determine his sentence. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced him to eleven months and twenty-nine days in the county jail. On appeal, the Defendant contends that his sentence is excessive. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we conclude that no error exists in the sentence imposed by the trial court, but a corrected judgment form is required. Therefore, the sentence is affirmed, and we remand the case for correction of a clerical error in the judgment. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Thomas Bolton
The defendant, Thomas Bolton, appeals his Shelby County Criminal Court jury convictions of vandalism, theft of property, and violations of the Solid Waste Disposal Act, challenging the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the propriety of certain jury instructions. We affirm the convictions and sentences but remand for correction of clerical errors in the judgments. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Daniel Lee Draper v. Cherry Lindamood, Warden
The pro se petitioner, Daniel Lee Draper, appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus. He argues that the trial court did not have jurisdiction to sentence him to life with the possibility of parole, that the habeas court erred in summarily dismissing his petition without a hearing, and that the habeas court erred in failing to treat his habeas petition as a post-conviction petition. After review, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition. |
Hardeman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey Walton
The defendant, Jeffrey Walton, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of vandalism over $10,000, a Class C felony, and burglary of a building, a Class D felony, for which he received sentences of fifteen years as a persistent offender and twelve years as a career offender, to be served consecutively, in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Anthony Clinton v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Anthony Clinton, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of robbery, a Class C felony, and was sentenced as a career offender to fifteen years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Following an unsuccessful direct appeal, he filed the instant petition for post-conviction relief. The post-conviction court held an evidentiary hearing and denied relief. Appealing from the post-conviction court’s order, petitioner pursues the following claims of ineffective assistance of counsel: (a) failure to file a motion to suppress his identification; (b) failure to file a motion to suppress the evidence seized during the search of his person; and (c) failure to obtain copies of the store surveillance tapes and the 9-1-1 recordings. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Wesley M. Gifford, Jr.-Concurring
I concur in the results reached in the majority opinion. Indeed, I join in the majority opinion on all but one issue. I write separately to address the issue of the trial court’s admission of the prior bad act of the Defendant’s exposing himself to Pamela through the back window of a truck “a few days earlier.” The majority holds that it was error, albeit harmless, for the trial court to admit this evidence under Rule 404(b) of the Rules of Evidence. The majority concludes that this evidence was only marginally relevant, and, therefore, the risk of unfair prejudice to the Defendant outweighed the relevance of the evidence. The majority emphasizes that the Defendant also was on trial for indecent exposure. |
Marion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Terry V. Johnson v. State of Tennessee
The pro se petitioner, Terry V. Johnson, appeals as of right from the Johnson County Circuit Court’s order denying his petition for writ of habeas corpus alleging that his 2005 conviction for sale of less than .5 grams of cocaine is void because the trial court failed to award pretrial jail credit. The State has filed a motion to affirm the trial court’s judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we conclude that the State’s motion is well-taken and affirm the order of the trial court. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Wesley M. Gifford, Jr.
The Defendant, Wesley M. Gifford, Jr., was convicted by a jury of attempted aggravated burglary, telephone harassment, and indecent exposure. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed concurrent terms of three years and six months for the attempted aggravated burglary conviction and eleven months and twenty-nine days for the telephone harassment conviction. This effective sentence was also to run consecutively to his prior sentences. In this direct appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred in failing to grant a mistrial when a witness testified that the Defendant previously had been in jail; (2) the trial court erred in allowing admission of evidence of the Defendant’s prior bad act; (3) the trial court erred in not instructing the jury on the issue of alibi; (4) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; and (5) cumulative errors entitle him to a new trial. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tawana Jones
Appellant, Tawana Jones, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of rape and abuse of an adult. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-502(a)(3), 71-6-117. The trial court sentenced appellant to twelve years and two years, respectively, to be served consecutively. On appeal, appellant challenges: (1) the sufficiency of the evidence supporting her rape conviction regarding whether the victim was mentally defective and, if so, whether appellant knew the victim was mentally defective; (2) the sufficiency of the evidence supporting appellant’s abuse of an adult conviction; (3) the trial court’s use of specific enhancement factors during sentencing; and (4) the trial court’s imposition of consecutive sentences. Following our review of the parties’ arguments, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm appellant’s rape conviction and, as the State concedes must be done, reverse and remand appellant’s abuse of an adult conviction for proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Teresa Turner
The Defendant, Teresa Turner, pled guilty to reckless homicide, a Class D felony. The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a standard offender to three years with six months of the sentence to be served in confinement and the remainder of the sentence on supervised probation. The Defendant appeals, claiming that the trial court abused its discretion when it: (1) denied judicial diversion; (2) misapplied enhancement factors; and (3) ordered a sentence involving split confinement. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we reverse the judgment of the trial court. |
White | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brian Marshall Keys
A Maury County jury convicted the Defendant, Brian Marshall Keys, of one count of selling 0.5 grams or more of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school and two counts of selling less than 0.5 grams of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school. The trial court ordered the Defendant to serve an effective sentence of fifteen years. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the trial court erred when it denied his constitutional challenge to the Drug-Free School Zone Act and that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. After a thorough review of the record and relevant authorities, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Quincy Moutry v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner pleaded guilty to manufacturing less than .5 grams of a controlled substance and received a sentence of seven years. Petitioner filed an unsuccessful petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel prior to his guilty plea hearing and that his guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. George P. Fusco
Appellant, George P. Fusco, pleaded guilty to two counts of sexual battery by an authority figure and received a five-year sentence for each count, to be served concurrently. He served six months in confinement, and the remainder of his sentence was suspended to probation. A violation of probation warrant was subsequently filed, alleging that appellant drove an unregistered vehicle, owed $420 in “GPS fees,” used or possessed an alcoholic beverage, and violated regulations regarding Halloween trick-or-treaters. The trial court revoked his probation, and this appeal follows. Appellant now alleges that the trial court denied him procedural due process by failing to make adequate factual findings regarding the evidence supporting his probation revocation, that the trial court abused its discretion when it revoked his probation, and that the relevant Halloween probation conditions are unduly restrictive. Following our review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ashley Aaron Selke
Appellant, Ashley Aaron Selke, pleaded guilty to two counts of burglary and received a two-year sentence for each count, to be served concurrently. The record reflects that appellant received pretrial jail credit for time served in confinement, and the remainder of his sentence was suspended to probation. A violation of probation warrant was subsequently filed, alleging that appellant had committed new offenses while on probation. The trial court revoked his probation, and this appeal follows. Appellant now alleges that the trial court abused its discretion by ordering appellant to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement rather than extending appellant’s probation or placing appellant in the community corrections program. After our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jerry Crawford Jr.
The defendant, Jerry Crawford, Jr., appeals his Madison County Circuit Court jury conviction of aggravated robbery, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence and the length of his sentence. In addition, the defendant claims that the prosecutor committed misconduct by impermissibly shifting the burden of proof to the defense during closing argument. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the conviction. Because the trial court improperly classified the defendant as a career offender, the sentence imposed is vacated, and the case is remanded for resentencing. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Lynn Poston
The defendant, Michael Lynn Poston, appeals his White County Criminal Court jury conviction of aggravated sexual battery claiming that (1) the trial court erred by denying his motion for recusal; (2) the trial court erred by denying his motion for change of venue; (3) the trial court erred by failing to swear the victim prior to her testimony; (4) the trial court erred by admitting certain hearsay testimony; (5) the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction; and (6) the sentence was excessive. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
White | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Curtis Allen White
The appellant, Curtis Allen White, pled guilty in the Marshall County Circuit Court to three counts of aggravated assault, one count of domestic assault, one count of misdemeanor vandalism, and one count of resisting arrest. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the trial court was to determine the length and manner of service of the sentences. After a sentencing hearing, the appellant received an effective five-year sentence to be served in confinement. On appeal, the appellant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his request for alternative sentencing. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Edward Fayte Webster, IV
The appellant, Edward Fayte Webster, IV, pled guilty in the Marshall County Circuit Court to nine counts of burglary, seven counts of felony vandalism, ten counts of misdemeanor vandalism, and eight counts of misdemeanor theft. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the trial court was to determine the length and manner of service of the sentences. After a sentencing hearing, the appellant received an effective four-year sentence to be served in confinement. On appeal, the appellant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his request for alternative sentencing. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Phillip Matthew Burgess
The defendant, Phillip Matthew Burgess, appeals his Marshall County Circuit Court jury convictions of first degree premeditated murder, attempted first degree murder, and aggravated assault, raising a variety of issues for review, each of which is addressed to the trial court’s denial of his post-trial motions to compel and his motion for new trial. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Billy Coffelt v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Billy Coffelt, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his convictions for aggravated assault, three counts of misdemeanor theft, four counts of false imprisonment, and felony escape. In his appeal, the Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel based upon allegations that Counsel failed to move for an election of offenses; failed to pursue a claim based on the dismissal of one of the Petitioner’s co-defendant’s charges on appeal; and failed to request a jury instruction on the “natural and probable consequences” rule for criminal responsibility or raise it as a ground for relief on direct appeal. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Casey
In 2011, the defendant, a priest, was found guilty after a trial by jury of one count of first degree criminal sexual conduct and two counts of aggravated rape. The charges stemmed from conduct that occurred in 1979 and 1980, while the victim attended a school associated with the church. The defendant was sentenced to an overall effective sentence of thirty-five years. On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court erred by refusing to dismiss his indictment because forcing him to stand trial more than thirty years after the crimes were committed violated his due process rights under the federal and state constitutions. However, reviewing these facts in light of the relevant test governing unconstitutional “preaccusatorial” delay set forth in State v. Gray, 917 S.W.2d 668 (Tenn. 1996), we hold that the thirty-two year delay in the defendant’s prosecution did not violate the constitutional rights of the defendant. The defendant also claims that the trial court committed errors with respect to myriad evidentiary and procedural matters relating to his motion to dismiss. Upon review, we conclude that the defendant has failed to establish entitlement to relief on any of these claims. Finally, the defendant claims that the trial court erred by failing to give special jury instructions concerning the need to corroborate the testimony of the victim of a sex crime, as if the victim were the defendant’s criminal accomplice. However, in State v. Collier, 2013 Tenn. LEXIS 636 (Tenn. Aug. 12, 2013), our supreme court recently overruled all of the cases on which the defendant relies, and no ex post facto concerns prohibit this court from relying on Collier to deny the defendant’s claim. Consequently, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals |
