State of Tennessee v. Johnny E. Monk
Following a bench trial, the trial court convicted the Defendant, Johnny E. Monk, of violation of the Habitual Motor Vehicle Offender Act, violation of the vehicle registration law, and violation of the financial responsibility law. The trial court sentenced the Defendant, as a multiple offender, to a four year sentence to be served in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court erred when it: (1) denied his motion to suppress the evidence from the traffic stop as an illegal search and seizure; and (2) allowed evidence of unindicted criminal behavior contrary to Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b). After a thorough review of the record and relevant law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donald Clark v. State of Tennessee, Jennie Jobe, Warden
This matter is before the Court upon the State’s motion to dismiss or in the alternative to affirm the judgment of the trial court by memorandum opinion pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Petitioner, Donald Clark, has appealed the Davidson County Circuit Court order dismissing his second petition for writ of habeas corpus in which Petitioner alleged that: (1) he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial; (2) his indictments were "faulty"; and (3) he was illegally arrested. Upon a review of the record in this case, we are persuaded that the trial court was correct in dismissing the motion for new trial as duplicitous and that this case meets the criteria for affirmance pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted, and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ronald L. Taylor v. State of Tennessee
On April 23, 2012, the petitioner, Ronald L. Taylor, filed pro se a petition for post-conviction relief challenging his 2005 conviction of aggravated assault. The post- onviction court summarily dismissed the petition based, in part, upon the bar of the statute of limitations. The State has moved this court pursuant to this court’s rule 20 to summarily affirm the postconviction court’s order of dismissal. Because the record evinces no basis for tolling the statute of limitations and because the petition was untimely and barred by the statute, we grant the State’s motion and affirm the post-conviction court’s order. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jason Lee Biles
The Defendant, Jason Lee Biles, appeals as of right from his jury conviction for delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance, a Class C felony, and the trial court’s subsequent sentence of ten years. The Defendant contends that the evidence submitted to the jury was insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court’s ten-year sentence was excessive and inconsistent with the Sentencing Act. After reviewing the record and relevant authorities, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support the Defendant’s conviction and that the trial court’s ten-year sentence is neither excessive nor inconsistent with the Sentencing Act. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Warren | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Otis B. Owens
Appellant, Otis B. Owens, pled guilty to arson and vandalism of property valued at over $60,000. As per the guilty plea the length and manner of service of sentence was to be determined by the trial court after a hearing. The trial court sentenced Appellant to an effective sentence of eight years. Appellant appeals, arguing that the trial court improperly denied an alternative sentence and that the trial court improperly applied enhancement factors in determining the length of the sentence. After a review of the record, we determine that the trial court properly sentenced Appellant to an effective eight-year sentence, and, in order to avoid depreciating the seriousness of the offense, did not abuse its discretion in denying an alternative sentence. Consequently, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Greg Lance
Petitioner, Gregory Lance, was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, especially aggravated burglary, and arson. His convictions were affirmed on direct appeal. State v. Gregory Lance, No. M2001-02507-CCA-R3-CD, 2003 WL 1960270, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Apr. 28, 2003), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Oct. 27, 2003). Petitioner sought post-conviction relief. The denial of his petition was affirmed by this Court on appeal. Gregory Paul Lance v. State, No. M2005-01765-CCA-R3-PC, 2006 WL 2380619 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Aug. 16, 2006), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Dec. 18, 2006). In March of 2012, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis. It was dismissed as untimely. After a review of the record, we affirm the dismissal of the untimely petition for coram nobis relief as Petitioner made no allegations that would toll the statute of limitations. Accordingly, the judgment of the coram nobis court is affirmed. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Carolyn Nadine Killian
The Defendant-Appellant, Carolyn Nadine Killian, appeals her conviction for driving under the influence (DUI), first offense, and her sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days with ten days to be served in confinement and the remainder of the sentence to be served on probation. On appeal, she argues that (1) the evidence was insufficient to support her conviction and (2) the trial court imposed an excessive sentence by failing to consider the purposes and principles of the sentencing act. Upon review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment, but we remand the case for entry of a percentage of service for the DUI conviction. |
Marion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jose Juan Frierson v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Jose Juan Frierson, entered a "best interest" plea, on January 7, 1999, to criminal attempt to commit aggravated rape and was ordered to serve an eight-year split-confinement sentence. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief on December 30, 2009, alleging that he was entitled to the tolling of the one-year statute of limitations period for post-conviction petitions due to his mental incompetence. The Petitioner further alleged that his guilty plea was not knowing and voluntary because the trial court failed to ensure that he was aware that the sentence included a requirement of lifetime supervision. After hearings on the petition, the post-conviction court entered an order denying post-conviction relief. The Petitioner filed, at the same time, both an appeal to this Court and a motion for new trial. Thereafter, the post-conviction court issued a subsequent order granting post-conviction relief. Upon our review of the record, we conclude that the subsequent order granting post-conviction relief is void because the trial court lacked jurisdiction to enter the second order. As to the first order denying post-conviction relief, we affirm the judgement of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Malcolm H. Jones
The Defendant, Malcolm H. Jones, appeals from his dual jury convictions for aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, and the trial court’s subsequent sentence, after merging the two convictions, to serve nine years in the Department of Correction (DOC). He contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions for, that the trial court erred in denying his motion for a continuance, and that the trial court’s sentence of nine years was excessive because the trial court misapplied an enhancement factor, and the remaining two enhancement factors are not sufficient to support a one-year enhancement beyond the minimum in the range. Following our review of the record and the applicable authorities, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Martin Lewis Privette v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Martin Lewis Privette, appeals the Sumner County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2011 conviction for incest and his four-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the trial court applied an impermissible legal standard in determining whether he received the effective assistance of counsel when entering his guilty plea. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Anthony Gonzales
The Defendant, Joseph Anthony Gonzales, appeals from the trial court’s partial revocation of his probation and order that he serve one of his two eight-year sentences, imposed pursuant to his guilty pleas to dual counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter, in the Department of Correction (DOC). He contends that the evidence relied upon by the trial court was insufficient to support the revocation and requests that this court reinstate his probation. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. The case is remanded to reflect the proper award of jail credits on the judgment form. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kyrie T. Adams v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Kyrie T. Adams, appeals as of right from the Madison County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The Petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to file a motion to suppress his statement to the police prior to the Petitioner entering a guilty plea. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jackie Ewing
A Madison County jury convicted the Defendant, Jackie Ewing, of theft of property valued over $1,000.00. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to twelve years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Antoinette Horton v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Antoinette Horton, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of her petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to a term of eighteen years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, she contends that the court erred in denying her petition because she was denied her right to the effective assistance of counsel. Specifically, she contends that trial counsel was ineffective by: (1) failing to present a witness who would have established that the gunshot fired by the petitioner could not have killed the victim; and (2) failing to adequately advise the petitioner with regard to the State’s plea offers. The petitioner also asserts that the post-conviction court’s denial of her request for funding for a ballistics expert violated her Due Process rights. Following review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Willie Howard Mull
The Defendant, Willie Howard Mull, pled guilty to aggravated assault, felony reckless endangerment, and unlawfully carrying a weapon. The trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of four years, to be served on probation. A warrant was issued alleging the Defendant had violated his probation. After a hearing, the trial court revoked the Defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve his sentence in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends the trial court abused its discretion when it revoked his probation. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Greg Patterson
A Lauderdale County Circuit Court Jury convicted the appellant, Greg Patterson, of felony reckless endangerment, and the trial court sentenced him to eighteen months to be served in community corrections. On appeal, the appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we agree that the evidence is insufficient. Therefore, the conviction is reversed, and the original charge is dismissed. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael W. Smith v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Michael W. Smith, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his pro se petition for post-conviction relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this Court affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we grant the State’s motion and affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Steven D. Pippin
A Sullivan County jury convicted the Defendant, Steven D. Pippin, of aggravated sexual battery and incest. The trial court imposed a sentence of twenty years for the aggravated sexual battery conviction and a consecutive ten-year sentence for the incest conviction. On appeal, the Defendant argues that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions; and (2) the trial court’s sentence was excessive. After thoroughly reviewing the record and applicable authorities, we hold that the evidence is sufficient to sustain the Defendant’s convictions and that the trial court properly sentenced the Defendant. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Anthony Dewight Washington
The Defendant, Anthony Dewight Washington, appeals from his conviction by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of possession with intent to sell or deliver more than one-half gram of cocaine in a drug-free zone, a Class B felony. See T.C.A. § 39-17-417(a)(4), (c)(1) (2010) (amended 2012) (possession of cocaine), 39-17-432 (2010) (increased penalty for a drug offense committed in a drug-free zone). The Defendant was sentenced to serve thirty years as a Range III, persistent offender. On appeal, he contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction and that the trial court erred in sentencing him. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Alveraz Ramirez Rigoberto, a/k/a Rigoberto A. Ramirez v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Alveraz Ramirez Rigoberto, appeals the Williamson County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions of simple possession of marijuana; misdemeanor evading arrest; and driving on a revoked license, sixth offense, and resulting sentences of eleven months, twenty-nine days to be served concurrently on supervised probation. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he is entitled to post-conviction relief because trial counsel failed to advise him about the consequences of his guilty pleas, which resulted in his entering his pleas unknowingly and involuntarily. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Deshaun Emmanuel Brown and Jerome Cardell Holt
The appellants, Deshaun Emmanuel Brown and Jerome Cardell Holt, pled guilty in the Davidson County Criminal Court to ten counts of aggravated rape, two counts of aggravated robbery, one count of especially aggravated kidnapping, and one count of reckless endangerment. The trial court sentenced Appellant Brown to a total effective sentence of 60 years and Appellant Holt to a total effective sentence of 72 years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellants challenge the sentences imposed by the trial court. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court; however, we must remand for entry of corrected judgments for the aggravated rape convictions to reflect that each appellant is a multiple rapist rather than a violent offender as indicated on the judgments. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In re: The Application of Kimyata Izevbizuaiyamu (seeking to qualify as owner of Number One Bonding) v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Kimyata Izevbizuaiyamu, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s order denying her application to write bail bonds as the owner of Number One Bonding Company. On appeal, petitioner argues that the evidence did not support the court’s denial. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Noura Jackson
The defendant, Noura Jackson, was convicted of second degree murder for the death of her mother, Jennifer Jackson, and sentenced to twenty years and nine months in the Department of Correction. On appeal, she argues that the trial court erred in the following rulings: (1) concluding that her conversation at the scene with a family friend, who is an attorney, was not subject to the attorney-client privilege; (2) concluding that the searches of the residence she shared with the victim and of a vehicle parked in the driveway were lawful; (3) allowing testimony of lay witnesses as to her use of “drugs”; (4) allowing testimony of her having sexual relations at a time after the murder, as to her eviction from an apartment after the murder, and as to her hospitalization at Lakeside Hospital after the murder; (5) allowing the victim’s brother and sisters to testify as to arguments between the defendant and the victim prior to the murder; and (6) allowing certain photographs of the crime scene and the victim’s body. Additionally, the defendant argues that she is entitled to a new trial because of (7) prosecutorial conduct consisting of references to the post-arrest silence of the defendant; suppression of the third statement of a State’s witness; loudly beginning its opening statement by saying, “Give me the f*cking money”; using a misleading PowerPoint presentation during its closing argument; commenting on her right to remain silent; references to the Deity during closing arguments; commenting in closing argument on the length of the trial; treating as established facts which were not proven at trial; making personal attacks during closing statements upon her; and making additional improper statements during closing argument. Further, the defendant argues on appeal that (8) the evidence is insufficient to support her conviction for second degree murder and that (9) the court erred in imposing more than a minimum sentence. We have carefully reviewed the record and conclude that the arguments of the defendant are without merit. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Noura Jackson-Concurring
I concur in the results reached in the lead opinion by Judge Glenn. Indeed, I join in the lead opinion on all but one issue. I write separately to address the issue of prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument. As the lead opinion points out, the opening sentence of the State’s rebuttal argument was as follows: “Just tell us where you were. That’s all we’re asking, Noura.” The defense contends that the remark constitutes an improper comment on the defendant’s choice not to testify at trial. The State claims that the remark was merely a reference to the testimony during trial given by Cindy Eidson, the defendant’s aunt. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Adrianne Kiser
A Shelby County Criminal Court Jury convicted the appellant, Andrianne Kiser, of two counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter, one count of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and one count of reckless endangerment. After a sentencing hearing, the appellant received an effective sentence of sixteen years in confinement. On appeal, the appellant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions, (2) the trial court erred by allowing a State witness to testify about telephone calls she received before trial, and (3) his effective sentence is excessive. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the evidence is insufficient to support the appellant’s reckless endangerment conviction. Therefore, that conviction is reversed. The appellant’s remaining convictions and sentences are affirmed. However, the case is remanded to the trial court for correction of the judgment for employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals |
