State of Tennessee v. Ernest G. Murphy

The defendant, Ernest G. Murphy, pled guilty in the DeKalb County Circuit Court to vehicular assault, a Class D felony; driving under the influence (DUI), fourth offense, a Class E felony; driving on a revoked license, third offense, a Class A misdemeanor; and leaving the scene of an accident, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court was to determine the length and manner of service of the sentences. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court merged the defendant's vehicular assault and DUI convictions and sentenced him as a Range I, standard offender to three years, nine months. For each misdemeanor conviction, the trial court sentenced the defendant to eleven months, twenty-nine days and ordered that all of the sentences be served consecutively. The trial court also ordered that the defendant serve four and one-half years in confinement and the remainder of his sentences on probation. The defendant appeals, claiming that the trial court erred by ordering consecutive sentences and by denying full probation. Although we determine that consecutive sentencing and denial of full probation are justified, we conclude that the sentences stated at the sentencing hearing and the sentences reflected in the judgments of conviction are dissimilar. The judgments of the trial court are reversed, and the case is remanded for resentencing pursuant to law.