State of Tennessee v. Billy Jeremy Jones

The Defendant, Billy Jeremy Jones, entered an open guilty plea to felony failure to appear.  The trial court, thereafter, sentenced him to four years, as a Range II, persistent offender, and ordered that sentence to run consecutively to the eight-year sentence on the underlying conviction for which the Defendant failed to appear.  The sole issue presented for our review is whether the effective twelve-year sentence is excessive.  Discerning no abuse of discretion, we affirm the sentencing decision of the Bedford County Circuit Court.