Bryant Guartos v. State of Tennessee

A Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Bryant Guartos, of first degree felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of life plus forty-seven years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Petitioner filed an appeal, and this Court affirmed the trial court’s judgments. State v. Bryant Guartos, M2003-03073-CCA-R3-CD, 2006 WL 163633, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Jan. 24, 2006), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Aug. 28, 2006). Thereafter, the United States Supreme Court granted certiorari and remanded the Petitioner’s case for further consideration in light of new sentencing case law. Guartos v. Tennessee, 549 U.S. 1197 (2007). Upon review, this Court reversed the Petitioner’s judgments for especially aggravated robbery, aggravated robbery, and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, and remanded the case for resentencing. State v. Bryant Guartos, No. M2003-03073-CCA-R3-CD, 2007 WL 4245084 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, Dec. 4, 2007), perm. app. denied (Tenn. July 7, 2008). The Petitioner then filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied after a hearing. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the trial court erred in failing to find that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.