State of Tennessee v. Robert Jason Burdick

Appellant, Robert Jason Burdick, was indicted for several offenses by the Davidson County Grand Jury in May of 2008. At issue herein is Appellant’s indictment for aggravated rape allegedly occurring on March 1, 1994. After a trial in October of 2009, Appellant was found not guilty of aggravated rape but guilty of the lesser included offense of attempted aggravated rape. As a result, Appellant was sentenced to ten years in incarceration, to be served consecutively to sentences for other convictions that are unspecified in the record herein. On appeal,Appellant argues that the issue before this Court is whether his conviction is barred by the statute of limitations. We hold that the affidavit of complaint in this case establishes probable cause and that a John Doe warrant with a DNA profile as identifying information is sufficient to commence a prosecution. Therefore, from the record before us it appears that the prosecution against Appellant commenced with the issuance of a valid arrest warrant, well within the applicable statute of limitations. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.