APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The petitioner, Mario A. Reed, appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief by the Criminal Court of Montgomery County.  He was convicted of aggravated burglary, two counts of aggravated rape, and theft under $500, and received an effective sentence of forty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction.  In this appeal, he claims that he received ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel.  Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

A Sullivan County Circuit Court Jury convicted the appellant of one count of delivering psilocin, a Schedule I drug, within 1,000 feet of a school, a Class A felony; one count of delivering psilocin, a Class B felony; and two counts of casual exchange, a Class A misdemeanor. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court merged each casual exchange conviction into a conviction for delivering psilocin and sentenced the appellant to an effective fifteen years in confinement. On appeal, the appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support the felony convictions; that the trial court erred by refusing to allow him to cross-examine the confidential informant (CI) about her prior convictions; that the trial court erred by refusing to allow him to question the CI and her husband about their prior drug use; that the trial court should have instructed the jury on entrapment; that cumulative errors warrant a new trial; and that his effective fifteen-year sentence is disproportionate to the crimes. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the trial court committed reversible error regarding the appellant’s cross-examination of the CI. Therefore, the appellant’s convictions are reversed, and the case is remanded to the trial court for a new trial.

The defendant’s probation was revoked after a full evidentiary hearing, and he was ordered to serve his sentence in incarceration. On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his probation. Upon review, we find no abuse of discretion in the trial court’s decision, and we affirm the trial court’s judgment accordingly.

Petitioner, Michael Small, was convicted of aggravated robbery and received a sentence of 20 years, to be served consecutively to his sentences for three prior aggravated robbery convictions. Petitioner appealed his sentence, and this court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. State v. Michael Small, No. W2010-00470-CCA-R3-CD (Tenn. Crim. App., Mar. 28, 2011), perm. app. denied (Tenn., July 15, 2011). A summary of the facts underlying Petitioner’s convictions in this case can be found in that opinion. Petitioner now appeals the trial court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, in which he alleged that his trial counsel and appellate counsel were ineffective. Having reviewed the record before us, we affirm the judgment of trial court.

A jury convicted Ricco R. Williams (“the Defendant”) of five counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated burglary, two counts of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, and one count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The Defendant appealed and contended, among other issues, that the evidence was not sufficient to support his convictions. Upon our review, this Court reversed the Defendant’s two convictions of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony and remanded those counts for a new trial; modified one of the Defendant’s aggravated robbery convictions to a conviction of the lesser-included offense of aggravated assault; reversed and dismissed the Defendant’s conviction of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon; and affirmed the Defendant’s convictions of and sentences for especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and the remaining aggravated robbery. See State v. Ricco R. Williams, No. W2011-02365-CCA-R3-CD, 2013 WL 167285, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Jan. 14, 2013) (“Williams I”). Upon the Defendant’s application for permission to appeal, the Tennessee Supreme Court remanded the case to this Court for consideration in light of State v. White, 362 S.W.3d 559 (Tenn. 2012), and State v. Cecil, 409 S.W.3d 599 (Tenn. 2013). See State v. Ricco R. Williams, No. W2011-02365-SC-R11-CD (Tenn. Aug. 21, 2013). Upon our consideration of the Defendant’s especially aggravated kidnapping convictions in light of White and Cecil, we affirm the Defendant’s three convictions of especially aggravated kidnapping as to the victims A.R., K.R., and M.R. We reverse the Defendant’s two convictions of especially aggravated kidnapping as to the victims Timothy Currie and Sherita Currie and remand those charges for a new trial. Our previous holdings regarding the Defendant’s remaining convictions are unaffected by the remand and, thus, remain valid.

I respectfully write separately to express departure from the majority with respect to the absence of the White instruction in the especially aggravated kidnapping convictions wherein M.R., K.R., and A.R. were respectively named victims. I emphasize that I do not disagree with the logic underlying the majority’s conclusion that due process principles do not impact these three convictions, the victims of which were not also named victims in accompanying felonies. Rather, I disagree with the implication emanating from Anthony that due process principles constrict the use of kidnapping convictions against victims even though those victims were not victims in any accompanying felony. This vestige of the Anthony regime should be specifically overruled, but I view that as a responsibility of our supreme court.

The defendant, Brian Alan Lambright, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of four counts of aggravated child abuse, Class A felonies, which the trial court merged into two convictions and sentenced the defendant to twenty-two years on each conviction, to be served consecutively, for an effective term of forty-four years in the Department of Correction.  On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the sentences imposed by the trial court.  After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The defendant, Timothy Aaron Baxter, appeals from his Madison County Circuit Court jury conviction of Class E felony failure to appear, see T.C.A. § 39-16-609, the result of which was a six-year sentence to be served in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, the admission of hearsay evidence, the use of prior convictions to impeach the defendant as a witness, and the failure to suppress his pretrial statements recorded in a transcript of an earlier court appearance. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, Cortino A. Harris, stands convicted for driving on a cancelled, suspended, or revoked license, violation of the financial responsibility law, and violation of the registration law. He was sentenced to a term of six months in the county jail for the convictions, and the sentence was ordered to be served consecutively to a term imposed in a separate case. On appeal, the defendant challenges only the sufficiency of the convicting evidence with regard to the conviction for driving on a cancelled, suspended, or revoked license. Following review of the record and arguments, we affirm the convictions as imposed.

The defendant, Samuel Blake Maness, was convicted of robbery, aggravated burglary, and assault and is currently serving an effective twelve-year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions; and (2) consecutive sentences were improperly imposed. Following review of the argument and record, we affirm the convictions and sentences.

Defendant, Dwayne B. Harris, appeals from the trial court’s order revoking Defendant’s sentences of probation following a hearing in which violation of conditions of probation were admitted to by Defendant through his attorney. While acknowledging on appeal that violations of probation conditions had been admitted, Defendant asserts the trial court still erred by revoking probation and ordering him to serve his sentences in incarceration. The State argues the appeal should be dismissed because the notice of appeal was filed seven days late. Defendant admits the notice of appeal was late but requests this court to waive the timely filing of the notice of appeal. Under the circumstances, we decline to do so. Accordingly, the appeal is dismissed.

The Defendant, Ronnie Peter Wilson, III, was convicted by a jury of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, a Class C felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-12-103, -12-107, -13-402. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective twenty-year sentence to be served at one hundred percent. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant, Tamika Michelle Claybourne, challenges the trial court’s denial of alternative sentencing.  After a review of the record and the applicable authorities, we discern no error in the trial court’s determinations and affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The defendant was found by the trial court to be in violation of the terms of his community corrections sentence and ordered to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement. On appeal, the defendant claims that the trial court abused its discretion by sentencing him to incarceration rather than to rehabilitation. After reviewing the record and the arguments of the parties, we discern no abuse of discretion. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

The Petitioner, Tom Perry Bell, filed a petition for post-conviction relief attacking his guilty-pleaded conviction for burglary and resulting eight-year sentence. The post-conviction court denied relief following an evidentiary hearing, finding that the Petitioner had failed to prove his allegations by clear and convincing evidence. In this appeal as of right, the Petitioner contends that trial counsel was ineffective at sentencing principally by failing to discover or challenge several errors in the presentence investigation report regarding his criminal history. After our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

A Shelby County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Defendant, James Johnson a.k.a. Guy Bonner, charging him with aggravated burglary, theft of property more than $500 but less than $1,000, and resisting arrest. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of aggravated burglary, theft of property less than $500, and resisting arrest. The trial court imposed a sentence of 11 months, 29 days each for the theft conviction and the resisting arrest conviction and fifteen years as a persistent offender for aggravated burglary. The trial court ordered the sentences to be served concurrently to each other but consecutively to the sentences in unrelated cases. On appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the State failed to give proper notice of its intent to seek enhanced punishment. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm defendant’s convictions for aggravated burglary, theft over $500, and resisting arrest. However, we remand the case for entry of a corrected judgment showing a sentence of six months, concurrent with the sentences for aggravated burglary and theft over $500, for the Class B misdemeanor of resisting arrest.

Appellant, Cassie Chapman, was indicted by the Sullivan County Grand Jury for two counts of theft over $1,000 and one count of aggravated burglary. She pled guilty to the charges and agreed to a three-year sentence for one count of theft, a two-year sentence for the second count of theft, and a three-year sentence for aggravated burglary. The plea agreement specified that one two-year sentence for theft and the sentence for aggravated burglary would run concurrently with each other but consecutively to the three-year sentence for aggravated burglary would run consecutively to the theft sentences. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court denied alternative sentencing on the theft sentences. Appellant appeals. After a review of the record, we determine that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Appellant to incarceration. Accordingly, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed.

Benjamin Gunn (“the Defendant”) was convicted by a jury of two counts of possession of cocaine, one count of possession with intent to sell 14.175 grams or more of marijuana, one count of possession with intent to deliver 14.175 grams or more of marijuana, and one count of tampering with evidence. The trial court merged the two convictions for possession of cocaine. The trial court also merged the conviction for possession with intent to deliver 14.175 grams or more of marijuana into the conviction for possession with intent to sell 14.175 grams or more of marijuana. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective sentence of eight years, eleven months, and twenty-nine days’ incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions for possession with intent to sell and deliver 14.175 grams or more of marijuana. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Jimmy Yarbro (“the Petitioner”) pleaded guilty to theft of property of $10,000 or more and burglary. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the trial court sentenced the Petitioner to an effective sentence of eight years, with restitution and manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court denied alternative sentencing and ordered that the Petitioner serve his sentence in confinement. The court also ordered restitution of $17,000 in increments of $200 per month beginning sixty days after the Petitioner’s release. The Petitioner subsequently filed for post-conviction relief, which the post-conviction court denied following an evidentiary hearing. The Petitioner now appeals, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in conjunction with his plea. Upon our thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Petitioner, Larry Wayne Webb, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2010 convictions for forgery and identity theft, for which he is serving an effective twelve-year sentence as a Range III, career offender.  The Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel.  We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Gregory Tyrone Greer (“the Petitioner”) was convicted of reckless aggravated assault by a Madison County jury. The Petitioner subsequently filed for post-conviction relief, alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. Following a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. The Petitioner now appeals. Upon our thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Petitioner, Alejandro Guana, appeals the Tipton County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief challenging his conviction for first degree murder which resulted in a life sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred in denying relief alleging ineffective assistance of both trial and appellate counsel and trial court errors. Specifically, he submits that trial counsel was ineffective in the following ways: (1) failing to investigate and interview the State’s witnesses, leaving him unprepared for cross-examination; (2) conceding that the Petitioner’s actions were intentional, abandoning any viable defense; (3) failing to call an expert witness on his intoxication at the time of the shooting and failing to present a defense of diminished capacity; (4) failing to preserve his request for a mistrial and offer proof regarding a memorial service for the victim which took place during the sentencing phase of the Petitioner’s trial; and (5) failing to ask for individual voir dire of any particular juror. As for appellate counsel, the Petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance by counsel’s failure to pursue the memorial service issue and the omission of a jury instruction on accomplice testimony on appeal. Finally, he alleges trial court error regarding the trial court’s failure to give the instruction on accomplice testimony and the failure to declare a mistrial based upon the memorial service. Following our review, we affirm the denial of relief.

The Defendant, Dominic Eric Frausto, was convicted by a Union County Criminal Court jury of two counts of aggravated sexual battery, Class B felonies. See T.C.A. § 39-13-504 (2010). The trial court merged the convictions and sentenced him as a Range I, standard offender to twelve years’ confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions because the State did not prove the corpus delicti, (2) the trial court erred in failing to comply with Tennessee Criminal Procedure Rule 24 during jury selection, and (3) the trial court erred in sentencing him to the maximum in the range. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, David Wayne Gross, appeals the sentencing decision denying him an alternative sentence. The defendant pled guilty to violating a habitual traffic offender order, two counts of theft over $1000, two counts of identity theft, two counts of forgery, and theft under $500. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the defendant received an effective four-year sentence and was allowed to petition the court for an alternative sentence. A hearing was held, after which the trial court ordered that the sentence be served in incarceration. After review of the record, we affirm the denial of alternative sentencing.

The Defendant, Antoine D. Redeemer, appeals the Montgomery County Circuit Court’s order revoking his effective eight-year community corrections sentence for his aggravated burglary and robbery convictions.  On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his community corrections sentences and ordering him to serve his sentences in confinement.  We affirm the judgments of the trial court.