APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

Defendant, Jermaine Elvey Crawford, appeals from the revocation of his probationary sentences in Carroll County Circuit Court case 14-CR-115 and Henry County Circuit Court case 15793. By agreement between the parties, a combined hearing was held on the probation violation warrants in both cases. Defendant asserts that there was no substantial evidence that he violated his probation. Based on the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial courts.

The Petitioner, Dewey Abbott III, appeals from the Rutherford County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his second degree murder conviction and his agreed upon fifteen-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the
post-conviction court erred by denying relief on his ineffective assistance of counsel claims. We affirm the judgment of the
post-conviction court.

The defendant, Timothy M. Dawson, appeals his Loudon County Criminal Court jury conviction of theft of property valued at $10,000 or more but less than $60,000, arguing that he is entitled to a new trial on grounds that he was incapacitated during the Momon colloquy. See Momon v. State, 18 S.W.3d 152 (Tenn. 1999). Discerning no error, we affirm.

Petitioner, Timothy Lee Armstrong, appeals from the Trousdale County Circuit Court’s dismissal of his fourth petition for writ of habeas corpus. Petitioner alleges the trial court lacked jurisdiction to convict and to sentence him because the indictment was not filed by the court clerk, that the judgments against him are void because they do not contain a filestamp date and that the trial court erred by dismissing his petition before he was allowed additional time to file a response to the State’s motion to dismiss. Following our review of the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, Kemontea Dovon McKinney, appeals his Robertson County Circuit Court jury convictions of aggravated robbery, first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, and theft, arguing that the trial court erred by admitting his pretrial statement into evidence, that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions, and that the evidence established that he acted in self-defense.  Because the trial court erred by admitting the defendant’s statement into evidence and because the error was not harmless beyond a reasonable doubt, the defendant’s convictions are reversed and remanded for a new trial.  Because the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction of first degree premeditated murder but sufficient to support a conviction of second degree murder, that conviction must be modified to one of second degree murder.  The evidence was sufficient to support the jury verdicts of felony murder, aggravated robbery, and theft.  Accordingly, we remand the case to the trial court for a new trial on two counts of felony murder, one count of second degree murder, one count of aggravated robbery, and, one count of theft of property.

The defendant, Adam Dewayne Holmes, appeals his Knox County Criminal Court jury convictions of facilitation of possession with intent to sell heroin, facilitation of possession with intent to deliver heroin, possession with intent to sell less than .5 grams of cocaine in a drug-free zone, possession with intent to deliver less than .5 grams of cocaine in a drugfree zone, and simple possession, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress the results of what he alleges to be an unlawful vehicle search. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The defendant, Terry Lee McAnulty, appeals his Tipton County Circuit Court jury conviction of aggravated vehicular homicide, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to establish that his intoxication was the proximate cause of the accident that caused the death of the victim. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The defendant, Timothy Howard Smartt, challenges the revocation of his community corrections placement on grounds that the sentence in case number 277012 expired before the issuance of the revocation warrant and that the court erred by ordering that he serve the balance of the total remaining sentences in confinement. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The Defendant, Edwin Alfonso Reeves, was convicted by a Knox County Criminal Court jury of Count I, criminally negligent homicide, a Class E felony; and Count II, possession with the intent to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance in a
drug-free zone, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-212 (2018) (criminally negligent homicide); 39-17- 417(a)(4), (c)(2)(A) (2018) (subsequently amended) (possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance); 39-17-432 (b)(1)(B) (establishing drug-free zones) (2018) (subsequently amended). The Defendant also pleaded guilty to Count III, possession with intent to sell or deliver a Schedule II controlled substance in a drug-free zone. The court sentenced the Defendant to serve two years for criminally negligent homicide, four years for one possession conviction, and three years for the other possession conviction. The court imposed the sentences consecutively to each other, for an effective nine-year sentence, to be served consecutively to a sentence the Defendant was serving at the time of sentencing. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions in Counts I and II of criminally negligent homicide and possession of a Schedule II drug, and that the court abused its discretion in imposing consecutive sentences. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Appellant, Gary Dewayne Glasgow, was convicted in the Hamblen County Criminal Court of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, and was sentenced to eight years in confinement. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the trial court committed plain error by ruling he could not introduce the victim’s prior inconsistent statement into evidence and that the trial court erred by using an out-of-state conviction to enhance his sentencing range. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we find no reversible error and affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Putnam County jury convicted the defendant, Martin Riley, III, of felony evading arrest in a motor vehicle, a Class D felony, and the trial court imposed a twelve-year sentence. On appeal, the defendant argues the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on the statutory defense available under Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-16-603(b)(2). After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Davidson County grand jury indicted the defendants, Jalean Robert Williams and Markeil Linskey Williams, for one count of premeditated first-degree murder and one count of felony murder. Per a negotiated plea agreement, the defendants pled guilty to one count of second-degree murder for which they each received a sentence of thirty years to be served at 100%. The defendants also agreed to have the trial court determine whether their sentence in the instant matter would be served concurrently or consecutively to a sentence of life in prison plus fourteen years they were currently serving in Case No. 2017- A-296. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed consecutive terms. On appeal, the defendants contend the trial court abused its discretion in imposing consecutive terms. After a thorough review of the record, the applicable law, and the arguments of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Antonio Dewayne Sivels, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court’s dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2017 conviction upon his guilty plea to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, for which he received a twenty-year sentence as a Range I offender. On appeal, he contends that the post-conviction court erred by summarily dismissing the petition after determining it was untimely. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The petitioner, Ronald David Harris, appeals the denial of his post-conviction petition, arguing the post-conviction court erred in finding he received the effective assistance of counsel in conjunction with his guilty pleas. Following our review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition.

The Appellant, the State of Tennessee, appeals the Cocke County Circuit Court order granting the Defendant’s motion to dismiss his indictment. On appeal, the State contends that the trial court erred in dismissing the indictment “in the interest of justice.” Upon review, we remand for entry of corrected judgments but otherwise affirm the trial court’s dismissal of the indictment.

A Montgomery County jury convicted Defendant, Deandre Marrece Ellis, of second degree murder, tampering with evidence, and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon with a predicate felony involving force or violence, for which the trial court imposed an effective sentence of fifty-one years’ incarceration. In this direct appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence as it relates to his conviction for tampering with evidence. He asserts that, when he placed the murder weapon in water inside a toilet tank in a friend’s apartment, he intended only to conceal his possession of the gun and that the State failed to prove that his intent was to hinder the police investigation by impairing the gun’s “verity, legibility, or availability as evidence.” Following a thorough review, we affirm Defendant’s conviction for tampering with evidence.

The Petitioner, Rohman M. Harper, appeals from the Cheatham County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his aggravated sexual battery conviction and his eight-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the postconviction court erred by denying relief on his ineffective assistance of counsel claim. We affirm the judgment of the
post-conviction court.

The petitioner, Jerry Lewis Tuttle, appeals the denial of his post-conviction petition, arguing the post-conviction court erred in finding he received the effective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal. After our review of the record, briefs, and applicable law, we affirm the denial of the petition.

The petitioner, Christopher Orlando Lyles, appeals the trial court’s dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief as time barred, which petition challenged his 2016 convictions of first degree felony murder, second degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, attempted aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The Defendant, Donald Johnson, pled guilty to three counts of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony, and three counts of rape of a child, a Class A felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-504, -13-522. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of eighty years. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentences and that the trial court failed to consider mitigating factors. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Petitioner, Joshua Hill-Williams, was convicted of first degree premeditated murder. His conviction was affirmed on direct appeal. State v. Joshua Hill-Williams, No. W2015-01743-CCA-R3-CD, 2017 WL 1907735, at *8 (Tenn. Crim. App. May 9, 2017), perm. app. denied (Aug. 18, 2017). Petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief and an amended petition through counsel, alleging nine claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court denied relief and Petitioner now appeals. After review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Following a bench trial, Defendant, Leavy L. Johnson, was convicted of rape, and the trial court sentenced him to eight years in confinement. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court committed plain error by admitting hearsay, that the evidence at trial was insufficient to support his conviction, and that the trial court erred by ordering him to serve his sentence in confinement. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Defendant, Demontez D. Watkins, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of first degree felony murder; two counts of attempted first degree premeditated murder, a Class A felony; second degree murder, a Class A felony; attempted especially aggravated robbery, a Class B felony; and two counts of employing a firearm in the commission of a dangerous felony, a Class C felony.  See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-202(a)(2) (2018) (first degree murder), 39-13-210 (2014) (subsequently amended) (second degree murder); 39-13-403 (2018) (especially aggravated robbery); 39-17-1324(b)(1), (2) (2018) (employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony); 39-12-101 (2018) (criminal attempt).  The trial court merged the first degree felony murder and second degree murder convictions and imposed an effective sentence of life plus twenty-seven years.  On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions, (2) the trial court erred in admitting expert testimony regarding probabilistic genotyping regarding DNA evidence, (3) the court erred in denying his motion to suppress his pretrial statement, (4) the court erred in admitting evidence because the chain of custody was not adequately shown, and (5) the court erred in imposing consecutive sentencing.  We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant, John Bradford Underwood III, was convicted by a Bradley County Criminal Court jury of possession of contraband in a penal facility, a Class D felony. See T.C.A. § 39-16-201 (2018) (subsequently amended).1 The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range II, multiple offender to eight years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction, (2) the trial court erred by denying his motion for a judgment of acquittal, and (3) the trial court erred by admitting an expert report identifying the contraband. Although we affirm the Defendant’s conviction, we remand for the entry of a corrected judgment reflecting the conviction offense as possession of contraband in a penal facility.

The Petitioner, Tony Light, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2017 guilty plea to attempted robbery, for which he received a four-year sentence as a Range I offender. The Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred by denying relief because his guilty plea was involuntarily and unknowingly entered. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.