APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The defendant appeals from the trial court’s denial of an alternative sentence. The defendant pled guilty to a Class E felony, possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance with intent to manufacture, deliver, or sell. The trial court denied the defendant’s request for an alternative sentence and imposed a two-year sentence in the special needs facility of the Tennessee Department of Correction. We affirm the sentence imposed by the trial court, but remand for correction of the judgment to reflect a guilty plea rather than a jury verdict.

The defendant, Darrell Glen Smith, appeals as of right from his conviction by a jury in the Cocke County Circuit Court for first degree murder. The defendant was sentenced to life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. He contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support the jury's rejection of his insanity defense and (2) the trial court erred in failing to grant a new trial due to juror misconduct. We affirm the trial court's judgment of conviction.

The Appellant, John E. Turner, appeals his conviction by a Rutherford County jury for especially aggravated robbery, a class A felony. The single issue for our review is whether the trial court erred by not suppressing Turner's statement to the police and the victim's gun, which was discovered as a result of his statement. After a review of the record, we conclude that the Appellant's statement was obtained in violation of his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. Moreover, we conclude that the stolen weapon is also inadmissible unless, upon remand, the State can show either that the police had an independent, untainted source for the information leading to the gun or that the gun would have been inevitably discovered through routine police investigation. Accordingly, the judgment of conviction is reversed and the case is remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

The petitioner, Terry Franklin Stogdill, was convicted by a jury in the Claiborne County Criminal Court of one count of rape of a child and one count of incest. The trial court sentenced the petitioner to an effective twenty year sentence to be served in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Following an unsuccessful appeal of his convictions, the petitioner timely filed a petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner now appeals the dismissal of his petition. Upon review of the record and the parties' briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Davidson County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Kelvin Hobson, of two counts of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony, and the trial court sentenced him as a violent offender to concurrent ten-year sentences. The defendant appeals his convictions, claiming that (1) the evidence is insufficient; (2) the trial court improperly allowed the state to cross-examine him about prior bad acts; (3) the trial court improperly allowed state witnesses to give rebuttal testimony about his prior bad acts and his character for truthfulness; (4) the trial court improperly refused to give a curative instruction after the state shifted the burden of proof during closing argument; and (5) the trial court should have granted his new trial motion because the jury foreman mistakenly told other jurors during deliberations that the defendant would serve only probation for his aggravated sexual battery convictions. We conclude that the trial court committed reversible error by allowing state witnesses to testify on rebuttal about the defendant's prior bad acts and his character for truthfulness. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and remand the case for a new trial.

The Defendant, Calvin Owens, was convicted of two counts of aggravated robbery, one count of attempt to commit especially aggravated robbery, and one count of attempted second degree murder, all Class B felonies. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced him as a Range I offender to eleven years for each of his four convictions. The trial court ordered three of the sentences to be served consecutively, with the sentence for the remaining conviction to be served concurrently, resulting in an effective sentence of thirty-three years. In this direct appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred in sentencing him to thirty-three years. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Petitioner, William Terry, appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. Petitioner argues that the post-conviction court erred in finding that Petitioner’s plea of guilty was voluntary and knowing and in finding that Petitioner’s trial counsel rendered effective assistance of counsel prior to and during plea negotiations. For the reasons discussed herein, we affirm the post-conviction court’s dismissal of the petition for post-conviction relief.

Defendant, Treacy F. Lewis, entered a plea of nolo contendre to the offense of murder in the second degree. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant to twenty-three years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Defendant appeals the length of her sentence, arguing that the trial court misapplied enhancement factor (4), the victim was particularly vulnerable because of age and physical disabilities, and failed to give sufficient consideration to the applicable mitigating factors. Defendant does not challenge the application of enhancement factor (9), based upon the use of a gun in the commission of the offense. Based on a review of the record, we conclude that the trial court improperly applied enhancement factor (4) in its sentencing determinations. Accordingly, we modify the judgment of the trial court to reduce the sentence to twenty-two years.

We granted permission to appeal to determine whether the trial court erred in dividing as marital property funds that were missing at the time the divorce complaint was filed. We hold that the missing funds are not marital property that can be divided between the parties. However, we also conclude that the trial court may properly consider Husband's careless handling of those funds in distributing property that does constitute marital property. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the Court of Appeals as modified, and we remand the case to the trial court for reconsideration of its property division and alimony award.

The petitioner, Jerry Lee Cowan, seeks appellate review of the Blount County Circuit Court's denial of his motion to reopen his 1992 post-conviction relief petition. Finding no merit in the appeal, we affirm the lower court's judgment.

The appellant, Titus Champion, was convicted of robbery pursuant to a bench trial in the Gibson County Circuit Court. The trial court sentenced the appellant as a Range II multiple offender to six years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant contends that the State did not prove the element of violence as was alleged in the indictment charging the appellant with robbery. Finding the appellant’s argument to have merit, we modify his conviction for robbery to a conviction for theft under $500 and remand to the trial court for sentencing.