State of Tennessee v. Frederick H. Gonzales, Jr.

A Williamson County jury convicted the defendant, Frederick H. Gonzales, Jr., of selling cocaine in an amount of .5 grams or more and assessed a fine of $50,000. The trial court sentenced the defendant to serve nine years as a Range I offender and reduced his fine to $5,000. The defendant now brings this appeal, challenging the trial court's failure to grant his motion for new trial on the basis that (1) evidence of a prior bad act committed by the defendant was improperly admitted at trial and that (2) the state improperly referred to the defendant's failure to call witnesses in closing arguments. Because we find that (1) the defendant opened the door to the prior bad act testimony and waived this issue by failing to object at trial and that (2) the prosecutor's reference to missing witnesses was harmless error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.