State of Tennessee v. Derrell Bender

The Appellant, Derrell Bender, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court's denial of his "Motion for Reduction or Modification of Sentence" filed pursuant to Tenn. R. Crim. P. 35(b). Bender pled guilty to voluntary manslaughter and received an agreed-upon sentence of ten years as a Range III career offender. In his motion, Bender requested that the trial court impose a sentence within the sentence range of a Range I standard offender. The trial court denied the motion, finding that Bender was "not an appropriate candidate for a suspended sentence." Bender seeks review pursuant to a "Petition for Common Law Writ of Certiorari." Because the trial court's order fails to address Bender's request for sentencing as a Range I offender, we reverse and remand to the trial court for reconsideration of the Rule 35 motion.