State of Tennessee v. William Keith Paulson, alias

The defendant, William Keith Paulson, was convicted by a Knox County jury of reckless endangerment, a Class E felony; two counts of felony evading arrest, Class D felonies; evading arrest, a Class A misdemeanor; driving without a license, a Class C misdemeanor; and violation of the state registration law, a Class C misdemeanor. Subsequently, he was sentenced to an effective eighteen-year sentence, as a career offender, in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he raises the single issue of whether double jeopardy principles require the merger of his convictions for reckless endangerment, felony evading arrest, and evading arrest into a single conviction for felony evading arrest. Following review of the record, we conclude that the two counts for felony evading arrest should have been merged into a single count as they were simply alternative charges for the same conduct. Further, we determine that the misdemeanor evading arrest should have also been merged with the felony evading arrest as it represented a single course of conduct. However, merger of the single remaining felony evading arrest and the reckless endangerment convictions is not required. As such, the case is remanded for entry of corrected judgments of conviction in accordance with this opinion.