State of Tennessee v. Gerraldo White

The Defendant, Gerraldo White, was charged with one count of first degree premeditated murder and one count of felony murder. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-202(a)(1), (2). He was also charged with one count of especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-403(b). Following a jury trial, he was convicted of one count of felony murder, one count of especially aggravated robbery, and one count of second degree murder, a Class A felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-210(c). The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range I, standard offender to fifteen years for second degree murder and fifteen years for especially aggravated robbery. It also sentenced him to life in prison for felony murder. The trial court ordered that the Defendant serve his sentences concurrently with one another, for a total effective sentence of life in the Department of Correction. In this direct appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress a statement he made to police; and (2) the State presented evidence insufficient to convict him of felony murder, second degree murder or especially aggravated robbery. After our review, we affirm the Defendant’s conviction for first degree felony murder. We direct that the second degree murder conviction be merged into the first degree murder conviction. We modify the conviction for especially aggravated robbery to a conviction for aggravated robbery, and we remand for sentencing on the aggravated robbery conviction.