State of Tennessee v. Shannon Dixon

The defendant, Shannon Dixon, was convicted by a Marion County Circuit Court jury of aggravated assault, a Class C felony, and was sentenced to five years, suspended to probation after service of twelve months of incarceration.  On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in:  (1) denying his request for a special jury instruction that a pellet gun was not a deadly weapon per se for purposes of the aggravated assault statute, and (2) not applying as a mitigating factor at sentencing that he acted under strong provocation.  After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.