State of Tennessee v. Jonathan Londono
Appellant, Jonathan Londono, was convicted by a Davidson County jury of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, facilitation of felony murder, facilitation of especially aggravated robbery and facilitation of aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to an effective sentence of forty-nine years. Appellant was resentenced after an unsuccessful appeal to this Court, an unsuccessful appeal to the Tennessee Supreme Court, a remand from the United States Supreme Court to the Tennessee Supreme Court, and a remand from the Tennessee Supreme Court to the trial court for resentencing. As a result, Appellant’s sentence was enhanced based upon one enhancing factor, that he had a previous history of criminal convictions and criminal behavior. The trial court sentenced Appellant to an effective sentence of forty-nine years. Appellant appeals his sentence arguing that the trial court erred in basing the application of the enhancing factor on convictions that occurred in the time between the commission of the offenses in question and the imposition of his sentence for the offenses in question. We determine that based upon prior case law in this State the trial court did not err. Therefore, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Arlie Ray Thomas v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Arlie Ray Thomas, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief in which he alleged that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel because counsel failed to challenge the affidavits supporting the arrest and search warrants, and that counsel failed to properly interview a witness. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that Petitioner has failed to show that his trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel and affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Anthony Partin
The Sequatchie County Grand Jury indicted Appellant, John Anthony Partin, for one count of driving under the influence (“DUI”) and one count of violation of the implied consent law. Appellant filed a motion to suppress the evidence collected as a result of his interaction with the law enforcement officer. The trial court denied the motion to suppress. Subsequently, Appellant pled guilty to one count of DUI, first offense and reserved a certified question of law for appeal to this Court. After a review of the record on appeal, we conclude that Appellant did not properly reserve his certified question. Therefore, this Court has no jurisdiction to hear this appeal, and the appeal is dismissed. |
Sequatchie | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Conal Decker v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Conal Decker, filed a pro se petition for writ of error coram nobis or writ of habeas corpus challenging judgments in cases from 1994 and 1998 which were used to enhance the federal sentence he is currently serving. He claims in the cases he is challenging that he was never provided counsel or that his waiver of counsel was improper. The coram nobis court dismissed the petition. The State filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the coram nobis court’s denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. After review, we conclude that the petition was properly dismissed. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted and the judgment of the coram nobis court is affirmed. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Amado Rubio Tavera
The Defendant-Appellant, Amado Rubio Tavera, has filed a petition for writ of certiorari seeking review of the Davidson County Criminal Court’s order denying his motion to expunge. The indictment charged Tavera with one count of vehicular assault and one count of aggravated assault. For the charge of vehicular assault, Tavera pled guilty to the lesser included offense of driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the State entered a nolle prosequi for the charge of aggravated assault. Tavera subsequently filed a motion to expunge the charge of aggravated assault from all public records. He now appeals the denial of this motion. Upon review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael W. Poe
Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Michael W. Poe, was convicted of first degree felony murder and aggravated child abuse, a Class A felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-202, -15-402(b). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to consecutive terms of life in prison for his first degree felony murder conviction and twenty-five years as a violent offender for his aggravated child abuse conviction. In this direct appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred when it denied his motion for judgment of acquittal; (2) the trial court erred when it failed to declare a mistrial after one juror made a comment to another juror about the trial; (3) the trial court erred in failing to ask the other jurors whether they heard the comment at issue; (4) the trial court erred when it failed to remove or disable the televisions and radios from the jurors’ motel rooms; (5) the trial court erred when it applied two inapplicable enhancement factors and failed to consider one mitigating factor; (6) the trial court erred when it imposed consecutive sentences; (7) the trial court did not award the proper amount of jail credit; and (8) the trial court erred when it failed to dismiss the indictment. After our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Rhea | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Darrell Lamar Fritts v. David Sexton, Warden
A Monroe County jury convicted Petitioner of second degree murder. State v. Darrell Fritts, No. 132, 1992 WL 236152, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Knoxville, Sept. 25, 1992), perm. app. dismissed, (Tenn. Feb. 1, 1993). Petitioner was unsuccessful on appeal. Id. at *10. Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief that was denied. Darrell Fritts v. State, No. 03C01-9803-CR-00116, 1999 WL 604430, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Knoxville, Aug. 12, 1999). On appeal, this Court upheld the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. Petitioner subsequently filed two petitions for writ of habeas corpus relief in the Monroe County Court. The first writ was dismissed because it was filed in Monroe County as opposed to the Johnson County Court which is the closest court in distance. With regard to the second writ, the State filed a motion to dismiss based upon the fact that the issues had already been determined by this Court on appeal from the denial of the post-conviction petition and that ineffective assistance of counsel at trial is not a cognizable issue for habeas corpus. The habeas corpus court granted the motion. Petitioner appeals the dismissal of both writs. The appeals have been consolidated in this Court. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the dismissal of the writs was correct. Therefore, we affirm the dismissals by the habeas corpus court. |
Monroe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeremy Stephens Parks
The Defendant, Jeremy Stephen Parks, pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class D felony. See T.C.A. § 39-17-1003 (2010). He was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to four years’ confinement, with six months to be served in the Blount County Jail and the remainder to be served on supervised probation with multiple special conditions. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred during sentencing by (1) denying judicial diversion, (2) imposing the maximum sentence in the range and ordering confinement, and (3) imposing unreasonable terms of probation. We affirm the conviction and the length of the Defendant’s sentence, but we modify the special conditions of probation. |
Blount | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Charles Lamb v. State of Tennessee
Aggrieved of his convictions of first degree murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder, the petitioner, Charles Lamb, filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief alleging that he had been deprived of the effective assistance of counsel. In this appeal, he challenges the denial of his bid for post-conviction relief. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Andrew Thomas v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner Andrew Thomas appeals as of right the judgment of the Shelby County Criminal Court denying his petition for post-conviction relief. A Shelby County jury found Petitioner guilty of felony murder based on the killing of James Day during an attempt to perpetrate a robbery. The jury found that Petitioner had previously been convicted of one or more felonies for which the statutory elements involved the use of violence to the person. See T.C.A. § 39-13-204(i)(2). The jury further found that this aggravating circumstance outweighed mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. The jury then sentenced Petitioner to death. Petitioner’s conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal by the Tennessee Supreme Court. See State v. Thomas, 158 S.W.3d 361 (Tenn. 2005). On January 3, 2006, Petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief. On November 13, 2006, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis and an amended petition for post-conviction relief. The post-conviction court held an evidentiary hearing in October 2007. On August 4, 2008, the post-conviction court entered an order denying Petitioner postconviction relief. On appeal to this Court, Petitioner presents a number of claims that can be characterized in the following categories: (1) Petitioner’s trial counsel were ineffective; (2) Petitioner’s appellate counsel were ineffective; (3) Petitioner is entitled to a new trial based upon newly discovered evidence; and (4) Tennessee’s death penalty statutory scheme is unconstitutional. Following a thorough and exhaustive review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Danny Lynn Davis
The Defendant, Danny Lynn Davis, was convicted at a bench trial in the Washington County Criminal Court of theft of property valued at $60,000 or more, a Class B felony; official misconduct, a Class E felony; and twenty-five counts of forgery, Class E felonies. See T.C.A. §§ 39-14-103 (theft); 39-16-402 (official misconduct); 39-14-114 (forgery). He was sentenced to ten years for the theft conviction and to one year for each of the Class E felony convictions, all to be served concurrently with one year of split confinement and the remaining nine years on probation. In this appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the victim, the city of Johnson City, had no standing to allege the crimes, (2) the prosecution of the forgery and official misconduct offenses was barred by the statute of limitations; (3) the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions; (4) the trial judge should have recused himself because the judge’s wife was an employee of the city of Johnson City; and (5) he was deprived of the opportunity to prepare a proper defense because the trial court failed to release his income tax records during discovery. We note that two of the convictions were rendered on counts dismissed by the State during trial. We vacate the convictions for forgery in Counts 23 and 27, but we affirm the remaining judgments of the trial court. |
Washington | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
James Patterson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, James Patterson, appeals from the denial of post-conviction relief by the Criminal Court of Shelby County. He was convicted of especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony, criminal attempt to commit second degree murder, a Class B felony, and two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, Class A felonies. The petitioner received an effective sentence of thirty-two years. The convictions and sentence were upheld on direct appeal. See State v. James Patterson, No. W2005-01416-CCA-R3CD, 2007 WL 162175, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Jan. 23, 2007). The petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which alleged that trial counsel was ineffective. The post-conviction court denied the petitioner relief. On appeal, the petitioner claims he is entitled to a new post-conviction hearing because post-conviction counsel failed to diligently investigate and present reasonable claims for relief. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Adrian Ann Crain
The defendant, Adrian Ann Crain, appeals the revocation of her probation sentence, claiming that the state denied her right to a speedy trial and that the trial court did not have jurisdiction when it revoked her sentence and ordered that she serve the remainder of her sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Aaron Jenkins and Perley Winkler, Jr.
A Monroe County Circuit Court jury convicted the appellants, Michael Aaron Jenkins and Perley Winkler, Jr., of two counts of attempted first degree premeditated murder and one count of attempted aggravated arson. After sentencing hearings, Jenkins received an effective seventeen-year sentence and Winkler received an effective forty-year sentence. On appeal, the appellants contend that the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions and that the trial court erred by prohibiting them from questioning one of the victims, David Senn, about a prior felony conviction. In addition, Jenkins contends that the trial court should have allowed him to cross-examine Senn in front of the jury about Senn’s untruthfulness during an offer of proof, that the trial court should have granted his motion to sever his trial from that of his codefendant, and that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct during its closing argument. Winkler contends that the trial court erred by allowing the State to question a second victim about a threatening message Winkler allegedly left on a cellular telephone and that his sentence is excessive. After a review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support the convictions and that the trial court properly sentenced Winkler. The appellants’ remaining issues are waived because the appellants failed to provide an adequate record on appeal. |
Monroe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Valentine Hill
Defendant, Joseph Valentine Hill, was charged with one count of DUI, second offense, a class A misdemeanor, and with seven counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a class C felony. He entered pleas of guilty as charged in each count and submitted to a sentencing hearing with no agreement as to the length or manner of service of the sentences. The trial court sentenced Defendant to four years for each aggravated assault conviction and to 11 months and 29 days for the DUI second offense conviction. The DUI sentence and three of the aggravated assault sentences were ordered to be served concurrently with each other. The remaining four aggravated assault sentences were ordered to be served concurrently with each other, but consecutively to the first grouping of sentences, for an effective sentence of eight years. The trial court ordered the eight-year sentence to be served in incarceration. Recognizing that the DUI, second offense conviction requires a mandatory minimum period of incarceration, Defendant argues on appeal that the trial court erred by declining to grant him probation after serving the above-noted mandatory minimum confinement. After careful review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bobby Hughlett
The defendant, Bobby Hughlett, appeals from the trial court’s denial of any form of alternative sentencing, including probation. The defendant entered pleas of nolo contendere to attempted aggravated robbery and robbery, both Class C felonies. The defendant was given an agreed sentence of ten years for each count, to run concurrently, as a persistentoffender, with a 45% release eligibility date. The defendant contends that the court abused its discretion in denying him an alternative sentence, including probation, and erred in finding the defendant was on probation at the time of committing these offenses. After review, we affirm the sentences imposed by the trial court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Derrick D. Crutcher
A Davidson County Criminal Court jury convicted the defendant, Derrick D. Crutcher, of simple possession of cocaine, in this case a Class E felony, see T.C.A. § 39-17-418(a), (e) (2006), and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor, see id. § 39-17- 425(a)(1). In this appeal as of right, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. Because the evidence is sufficient, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Robert J. Montville v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Robert J. Montville, appeals the Hickman County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for simple assault and reckless driving and his resulting effective sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine days to be served as twenty-four hours in jail and the remainder on supervised probation. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Deborah N. Cotter
The appellant, Deborah N. Cotter, was convicted by a jury in the Hamblen County Criminal Court of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to ten years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, she argues that the evidence is insufficient to support her conviction, particularly because no witness identified her in court as the robber. She also contends that the trial court erred in arriving at her sentence. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamblen | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bryant C. Overton
A Rutherford County jury convicted the Defendant, Bryant C. Overton, of aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, attempted first degree murder, and conspiracy to commit kidnapping. The trial court ordered the Defendant to serve an effective sentence of sixty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgments in part, but we reverse them in part based upon a sentencing error. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Alvin T. McGee v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Alvin T. McGee, filed for post-conviction relief from his convictions for attempted burglary and vandalism between $500 and $1000, alleging that his guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered. The post-conviction court denied the petition, and the Petitioner now appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mitzi Rollins
The appellant, Mitzi Rollins, pled guilty in the Moore County Circuit Court to one count of initiating a false report under Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-16-502. The plea agreement provided that she would be sentenced to two years and ten months, with the trial court to determine the manner of service. After a hearing, the trial court denied the appellant’s request for alternative sentencing, citing her lengthy criminal history and the repeated unsuccessful attempts to use less restrictive sentencing. The appellant contends the trial court erred by ordering her to serve her sentence in confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Moore | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v Charles E. Lowe-Kelley
A Maury County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Charles E. Lowe-Kelley, of two counts of first degree premeditated murder, two counts of first degree felony murder, and nine counts of attempted first degree murder. At sentencing, the trial court imposed consecutive sentences of life with the possibility of parole for each first degree premeditated murder conviction, merged the first degree felony murder convictions into the first degree premeditated murder convictions, and imposed concurrent sentences of 15 years’ incarceration for each attempted first degree murder conviction to be served concurrently with the life sentences. On appeal, in addition to contesting the sufficiency of the evidence, the defendant contends that the trial court erred by (1) denying his motion for a continuance, (2) allowing a juror to remain on the jury who expressed an opinion about the case, (3) admitting evidence without establishing a proper chain of custody, (4) admitting a taperecorded conversation between the defendant and a separately-tried co-defendant, and (5) imposing consecutive sentences. Because the defendant failed to file a timely motion for new trial, all issues except the sufficiency of the evidence and sentencing are waived. Furthermore, the untimely motion for new trial rendered the notice of appeal untimely. In the interest of justice, however, we waive the timely filing of the notice of appeal and review the remaining issues. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Douglas Wayne Young
A Sullivan County Criminal Court Jury convicted the appellant, Douglas Wayne Young, of aggravated rape and sentenced him to twenty-two years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant claims that the trial court erred in (1) admitting the appellant’s nine millimeter handgun into evidence; (2) admitting scientific evidence from a DNA and serology expert; (3) finding that there was sufficient evidence to support the conviction; (4) giving the jury an instruction concerning flight; and (5) imposing a sentence of twenty-two years. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brent Blye
Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Brent Allen Blye, was convicted in Case Number S50,833 of possession with intent to sell 26 grams or more of cocaine, a Class B felony, and two Class A misdemeanors and was sentenced by the trial court pursuant to an agreement by the parties. At the sentencing hearing, the Defendant pled guilty to several felony and misdemeanor charges in three unrelated cases and was sentenced pursuant to a plea agreement to an effective term of 30 years. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that (1) his pro se motions should be considered as a motion for new trial in Case Number S50,833; (2) the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to sustain his convictions in Case Number S50,833; (3) the trial court erred in denying his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas in Case Numbers S46,736, S48,639, and S51,239; (4) his right to a speedy trial was violated in Case Number S46,736; (5) the trial court erred in sentencing him; and (6) the trial judge who presided over the sentencing hearing for all four cases should have recused herself. Following our review, we affirm the convictions but remand the case for the entry of corrected judgments consistent with this opinion. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals |
