State of Tennessee v. Jennifer Lynn Stinnett
The Defendant, Jennifer Lynn Stinnett, appeals from the sentencing decision of the Marshall County Circuit Court. The Defendant was indicted for over two hundred offenses (Class D and E felonies and Class C misdemeanors) as a consequence of her scheme to unlawfully obtain prescription drugs. She subsequently pled guilty as charged. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective twelve-year sentence and ordered the Defendant to serve 365 days in jail, followed by probation for the remainder of her sentence. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying her request for full probation. After a review of the record, we find no error in the denial of total probation. We remand for entry of corrected judgments. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles Michael Bean
The Appellant, Charles Michael Bean, appeals the sentencing decision of the Davidson County Criminal Court. A jury found Bean guilty of three counts of aggravated assault and two counts of reckless aggravated assault. The trial court merged the convictions for reckless aggravated assault with the three aggravated assault convictions, and a sentencing hearing was held. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court imposed the minimum sentence of three years for each of the Class C felonies and ordered that Bean serve nine months in incarceration followed by four years of probation. The sentences were ordered to run concurrently. On appeal, Bean argues that the trial court erred in denying him a sentence of total probation. After a thorough review of the record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Benjamin Brown
The defendant, Benjamin Brown, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of first degree felony murder in the perpetration of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child abuse. For the felony murder conviction, he was sentenced as a violent offender to life in the Department of Correction, and for the aggravated child abuse conviction he was sentenced to twenty-five years, to be served concurrently. In this direct appeal, he claims (1) that the trial court improperly allowed evidence of the defendant’s bad acts without conducting a hearing as required by Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b), (2) that the trial court committed plain error in allowing a state’s expert witness to testify about the victim’s cause of death without establishing a proper foundation, (3) that the court erred in failing to replace a juror who indicated she had some knowledge of one of the state’s witnesses, (4) that the trial court failed to give instructions on lesser offenses, and (5) that he is entitled to a new trial based upon prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument. We hold that although the state made an improper rebuttal argument, the error was harmless, and the remaining issues are without merit. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tony Sheffa v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Tony Sheffa, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief. On appeal, he alleges that his trial counsel was ineffective and, that because of the ineffectiveness of counsel, his pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered. Upon our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the post-conviction court did not have jurisdiction to hear the petition. Therefore, we dismiss the appeal. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Dane Lee Duckett v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Dane Lee Duckett, was convicted by a Cumberland County Jury of attempt to manufacture methamphetamine, possession of marijuana, driving on a revoked license, and possession of drug paraphernalia. As a result, he was sentenced to an effective sentence of six years. His convictions and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. See State v. Dane Lee Duckett, No. E2004-02321-CCA-R3-CD, 2005 WL 2777378, at *7 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Knoxville, Oct. 26, 2005). In this appeal from the denial of post-conviction relief, Petitioner asserts that the trial court improperly dismissed his petition because he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. We determine that Petitioner did not receive ineffective assistance of counsel and, therefore, affirm the judgments of the post-conviction court. |
Cumberland | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Johnny Justin Postles v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Johnny Justin Postles, appeals the Lauderdale County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief attacking his convictions for criminal trespass, simple assault, aggravated burglary, aggravated assault, and misdemeanor theft. On appeal, he argues that he is entitled to habeas corpus relief because the court reporter failed to file verbatim records with the clerk of the court in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-14-307(a). Following a review of the record, we conclude that the Petitioner has failed to allege any ground that would render the judgments of conviction void or his sentence illegal. The judgment of the habeas corpus court summarily dismissing the petition is affirmed. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kenneth Ray Kilpatrick and Carrie Fay Kilpatrick
Defendant, Kenneth Ray Kilpatrick, entered a plea of guilty in case no. 6670 to one count of manufacturing marijuana in an amount not less than twenty plants nor more than ninety-nine plants, a Class C felony; one count of facilitation of possession with intent to manufacture marijuana, a Class D felony; and one count of possession of unlawful drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced Defendant Kenneth Kilpatrick as a Range II, multiple offender, to concurrent sentences of six years for his Class C felony conviction, four years for his Class D felony conviction, and eleven months, twenty nine days for his misdemeanor conviction, for an effective sentence of six years. Defendant, Carrie Fay Kilpatrick, entered a plea of guilty in case no. 6670 to one count of facilitation of possession with intent to manufacture marijuana, a Class D felony, and possession of unlawful drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. In case no. 6689, Defendant Carrie Kilpatrick entered a plea of guilty to one count of simple possession of marijuana, a Class A misdemeanor, and one count of possession of unlawful drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced Defendant Carrie Kilpatrick as a Range I, standard offender, to three years for her Class D felony conviction, and eleven months, twenty-nine days for each misdemeanor conviction. The trial court ordered Defendant Carrie Kilpatrick to serve her sentences in case nos. 6670 and 6689 concurrently for an effective sentence of three years. On appeal, both Defendants argue that the trial court erred in denying their respective requests for alternative sentencing and ordering each Defendant to serve his or her sentence in confinement. Defendant Kenneth Kilpatrick also contends that the trial court erred in its application of enhancement factors in determining the length of his sentence. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Lewis | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dawn Marie Hobbs
Defendant pled guilty to two counts of identity theft, two counts of fraud, and two counts of theft of property of $500 or less. The total effective sentence is three years with the manner of service to be determined after a sentencing hearing. Defendant also pled guilty to two failure to appear charges and was sentenced to two consecutive two year sentences, suspended by agreement. Following the sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered that Defendant serve her three-year sentence incarcerated. Defendant has appealed arguing that the trial court erred by denying her request for an alternative sentence. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Shannon Alan Griffin
The defendant, Shannon Alan Griffin, was charged with two counts of attempted first degree murder, two counts of aggravated assault involving use of a deadly weapon, and two counts of aggravated assault causing serious bodily injury after twice hitting his landlord with his car. The jury found the defendant guilty of all four counts of aggravated assault but could not reach a verdict on the two counts of attempted first degree murder. The trial court merged the four aggravated assault counts into two convictions and, as to the attempted first degree murder counts, declared a mistrial and ordered a new trial. Pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 10, the defendant appeals from the trial court’s decision, arguing that he may not be retried on the attempted first degree murder counts because there did not exist manifest necessity for a mistrial and a retrial would violate the Double Jeopardy Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Following our review, we affirm the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Neddie Mack Lawson, I
The defendant, Neddie Mack Lawson, I, was convicted of misdemeanor DUI, his third offense. On appeal, the defendant argues that because he was indicted for felony DUI, fourth offense, and because the offense was committed more than one year before the filing of the indictment, he cannot be convicted of misdemeanor DUI because the misdemeanor conviction was barred by the statute of limitations. Following our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Claiborne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Julius Cameron Hill
Following a July 2006 jury trial, the defendant, Julius Hill, was convicted of one count of possession of 0.5 gram or more of cocaine with intent to sell, a Class B felony, one count of possession of 0.5 gram or more of cocaine with intent to deliver, a Class B felony, and two counts of simple possession of a controlled substance, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court merged the two felony convictions and sentenced the defendant as a Range I, standard offender, to twelve years in the Department of Correction on the felony conviction and eleven months, twenty-nine days on each misdemeanor conviction, with all sentences to be served concurrently. On appeal, the defendant contends that the evidence produced at trial was insufficient to convict him of the felony counts and that the trial court imposed an excessive sentence. After reviewing the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jason D. Pillow v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Jason D. Pillow, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. In this appeal, he contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal and that the sentence imposed by the trial court violates the terms of Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004). Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Mark Armstrong v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, who is serving a twenty-year sentence for aggravated rape, filed the present post-conviction action alleging he did not receive the effective assistance of counsel at trial. The trial court conducted a hearing and denied his claim, and he appealed. Upon review, we hold that the trial court did not err in denying relief, and we affirm its judgment. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Krista Regina Lesch
The defendant, Krista Regina Lesch, pled guilty to three counts of obtaining a Schedule II controlled substance by fraud (Class D felony) and attempted child neglect (Class E felony). She was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to two years on community corrections for one of the Class D felonies and to one year on community corrections for the Class E felony, with the sentences to run concurrently with credit for time served. She was further sentenced to two years on both of the other Class D felony convictions, with those sentences to run consecutively to the other sentence for a total effective sentence of six years, with time served and the balance on community corrections. The defendant violated the terms of her community corrections sentences on several occasions and eventually had her sentences revoked and increased. On appeal, she argues that the trial court erred in revoking her community corrections release and in increasing her effective sentence from six to nine years. After careful review, we conclude that no error exists and affirm the judgments from the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Lee Cook v. Glen Turner, Warden (State of Tennessee)
The petitioner, David Lee Cook, appeals the circuit court’s order summarily dismissing his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus. Following our review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the circuit court’s order. |
Hardeman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Adell Watkins
The defendant, Adell Watkins, was indicted for one count of the knowing sale of cocaine and for one count of knowingly and unlawfully delivering cocaine, a Schedule II controlled substance. She was convicted on both counts. Her convictions were merged and she received an eight-year sentence. The defendant argues on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to sustain her convictions. Following our review of the parties’ briefs, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the decision of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tyrone Chalmers v. State of Tennessee
Capital Petitioner Tyrone Chalmers appeals as of right the judgment of the Shelby County Criminal Court denying his petition for post-conviction relief. In 1997, the petitioner was convicted of one count of first degree felony murder and one count of especially aggravated robbery. The jury sentenced him to death after finding that the evidence of an aggravating circumstance, that the defendant was previously convicted of one or more felonies other than the present charge, whose statutory elements involve the use of violence to the person, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-204(i)(2), outweighed evidence of mitigating circumstances beyond a reasonable doubt. The trial judge imposed a sentence of twenty years for the especially aggravated robbery conviction, to run concurrently with the death sentence but consecutively to sentences previously imposed in another case. See State v. Chalmers, 28 S.W.3d 913, 915 (Tenn. 2000). On April 19, 2001, the petitioner filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief. An amended petition was filed on September 22, 2003. An evidentiary hearing was conducted in August 2005. On January 24, 2006, the trial court entered an order denying post-conviction relief. On appeal to this court, the petitioner presents a number of claims that can be characterized in the following broad categories: (1) the ineffective assistance of counsel and (2) the constitutionality of the imposition of a sentence of death. Following a thorough and exhaustive review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the postconviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Gregory Morrow v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Gregory Morrow, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his conviction of possession of 300 grams or more of cocaine with intent to sell and two counts of possession of marijuana and resulting fifteen-year sentence to the Department of Correction. He claims that he is entitled to post-conviction relief because he was denied the effective assistance of counsel at trial. We hold that his petition was not filed timely and is therefore barred by the one-year statute of limitations, and we vacate the judgment denying post-conviction relief and remand the case for entry of an order of dismissal. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Wayford Demonbreun, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
In 1997, a Davidson County jury convicted the Petitioner, Wayford Demonbreun, Jr., of one count of second degree murder and one count of aggravated assault, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of twenty-five years in prison. The Petitioner filed a petition for habeas corpus relief, his third such petition, alleging that his conviction is void because: (1) the trial court never conducted a hearing on his motion for new trial and, therefore, never performed his duty as a thirteenth juror; and (2) the trial court lacked statutory authority to render a valid judgment pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 17-1-305. The habeas court denied the petition. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the habeas court erred. Finding no error, we affirm the judgment of the habeas court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Paul David James, Jr.
The Appellant, Paul David James, Jr., appeals the sentencing decision of the Grundy County Circuit Court. Pursuant to a plea agreement, James pled guilty to one count of aggravated burglary, with the trial court determining the sentence length and manner of service of the sentence. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court sentenced James to five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, James challenges the length and manner of the sentence, arguing that the trial court improperly considered his lengthy history of dismissed criminal charges in enhancing the sentence two years above the statutory minimum and in denying alternative sentencing. After a thorough review of the briefs of the parties and the record, we affirm. |
Grundy | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Brian Roger Neu
The Appellant, Brian Roger Neu, appeals the imposition of consecutive sentences by the Madison County Circuit Court. Neu’s sentences stem from his guilty pleas to domestic assault, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia, all class A misdemeanors. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed sentences of eleven months and twenty-nine days for each conviction. The court further ordered that Neu’s sentences for possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia be served concurrently to each other but consecutively to his sentence for domestic assault. Following review, the sentencing decision is affirmed. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Allen Lane v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, David Allen Lane, appeals both the post-conviction court's ruling regarding his post-conviction relief and the denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty plea. The judgment of the trial court denying the motion to withdraw the guilty plea is affirmed. Because the petitioner was denied the effective assistance of counsel and because the post-conviction court failed to comply with the requirements of State v. Boyd, 51 S.W.3d 206 (Tenn. 2000), the judgment of the post-conviction court vacating and reinstating the judgment is reversed, the judgment is vacated and the cause is remanded for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion. |
Greene | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Debra Elaine Moore
The defendant, Debra Elaine Moore, was convicted of criminally negligent homicide ( Class E felony) and aggravated child abuse (Class A felony). She was sentenced to two years for the Class E felony and twenty-five years for the Class A felony, with the sentences to run concurrently for an effective sentence of twenty-five years. The defendant raises four issues on appeal including whether the evidence was sufficient to support the finding of guilt. Because the defendant did not file either a timely motion for new trial or notice of appeal, this court declines to review the subsequently waived issues. However, we do review her issue of sufficiency of the evidence and conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support the guilty verdicts. Therefore, the judgments from the trial court are affirmed. |
Cocke | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Sean Thomas Corlew
The defendant, Sean Thomas Corlew, pled guilty to driving under the influence, first offense, in the Tipton County Circuit Court. Pursuant to Rule 37(b)(2)(A) of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure, the defendant reserved a certified question of law challenging the denial of his motion to suppress based upon his allegation that the officer lacked reasonable suspicion to support the stop leading to his eventual arrest. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tony E. Cannon, Jr.
A Lincoln County Circuit Court jury convicted the defendant, Tony E. Cannon, Jr., of attempted second degree murder, aggravated assault, and felony reckless endangerment. The trial court merged the conviction of aggravated assault with the conviction of attempted second degree murder and imposed an effective sentence of 12 years in the Department of Correction. In this appeal, the defendant asserts that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that the 12-year sentence imposed for attempted second degree murder is excessive. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Lincoln | Court of Criminal Appeals |
