State of Tennessee v. William Donald Smith
The defendant, William Donald Smith, pleaded guilty to three counts charging aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony, and five counts charging child rape, a Class A felony. The plea agreement provided for the trial court to determine the sentences, except that the agreement provided that the aggregate sentence would not exceed 50 years and no more than one child rape sentence would be ordered served consecutively with any other sentence. The trial court sentenced the defendant to the following Department of Correction terms: for aggravated sexual battery, concurrent sentences of eight, 10, and 12 years, respectively; and for child rape, two sentences of 20 years each and three sentences of 25 years each. The trial court ran the two 20-year sentences concurrently to each other and to the aggregate 12-year sentence for aggravated sexual battery. It imposed the three 25-year sentences to run concurrently with each other but consecutively to the other five sentences, for a net aggregate sentence of 45 years. On appeal, the defendant challenges the trial court's sentencing determinations. After review, we affirm the judgments as modified. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles Henry Jenkins
The defendant, Charles Henry Jenkins, was convicted by a Sumner County jury of one count of possession of more than .5 grams of cocaine with the intent to sell or deliver, a Class B felony, and one count of evading arrest, a Class A misdemeanor. He was sentenced by the trial court as a Range I, standard offender to ten years for the cocaine conviction and eleven months, twenty-nine days for the evading arrest conviction, with the sentences ordered to run concurrently. The defendant raises the following issues in this appeal: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to sustain his cocaine conviction; (2) whether the trial court erred in excluding from his trial exculpatory tape-recorded statements made by the confidential informant involved in the case; and (3) whether the United States Supreme Court's decision in Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004), precluded the trial court from applying an enhancement factor to increase his cocaine sentence beyond the minimum in the range. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Albert Fitzgerald Turner
The Defendant, Albert Fitzgerald Turner, pled guilty to statutory rape and was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to two years in the Department of Correction, suspended after sixty days of service. The Defendant now appeals as of right, contending that the trial court erred in refusing to grant him “judicial diversion.” Because the trial court failed to state adequately upon the record the basis for its refusal to grant judicial diversion, we vacate the sentence of the Defendant and remand this matter for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Haywood | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Keith Dotson
The defendant, Keith Dotson, was convicted of aggravated burglary. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-403. The trial court ordered a Range III sentence of fifteen years in the Department of Correction. In this appeal of right, the defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient and that his sentence is excessive under Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. ___, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004). The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Shawn Kelly v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Shawn Kelly, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief by the Dyer County Circuit Court. He seeks relief from two convictions for the sale of one-half gram or more of cocaine, a Class B felony, and his concurrent sentences of twelve and fifteen years. The petitioner was convicted by a jury of one drug offense and pled guilty to the other drug offense. He contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel in both cases, that he was denied his constitutional right to an impartial jury, that his guilty plea was not voluntary, and that the trial court erred in not allowing him to inspect the grand jury minutes relating to his indictments. We affirm the trial court’s denial of post-conviction relief. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Billy R. Shelley
The Appellant, Billy R. Shelley, was convicted by a Sullivan County jury of theft of property over $1,000, a class D felony, and sentenced as a Range II multiple offender to eight years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Shelley raises the following issues for our review: (1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support the verdict; (2) whether the trial court erred in ruling that his prior convictions, which expired more than ten years prior to this prosecution, were admissible for impeachment purposes; and (3) whether his sentence was proper. After a review of the record, the judgment of the Sullivan County Criminal Court is affirmed. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Andre L. Mayfield v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Andre L. Mayfield, filed a petition for writ of habeas corpus arguing that: (1) he was improperly considered as a multiple rapist; (2) the trial court lacked the authority to sentence the petitioner as a multiple rapist without an indictment charging him as such; (3) the trial court lacked authority to modify the petitioner's original sentence; (4) the trial court failed to expressly state how the sentence in count five (5) would run; (5) the trial court improperly filled out the judgment form for count four (4); and (6) the judgment forms indicating that the petitioner was sentenced as a multiple offender with a release eligibility of thirty-five percent (35%) are improper. The trial court denied the petition. The petitioner appeals. For the following reasons, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Johnson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donald Ray Eady, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner was convicted of second degree murder in July of 1998. He appealed his conviction to this Court, and we affirmed his conviction. State v. Donald R. Eady, Jr., E2000-01152-CCA-R3-CD, 2001 WL 1543472 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Knoxville, Dec. 4, 2001), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. May 6, 2002). The petitioner then filed a petition for post-conviction relief. The post-conviction court denied his petition. He appeals to this Court solely on the issue of ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Arzolia Charles Goines v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Arzolia Charles Goines, appeals from the trial court's order dismissing his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The state has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the trial court's denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The petitioner failed to comply with the statutory requirements for pursuing habeas corpus relief. Accordingly, the state's motion is granted and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Thomas David Collins, alias
The appellant, Thomas David Collins, was convicted by a jury of voluntary manslaughter. As a result, the trial court sentenced the appellant to five (5) years as a Range I, standard offender. After the denial of a motion for new trial, the appellant filed a timely notice of appeal. On appeal, the appellant claims that: (1) the jury did not properly reject the appellant's claim of self-defense; (2) the evidence was not sufficient to sustain the verdict; (3) the trial court improperly applied several enhancement factors; and (4) the trial court improperly denied the appellant alternative sentencing. After a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Burn Harris Dockery, Jr.
A jury convicted the Defendant, Burn Harris Dockery, Jr., of reckless aggravated assault, a class D felony. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to three years, as a Range I standard offender, and it ordered that the Defendant serve sixty days in the county jail and the additional two years and ten months on probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction; and (2) the trial court improperly sentenced him. Finding no error in the judgment of the trial court, we affirm the Defendant's conviction and sentence. |
Cocke | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John C. Walker, III
This case is before us after remand by the Tennessee Supreme Court. The Appellant, John C. Walker, III, was convicted of second degree murder and sentenced to twenty-five years. On direct appeal, this court originally affirmed the conviction and sentence. See State v. John C. Walker, III, No. M2003-01732-CCA-R3-CD (Tenn. Crim. App. at Nashville, filed Aug. 11, 2004). Subsequently, this court granted the Appellant's motion to rehear, pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 39, as to the application of enhancement facts, in light of Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004). Upon rehearing, the Appellant's sentence was reduced to twenty years due to Blakely violations in the application of enhancement factors. See State v. John C. Walker, III, No. M2003-01732-RC-CD (Tenn. Crim. App. at Nashville, filed Feb. 8, 2005), perm. to appeal granted (Tenn. June 20, 2005). Subsequently, our supreme court released the case of State v. Edwin Gomez and Jonathan S. Londono, No. M2002-01209-SC-R77-CD, ____ S.W.3d ____ (Tenn. Apr. 15, 2005). Therein, the court concluded that Tennessee's sentencing structure is not impacted by Blakely. This case has now been remanded to this court for reconsideration in light of Gomez. See State v. John C. Walker, III, No. M2003-01732-SC-R11-CD (Tenn. at Nashville, June 20, 2005). After our review in light of State v. Gomez, we affirm the conviction and sentence as imposed by the trial court. |
Putnam | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael A. Pounds v. State of Tennessee
The Defendant, Michael A. Pounds, appeals from the trial court's dismissal of his petition seeking habeas corpus relief. The State has filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the trial court's dismissal of the petition pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The State's motion is granted. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Yates Cramer
The defendant, William Yates Cramer, was convicted by a Lake County Circuit Court jury of driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), second offense, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court imposed a sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine days, with probation after ninety days in jail and ordered the defendant to pay a fine of $600.00. On appeal, the defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction, (2) the trial court erred by allowing the state to use his prior conviction for aggravated assault to impeach his testimony, and (3) his sentence of confinement violates Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296, 124 S. Ct. 2531 (2004). We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Lake | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bobby Joe Lester
The Appellant, Bobby Joe Lester, was convicted of attempted first degree murder, especially aggravated kidnapping, and coercion of a witness. As a result of these convictions, Lester received an effective eighty-five year sentence. On appeal, Lester argues that: (1) the evidence was not sufficient to support the verdicts; (2) the trial court erred in failing to dismiss a juror; and (3) consecutive sentencing was improper. After a review of the record, we conclude that the proof is sufficient to support Lester’s convictions on all counts. Moreover, we conclude issues (2) and (3) are without merit. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Bobby Joe Lester - Dissenting
The majority concludes that the proof is sufficient to support the Appellant’s conviction for especially aggravated kidnapping. I respectfully dissent. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Gary Lee Miller v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Gary Lee Miller, stands convicted of aggravated kidnapping, for which he was classified as a habitual offender and, therefore, ordered to serve 100 percent of his 16-year sentence. See State v. Gary Lee Miller, No. M1998-00788-CCA-R3-CD, slip op. at 2 (Tenn. Crim. App., Nashville, Mar. 6, 2000). He filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel. After conducting an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition. Aggrieved by the lower court's ruling, the petitioner now brings the instant appeal. After a thorough review of the issues and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the lower court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Keuntray Henson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner challenges the denial of his post-conviction petition, in which he alleged ineffective assistance of counsel. Upon review, we conclude that the evidence on appeal does not preponderate against the post-conviction court’s findings that: (1) counsel adequately informed the petitioner regarding the filing of a motion to suppress; and (2) no hearingwas necessary on the motion because the petitioner opted to plead guilty. Therefore, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Johnson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner appeals the denial of post-conviction relief. Specifically, he contends that trial counsel was ineffective in (1) failing to discover the true identity of the State’s primary witness at an earlier date; and (2) failing to adequately meet with him in preparation for trial. Upon review, we conclude that the petitioner has failed to meet his burden with respect to both claims; therefore, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of relief. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Willie Joe Frazier
In 1980, the Appellant, Willie Joe Frazier, was indicted for multiple counts of armed robbery and related assaults stemming from his participation, along with two other accomplices, in the robbery of a number of employees and customers of a pharmacy in Lewisburg. However, Frazier escaped from jail before his scheduled trial and was not apprehended until 2002. In 2003, Frazier was convicted by a Marshall County jury of two counts of malicious shooting, one count of assault with intent to commit voluntary manslaughter, one count of assault with intent to commit first degree murder, one count of aggravated assault, six counts of armed robbery, and two counts of assault with intent to commit robbery. The jury sentenced Frazier to indeterminate sentences for all the convictions except the six armed robberies, for which the jury fixed sentences of life imprisonment. The trial court grouped the thirteen convictions into three categories for purposes of consecutive sentencing, resulting in six concurrent life sentences consecutive to concurrent sentences of eight to twenty years and consecutive to a ten to twenty-five year sentence. This resulted in an effective sentence of life plus eighteen to forty-five years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Frazier argues: (1) he was sentenced to crimes for which no guilty verdicts were returned by the jury; (2) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions for assault with intent to commit robbery of Ollie Bagley and assault with intent to commit robbery of Goldie Crabtree; (3) the jury's sentencing verdicts reflect two sentences which were not authorized for the crimes for which he was convicted; (4) his convictions for malicious shooting must be set aside because (a) he was never indicted for these crimes, (b) they are not lesser offenses of any indicted offenses, and (c) his dual convictions for malicious shooting and assault with intent to commit voluntary manslaughter of Judy Watson constitute double jeopardy; and (5) the trial court erred by imposing consecutive sentences. After review, we find no error with regard to issues (1) and (5). With regard to issue (2), we conclude that the evidence is insufficient to support his two convictions of assault with intent to commit robbery; therefore, the convictions are modified to reflect convictions for aggravated assault, with the respective sentences fixed at not less than two years nor more than ten years. Issue (3) is rendered moot in view of our holding in issue (2). With regard to issue (4), we conclude that double jeopardy principles preclude dual convictions for assault with intent to commit voluntary manslaughter and malicious shooting. Accordingly, we merge the Appellant's conviction for assault with intent to commit voluntary manslaughter into his conviction for malicious shooting and remand for entry of a single judgment of conviction for malicious shooting. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Samuel Pendergrass v. State of Tennessee
The Appellant, Samuel Pendergrass, appeals the Hamilton County Criminal Court's denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, Pendergrass argues that his guilty pleas to four misdemeanor counts of passing worthless checks and one count of felony theft of property over $1,000 were not knowing and voluntary due to the ineffective assistance of counsel. After review, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Thomas White Jr.
After pleading guilty to various charges, the appellant, Thomas White, Jr., was placed on intensive probation for seven (7) years in 2002. In February of 2003, the appellant was arrested twice for violation of the Motor Vehicle Offencer Act, Tennessee Code Annotated sec. 55-10-616. A probation violation warrant was issued against the appellant. After a bench trial, the appellant was found guilty of both counts of violating Tennessee Code Annotated sec. 55-10-616. As a result, the trial court revoked the appellant's probation and ordered the appellant to serve an effective fourteen (14) year sentence. Because we are unable to discern the trial court's intentions from either the transcript of the hearing or the judgments, we reverse and remand this case for entry of corrected and clarified judgments. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kevin Joseph Karr v. State of Tennessee
Appellant, Kevin Joseph Karr, has appealed from the trial court's order summarily dismissing, without an evidentiary hearing, his petition for writ of habeas corpus. The State has filed a motion for the trial court's judgment to be affirmed pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. We grant the motion and affirm the judgment of the trial court. After the State's motion was filed, Appellant filed a motion for an attorney to be appointed to represent him. In light of our ruling on the State's motion, the defendant's motion is denied by separate order. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Keith Kennedy v. Kevin Myers, Warden
The petitioner, Michael Keith Kennedy, entered pleas of nolo contendere in Chester County and in Henderson County to aggravated burglary, possession of marijuana, and numerous counts of burglary of an automobile, theft, and vandalism. The petitioner received a total effective sentence of fifteen years incarceration in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus. The habeas corpus court summarily denied the petition, and the petitioner appeals the denial. Upon our review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Frankie Sue Dees
The defendant, Frankie Sue Dees, pled guilty to one count of theft over $1,000. The trial court imposed a Range I sentence of two years in the Department of Correction. In this appeal, the defendant asserts that the trial court should have placed her on community corrections or full probation. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Hardin | Court of Criminal Appeals |
