State of Tennessee v. Dusty Mink

Defendant, Dusty Mink, was indicted by the Knox County Grand Jury for aggravated assault, assault, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, and evading arrest. The trial court granted Defendant’s motion to sever the offenses, and the count charging unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon was tried separately.1 A jury convicted Defendant of unlawful possession of a weapon, and the trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range III persistent offender to twenty-five years in confinement. On appeal, Defendant raises seven issues: 1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction for unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon; 2) whether the trial court erred by denying Defendant’s two motions for continuance based on the unavailability of expert witnesses; 3) whether the trial court erred by excluding a defense expert absent proof of Defendant’s drug use; 4) whether the trial court should have given the jury a Ferguson instruction; 5) whether the State’s closing argument was improper; 6) whether the cumulative effect of the trial court’s errors entitles Defendant to relief; and 7) whether the trial court erred in classifying Defendant as a Range III offender. Finding no error, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.