State of Tennessee v. Dearice Cates, Alias

The defendant was convicted by a Knox County jury of three counts of especially aggravated kidnapping and one count each of aggravated robbery, attempted aggravated robbery, assault, and aggravated burglary, and received an effective sentence of twenty-four years. The trial court subsequently granted the defendant’s motion for judgment of acquittal as to the three especially aggravated kidnapping convictions, holding that the defendant could not be convicted of both kidnapping and robbery because the movement or confinement supporting each kidnapping conviction was essentially incidental to the commission of the robbery, decisions which the State appealed. The defendant likewise appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction for aggravated robbery. We affirm the defendant’s conviction for aggravated robbery and the trial court’s dismissal of one count of especially aggravated kidnapping. We reverse the trial court’s dismissal of the remaining two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping and remand for reinstatement of those convictions. In all other respects, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed.