APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The defendant, Jacob Brown, II, appeals the Knox County Criminal Court’s order setting aside an expunction order. As conceded by the State, the trial court lacked jurisdiction to set aside the order, and we vacate the trial court’s judgment

The Marshall County Grand Jury indicted Patrick Dean Armstrong, Defendant, for one count of first degree premeditated murder in the death of the victim, James Dockery. Following a trial, the jury convicted Defendant of the lesser-included offense of aggravated assault resulting in death. The trial court denied alternative sentencing, citing the seriousness of the offense and the need for deterrence, and sentenced Defendant as a Range I standard offender to five years and six months’ incarceration at seventy-five percent release eligibility. Following a review of the record and applicable case law, we affirm the conviction and the length of the sentence. However, we hold that the trial court erred in denying alternative sentencing. Following de novo review, Defendant’s sentence is modified to one year in confinement to be followed by four years and six months’ supervised probation, and the case is remanded to the trial court for the entry of an amended judgment consistent with this opinion.

The Petitioner, Demetree Harris, appeals as of right from the Knox County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, wherein he challenged his two guilty-pleaded convictions for aggravated robbery. See Tenn. Code Ann § 39-14-402. The Petitioner contends that he entered an unknowing and involuntary guilty plea as a result of the ineffective assistance of defense counsel because the Petitioner had not reviewed all of the discovery materials. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Pursuant to a plea agreement, Richard Joseph Durick (“Defendant”) pled guilty to one count each of attempted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor in exchange for an effective sentence of three years, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered Defendant to serve his sentence in confinement. On appeal, Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing a sentence of confinement, arguing that: (1) the trial court committed plain error in considering polygraph results and reports based on polygraph results when sentencing Defendant; (2) the trial court failed to consider Defendant’s presumption of eligibility for probation; (3) the trial court failed to consider all of the factors under Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-103(1)(A)-(C); and (4) the trial court inappropriately considered factors used to determine length of sentence when determining the manner of service of his sentence. Defendant further contends that the trial court erred by denying his subsequently filed motion for a reduction of sentence pursuant to Rule 35 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Jason Keith Woods, Defendant, was charged in a twelve-count indictment by the Bedford County Grand Jury in May of 2017 for multiple felony drug offenses involving the sell and delivery of the controlled substances oxycodone, heroin and morphine. The offenses occurred during three separate controlled transactions with a confidential informant. After a jury trial, Defendant was convicted of four Class B felony drug offenses, two Class C felony drug offenses and two counts of conspiracy to sell and deliver heroin, also a Class C felony offense. He was also convicted of 4 counts of the lesser included offense of simple possession, a Class A misdemeanor offense. The trial court merged five of the convictions and sentenced Defendant to an effective sentence of twenty years as a Range II, multiple offender. After the denial of a timely motion for new trial, Defendant appealed arguing that the evidence was insufficient, the trial court gave an improper jury instruction, and the trial court sentenced him improperly. After a complete review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Joseph Rivera, appeals the partial denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. He argues the he received ineffective assistance of counsel because counsel’s advice to testify at trial was deficient and harmful to his trial strategy. After review, we affirm the denial of the petition.

The Defendant, Kwasi Corbin, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of first degree premeditated murder, attempt to commit first degree murder, a Class A felony, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-202 (2014) (subsequently amended) (first degree murder), 39-12-101 (2018) (criminal attempt), 39-17-1324 (2018) (subsequently amended) (firearm violation). The trial court imposed a life sentence for the first degree murder conviction and sentenced the Defendant to twenty-five years for the attempted first degree murder conviction and to six years for the firearm violation. The court ordered consecutive service, for an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus thirty-one years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and (2) the trial court erred by limiting witness testimony at the trial. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant, Albert O. Dewalt, pleaded guilty over the course of five years to multiple charges: two counts of sale of cocaine weighing more than .5 grams (C07-216); two counts of sale of cocaine weighing more than .5 grams (09-CR-107); one count of felony possession with intent to deliver or sell cocaine weighing more than .5 grams (09-CR-108); and one count of attempted second degree murder (09-CR-274). The trial court imposed an effective sentence of twenty-two years. After multiple unrelated filings, in 2020, the Defendant filed a motion pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, seeking to amend his sentence for attempted second degree murder. The trial court denied the Defendant’s motion on the grounds that he had agreed to his sentence and that the Defendant had not stated a basis for relief. On review, having determined that the Petitioner has failed to state a colorable claim for Rule 36.1 relief, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Defendant, Demarcus J. Love, was indicted by a Rutherford County Grand Jury for six counts of criminal simulation, one count of simple possession of marijuana, one count of possession of drug paraphernalia, and one count of driving on a cancelled, suspended, or revoked license. Defendant filed a motion to suppress in which he argued that the officer did not have probable cause to stop him after he made a U-turn. After a hearing on the motion, the trial court granted Defendant’s motion. The State appeals the ruling of the trial court. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the officer had probable cause to stop Defendant. We reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand the case for further proceedings.

Brodie Bowery, Defendant, admitted that he violated the conditions of his probation, and the trial court fully revoked his probation and ordered him to serve the balance of his sentence in confinement. Finding no abuse of discretion, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Timothy L. Jefferson, appeals as of right from the Trousdale County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus, in which he contended that his conviction for second degree murder was void because the order transferring his case from juvenile court to criminal court was not file-stamped by the criminal court clerk’s office. The Petitioner argues that the petition stated a cognizable claim for habeas corpus relief. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court.

The Defendant, Dale Richard Bible, was convicted by a jury of criminally negligent homicide and child neglect, for which he received consecutive sentences of six and four years, respectively. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-13-212, -15-401. On appeal, the Defendant argues that his dual convictions violate double jeopardy. After our review, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and remand the case for entry of corrected judgments reflecting the merger of the Defendant’s adjudications of guilt into a single conviction for criminally negligent homicide.

The Defendant, Edwin Eaker, was convicted by a Knox County Criminal Court jury of four counts of aggravated burglary, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. § 39-14-403 (2018). The trial court merged two convictions involving an April 13, 2018 home burglary and two convictions involving an April 10, 2018 home burglary, and the court sentenced the Defendant to serve fifteen years for each conviction as a career offender. The court imposed the sentences consecutively, for an effective sentence of thirty years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant, Eddie Maddle, was convicted by a Putnam County jury of possession with the intent to sell or deliver .5 grams or more of methamphetamine, a Class C felony, and was sentenced by the trial court as a Range II multiple offender to fifteen years in the Department of Correction. The Defendant raises the following four issues on appeal: 1) whether the trial court erred by allowing evidence of crimes committed by the Defendant’s wife; 2) whether the State established a reliable chain of custody for the drugs admitted into evidence at trial; 3) whether the Defendant was entitled to a mistrial on the grounds that a Tennessee Department of Correction (“TDOC”) employee entered the courtroom and disrupted his trial; and 4) whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain the conviction. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The defendant, Myron Jacques Fulton, appeals the order of the trial court revoking his probation and ordering him to serve his original ten-year sentence in confinement. Upon review of the record, we conclude the trial court did not abuse its discretion in finding the defendant violated the terms of his probation and the imposed sentence is proper. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Defendant, Edward Parnell Porter, was convicted of aggravated assault, domestic assault, and misdemeanor reckless endangerment. The trial court merged the domestic assault conviction and its sentence of eleven months, twenty-nine days into the aggravated assault conviction. The court imposed a sentence of eight years and six months as a Range II offender for aggravated assault and eleven months, twenty-nine days for reckless endangerment to be served concurrently with each other and consecutively to a “federal sentence and any unexpired sentence.” On appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that his sentence is excessive. Having reviewed the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Marcus Vaughn, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted rape, and he received a five-year sentence on probation. The Petitioner filed a petition for postconviction relief, and the post-conviction court denied his petition on the ground that the statute of limitations barred its consideration of his claims. The Petitioner appeals. After review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

Stephen R. Mayes, Defendant, appeals from the trial court’s denial of his motion to correct an illegal sentence filed pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1. After a review of the record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

After entering guilty pleas to aggravated robbery and facilitation of aggravated robbery, the Petitioner, Brian Cameron Frelix, sought and was denied post-conviction relief. The Petitioner appeals, asserting that he received ineffective assistance from his trial counsel when she did not file a motion to suppress a statement he had made to authorities in Williamson County. He also contends that the State violated his right to counsel because the inmate who was housed with him was a State agent who interrogated him without an attorney. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the Petitioner’s trial counsel did not provide ineffective assistance and that his Sixth Amendment claim has been previously determined. Accordingly, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of relief.

The defendant, Johntel Billings, was indicted for one count of aggravated assault (Count 1), one count of attempted aggravated robbery (Count 2), one count of simple assault (Count 3), and one count of vandalism (Count 4). A Madison County jury convicted the defendant of aggravated assault, simple assault, and vandalism. The trial court imposed a four-year sentence with the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the defendant argues the evidence was insufficient to support her aggravated assault conviction. The defendant also argues the trial court erred in sentencing her to four years of confinement, rather than probation. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Following a jury trial in 1990, Oscar Smith was sentenced to receive the death penalty in each of three first degree murder convictions in the Criminal Court of Davidson County. The Tennessee Supreme Court affirmed the convictions and sentences of death in State v. Smith, 868 S.W.2d 561 (Tenn. 1993). Mr. Smith is scheduled to be executed February 4, 2021. This appeal by Mr. Smith is from the trial court’s summary dismissal of “Oscar Smith’s Omnibus Request for Relief on His Jury Claims,” (hereinafter “Omnibus Request”). After oral arguments and review of the briefs and the appellate record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court in part, and dismiss the appeal in part.

The Defendant, James Edward Knight, pled guilty to aggravated assault, a Class C felony, in exchange for a sentence of nine years with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered that the sentence be served in confinement, which the Defendant now challenges. After review, we affirm the sentencing decision of the trial court.

Following a bench trial, the trial court convicted the Defendant, Tevin Mantez Harris, of first degree premeditated murder and imposed the statutory sentence of life in prison. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that: (1) the trial court erred when it denied his motion to suppress; (2) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction; and (3) the trial court improperly permitted the State to refresh a witness’s memory. After review, we affirm the trial court’s judgment.

A Crockett County jury convicted the defendant, Antonio Reed, of possession with intent to sell or deliver .5 grams or more of methamphetamine and introduction of contraband into a penal facility. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of ten years in confinement. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions and argues the trial court erred in admitting the drugs and lab report without a proper showing of the chain of custody. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Defendant, Terry Lin Johnson, appeals from the trial court’s full revocation of probation in November 2019. Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion when it required Defendant to serve his entire sentence because no substantial evidence of a probation violation was presented at the probation revocation hearing. Defendant also argues that the trial court acted too harshly when it required Defendant to serve his entire sentence. After conducting a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial.