APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The Defendant, James Bennett, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of theft of property over $10,000, a Class C felony, and was sentenced to seven years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of his prior bad acts, and that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Kenneth Cole, appeals from the Tipton County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his guilty plea conviction for violation of the sex offender registry and his six-year, Range III sentence. He contends that the post-conviction court erred in denying his claim that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel in the conviction proceedings. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The petitioner, Danny Jay Branam, Jr., appeals the denial of his post-conviction petition, arguing the post-conviction court erred in finding he received the effective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition.

The Appellant, Shannon Daniels, appeals the Campbell County Criminal Court’s revocation of her probation and ordering that she serve the balance of her effective ten-year sentence in confinement. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Following the denial of his motion to suppress, the Defendant, David Rivera, entered a guilty plea to driving under the influence of an intoxicant (DUI), fourth offense, but properly reserved, in accordance with Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2)(A), a certified question of law regarding the legality of his traffic stop. Because the Defendant’s traffic stop was supported by probable cause, or at a minimum, reasonable suspicion, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Knox County jury convicted the defendant, Tony Lynn Nix, of aggravated robbery, and the trial court imposed a sentence of nine years in confinement. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his conviction and requests plain error review of improper statements by the prosecutor. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The petitioner, Kane Stackhouse, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, which petition challenged his 2008 Knox County Criminal Court jury convictions of first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. In this appeal, the petitioner claims, as he did below, that he is entitled to post-conviction relief because he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel at trial and on appeal. Discerning no error, we affirm. 

The defendant, Darius Patterson, appeals his Knox County Criminal Court jury convictions of especially aggravated kidnapping, possession with intent to sell or deliver .5 grams or more but less than 15 grams of heroin, possession with intent to sell or deliver 26 grams or more of cocaine, simple possession of marijuana, evading arrest, unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and two counts of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony after having been previously convicted of a felony, challenging the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the sentencing decision of the trial court. We discern no error in the proceedings below, and, as a result, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant, Catherine Ann Pinhal, was convicted upon her 2019 guilty pleas of vehicular homicide by reckless conduct, a Class C felony, and two counts of possession of contraband in a penal facility, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-213 (2019) (vehicular homicide); 39-16-201 (2019) (possession of contraband). The length and manner of service of her sentence were reserved for the trial court’s determination. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed six years for the vehicular homicide conviction and four years for each possession of contraband in a penal facility conviction. The court, likewise imposed partial consecutive service, for an effective ten-year sentence in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred by denying her request for alternative sentencing and by imposing consecutive service. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Davidson County Grand Jury indicted Petitioner, Jarrett A. Jones, on one count of sexual exploitation of a minor (over 100 images) and thirty-four counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, all Class B felonies. Petitioner pled guilty as a Range I offender to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor (over 100 images) and two counts of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. All other counts were dismissed based upon his guilty plea. The trial court sentenced Petitioner, pursuant to the plea agreement, to eight years at 100% on each count and ordered the sentences to run consecutively, for a total effective sentence of twenty-four years’ incarceration. Petitioner timely filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief, and the post-conviction court appointed counsel, who filed an amended petition. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief in a written order. On appeal, Petitioner argues that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was not entered into knowingly, voluntarily, and intelligently. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Defendant, Lonnie Duane Orr, appeals from the trial court’s community corrections revocation for his eight-year, Range III sentence for his conviction of burglary. He contends that the court erred in revoking his community corrections sentence and ordering him to serve his sentence in the Department of Correction. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Monqueze L. Summers, Defendant, appeals from the trial court’s denial of his motion filed pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1 in which he argued that his life sentence was illegal. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Defendant, Timothy Terell Mays, was convicted on his guilty pleas to two counts of sale of cocaine, a Class C felony, and two counts of delivery of cocaine, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. § 39-17-417(a)(2), (3), (c)(2)(A) (2018). The delivery offenses were merged with the sale offenses. Pursuant to the plea agreement, he received six-year sentences, to be served concurrently to each other and consecutively to a previous sentence, and he reserved a certified question of law regarding mandatory joinder of the present offenses with the offenses from a previous prosecution in which his guilt had already been adjudicated. We affirm the judgments of the trial court, and we remand the case for correction of a clerical error.

The Defendant, George Anthony Vasser, was convicted by a Gibson County Circuit Court jury of selling or delivering cocaine, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. § 39-17-417 (2018). He received a sentence of eight years’ confinement. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence does not support the Defendant’s conviction for selling or delivering, (2) the evidence only supports a conviction for the lesser included offense of casual exchange of drugs, and (3) the trial court erred by failing to enter a judgment of acquittal. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Joseph A. Colwell, Sr., appeals the Maury County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, seeking relief from his two convictions of rape and two convictions of incest and resulting effective twenty-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to object to evidence of prior sexual abuse pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b), failed to file a motion to question one of the victims about her prior sexual behavior pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Evidence 412, and failed to present evidence from electronic devices that would have been helpful to his case. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Defendant, Buford Cornell Williams, was convicted of selling .5 grams or more of a substance containing cocaine. Defendant appealed, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence. This court affirmed the judgment of the trial court. State v. Buford Williams, No. M2017-00507-CCA-R3-CD, 2017 WL 6028876, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Dec. 5, 2017), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Feb. 12, 2018). Defendant subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel for failing to file a timely motion for new trial. The post-conviction court granted relief for the purpose of filing a motion for new trial which would permit an appeal if the motion was denied. Defendant filed a motion for new trial which was denied by the trial court. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred when it denied his motion to dismiss based on the State’s failure to preserve evidence or exclude evidence from the trial. Having reviewed the record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Knox County Criminal Court Jury convicted the Appellant, James Ruba Hill, Jr., of burglary, theft, and evading arrest. The trial court sentenced the Appellant as a career offender to a total effective sentence of twelve years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his burglary conviction and that the theft conviction should be merged into the burglary conviction. Upon review, we conclude the evidence is sufficient to sustain his burglary conviction and remand to the trial court for the theft conviction to be merged into the burglary conviction.

Defendant, Jesus Alfonso Castillo, was indicted by a Rutherford County Grand Jury along with four co-defendants for conspiracy to sell over 300 grams of methamphetamine in a drug free zone. Defendant was also indicted for delivery of over 300 grams of methamphetamine in a drug free zone and possession of over 300 grams of methamphetamine in a drug free zone. The second and third counts and the drug free zone enhancement were dismissed prior to trial. A jury convicted Defendant on the conspiracy count. The trial court imposed a fifteen-year sentence to be served in confinement. Defendant filed a motion for new trial that was denied by the trial court. Defendant timely appeals whether the trial court had territorial jurisdiction and whether venue was proper. Defendant further argues the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction. After a review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, James Rodney Smith, appeals the Houston County Circuit Court’s order summarily dismissing his petition for
post-conviction relief as untimely. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that due process requires the tolling of the one-year limitations period. After reviewing the record, we conclude that while the petition was untimely, the Petitioner has alleged facts that would toll the limitations period. As such, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court and remand the case for an evidentiary hearing to determine whether the Petitioner is entitled a late-filed petition for post-conviction relief.

The Defendant, Jose Gonzalez Bonilla, was convicted by a jury of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery, and he received an effective sentence of thirty-five years in confinement. The Defendant appeals, asserting that the evidence was insufficient to support the verdict, that the trial court erred in denying his motion to sever, that the trial court erred in permitting the testimony of a forensic social worker, that he is entitled to relief from the convictions under the theory of cumulative error, and that the trial court erred in sentencing him. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the Defendant is not entitled to appellate relief, and we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

The defendant, Michael William Shavers, appeals the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s order revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the balance of the 10-year effective sentence for his guilty-pleaded convictions of attempted second degree murder in confinement. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The Petitioner, Allen Hill, appeals from the Knox County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2018 conviction for possession with the intent to sell 0.5 gram or more of cocaine, for which he is serving a twenty-year sentence as a Range II offender. The Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel, rendering his guilty plea involuntary. We affirm the judgment of the postconviction court.

The Defendant, Maliq Asadi Muhammad, appeals from the Blount County Circuit Court’s revocation of probation for his Range I,
eight-year sentence for possession with the intent to sell 0.5 gram or more of cocaine, a Class B felony. See T.C.A. § 39-17-417 (2018). The Defendant contends that the trial court erred in revoking his probation and ordering him to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Defendant, Novodny Young, appeals after the trial court revoked his probation and ordered him to serve his effective eight-year sentence in incarceration. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Petitioner, Quinton A. Cage, appeals the denial of his petition for habeas corpus relief in which he argues that he was deprived of a fair trial. Because we determine that Petitioner has failed to file a timely notice of appeal or provide a reason as to why the timely filing of the notice of appeal should be waived, the appeal is dismissed.