APPELLATE COURT OPINIONS

The Petitioner, Jermarlon Sanders, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his conviction of aggravated robbery, for which he received an eight-year term of imprisonment. In his appeal, the Petitioner argues that his guilty plea was unknowingly and involuntarily entered based on the ineffective assistance of trial counsel. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

The Tennessee Supreme Court has remanded this case for reconsideration in light of Howard v. State, 604 S.W.3d 53 (Tenn. 2020). See Ugenio Dejesus Ruby-Ruiz v. State, No. M2019-00062-CCA-R3-PC, 2019 WL 4866766 (Tenn. Crim. App. Oct. 2, 2019) (“Ruby-Ruiz I”), case remanded (Tenn. Aug. 7, 2020). Upon further review, we conclude that the supreme court’s holding in Howard does not apply to the untimely filing of an application for permission to appeal to the supreme court. Consistent with the holding of the majority in our previous opinion in this case, we reverse the judgment of the postconviction court and remand the case for the entry of an order granting the Petitioner a delayed appeal for the limited purpose of filing an application for permission to appeal to our supreme court. The Petitioner’s remaining allegations shall be held in abeyance in the post-conviction court until the resolution of the delayed appeal.

Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Defendant, Mark Alan Kirby, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, a Class C felony. The agreement provided that Defendant’s sentence was three years as a Range I standard offender. The manner of service of the sentence was reserved for determination by the trial court following a sentencing hearing. The trial court ordered the entire sentence to be served in confinement. Defendant has appealed, asserting the trial court should have granted full probation. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Madison County jury convicted the defendant, Gregory Goff, of especially aggravated robbery and aggravated assault for which he received an effective thirty-five-year sentence. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions and the trial court’s jury instruction regarding self-defense. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

I respectfully dissent from the majority’s opinion granting the delayed appeal based upon the reasoning set forth in my dissenting opinion in this appeal filed on October 2, 2019. I strongly disagree that the Tennessee Supreme Court performed a mere perfunctory or administrative review of the Petitioner’s motion to late-file an application for permission to appeal to which the Petitioner attached his application before denying the Petitioner’s motion. Rather, I conclude that the Tennessee Supreme Court has already reviewed the substantive underlying issues of the appeal in determining not to accept the late-filed appeal in the interest of justice. Accordingly, I would affirm the post-conviction court’s decision to deny the Petitioner delayed appeal, and I would deny a stay of the resolution of the remaining issues raised by the Petitioner.

The petitioner, Christopher N. Hernandez, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, which petition challenged his convictions of rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, and solicitation of a minor, alleging that he was deprived of the effective assistance of counsel. Discerning no error, we affirm the denial of post-conviction relief.

A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Tarvis Weatherly, of aggravated sexual battery for which he received a thirty-year sentence. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction which we affirm after a thorough review of the record.

Defendant, Joseph Christopher Hendry II, was indicted for one count of felony first degree murder, one count of premeditated first degree murder, one count of criminal attempt to commit first degree murder, and four counts of aggravated assault.  Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Defendant pleaded guilty to second degree murder and received a sentence of 25 years to be served at 100 percent.  Defendant filed a motion seeking to reduce his sentence pursuant to Rule 35 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure.  Following a hearing, the trial court denied Defendant’s motion.  Defendant appeals.  Following our review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. 

The Petitioner, Delarris Jones A/K/A Cedric Jones, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, asserting that he received ineffective assistance of trial counsel. After review, we affirm the denial of the petition.

A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Juvonta Carpenter, of two counts of first- degree murder, two counts of first-degree felony murder, and one count of aggravated robbery. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus nine years. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions. The defendant also contends the trial court erred in admitting partially redacted police statements and in imposing a partial consecutive sentence. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Petitioner, Nicholas Griffin, appeals the denial of his post-conviction petition. The post-conviction proceeding attacked his conviction of second degree murder with a Range II sentence of 26 years pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement. Petitioner argues that his guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered. Petitioner asserts he was denied effective assistance of counsel when his trial counsel failed to adequately prepare for trial and failed to file a motion to suppress the recordings of his jail calls with his mother. Petitioner further argues that trial counsel and his mother pressured him into accepting the guilty plea. Following a review of the briefs of the parties and the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Following the trial court’s denial of interlocutory appeals pursuant to Rule 9 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, the State sought extraordinary appeals pursuant to Rule 10 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure in the above cases, which this court granted and consolidated. On appeal, the State contends that the trial court abused its discretion in disqualifying the District Attorney General’s Office for the Twenty-Fourth Judicial District after finding that Derek T. Grooms and Allen Hatley were defendants in cases prosecuted by this district attorney’s office but were also victims in other cases prosecuted by this office. After review, we reverse the orders of the trial court and remand for further proceedings in accordance with this opinion.

Napoleon Emmanuale Person, Defendant, appeals from the trial court’s judgment revoking his probation and placing his original sentences into effect. Discerning no error, we affirm.

The Defendant-Appellant, Yolanda Tucker, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated assault,1 a Class C felony, in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-102, in Shelby County Criminal Court. Following the Defendant’s testimony at her guilty plea hearing, the trial court denied her request for judicial diversion and imposed a sentence of three years to be served on supervised probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the trial court committed plain error in denying her statutory right to allocution and requiring her to testify under oath in order to request judicial diversion, and that (2) the trial court erred in failing to adequately explain its reasoning for denying the Defendant’s application for judicial diversion. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

The Petitioner, Zakkawanda Zawumba Moss, appeals the Lincoln County Circuit Court’s denial of his post-conviction petition, seeking relief from his six convictions of first degree premediated murder and six consecutive life sentences. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that we should remand the case to the post-conviction court in order to provide the Petitioner an opportunity to present additional proof in support of his petition. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we disagree with the Petitioner and affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition.

The Petitioner, Susan Jo Walls, appeals the Bedford County Circuit Court’s denial of her post-conviction petition, seeking relief from her convictions of first degree premeditated murder and conspiracy to commit first degree murder and resulting effective life sentence.  On appeal, the Petitioner contends that she received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel.  Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Patrick Phillips, of rape of a child and aggravated sexual battery. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of twenty-seven years in confinement. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions and argues the trial court erred in denying his motion for new trial based on the State’s failure to answer the defendant’s motion for a bill of particulars. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Defendant, Devin Rogers, appeals from his Shelby County Criminal Court convictions for aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary, for which he received an effective elevenyear sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions, arguing that his co-defendant’s testimony was “wildly contradictory” to that of the victim. Following our review, we affirm.

Defendant, Jashun Yance Robertson, appeals the Fayette County Circuit Court’s denial of his request for judicial diversion pursuant to Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-313. Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by relying on Defendant’s prior delinquent acts to deny diversion, when there was no proof regarding these acts in the record, and by failing to consider the “judicially recognized differences between juveniles and adults” in reaching its decision. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

The Appellant, Earl Jerome Lee, Jr., appeals as of right from the Madison County Circuit Court’s summary denial of his Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1 motion to correct an illegal sentence. He contends that he is entitled to relief because his conviction for attempted felony escape was erroneously ordered to be served concurrently with his other sentences. Although we disagree with the trial court’s conclusion that this issue had been previously litigated, we nevertheless conclude that the Appellant fails to state a colorable claim for relief. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

A Shelby County jury convicted Petitioner, Antonio Wicks, of second degree murder in the death of the victim, Donald Miller, and the trial court sentenced Petitioner to 25 years’ incarceration as a Range I violent offender. This court affirmed Petitioner’s conviction on direct appeal. See State v. Antonio Wicks, No. W2011-00964-CCA-R3-CD, 2012 WL 1424717, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Apr. 23, 2012), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Aug. 16, 2012). Petitioner filed a pro se post-conviction petition and four amended petitions following the appointment of counsel. Following a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. Petitioner now appeals, claiming that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to (1) move for a mistrial due to only having eleven jurors; (2) file a motion to dismiss the indictment pursuant to State v. Ferguson, 2 S.W.3d 912, 915-16 (Tenn. 1999); (3) cross-examine the State’s witness regarding the loss or destruction of potentially exculpatory evidence; (4) object to improper prosecutorial argument; and (5) raise in the motion for new trial and on direct appeal the failure to cross-examine a witness and improper prosecutorial argument. After a thorough review of the record and applicable case law, the judgment of the postconviction court is affirmed.

The defendant, Justin W. Walkington, appeals his Giles County Circuit Court jury conviction of child abuse of a child under the age of eight, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that child abuse was a lesser included offense of aggravated sexual battery, that the trial court’s child abuse instruction actually charged the elements of child neglect, and that the trial court erred by denying the defendant any form of alternative sentencing. We hold that the trial court erred by instructing the jury that child abuse was a lesser included offense in this case because the evidence was legally insufficient to support that charge. Additionally, the trial court’s instruction on the offense of child abuse erroneously included the elements of child neglect, which charge was also unsupported by the evidence. Because the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction of either child abuse or child neglect but was sufficient to support a conviction of simple assault by offensive touching, we reverse and vacate the defendant’s conviction of child abuse and remand the case to the trial court for a sentencing hearing on the offense of Class B misdemeanor assault and the entry of an amended judgment reflecting the new conviction offense and sentence.

Raymond Watison, Petitioner, filed a Petition for Writ of Error Coram Nobis (“the Petition”), claiming newly discovered evidence. The State moved to dismiss the Petition. The trial court found that the Petition failed to state a colorable claim and that it was not timely filed and summarily dismissed the Petition. We affirm.

The Defendant, Deterrio Harrison, appeals his conviction for aggravated robbery, for which he received a twelve-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. Upon reviewing the record, the parties’ briefs, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.