COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OPINIONS

State of Tennessee v. Glenn Fred Glatz
E2019-00431-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge James L. Gass

The defendant, Glenn Fred Glatz, appeals his Sevier County Circuit Court jury convictions of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred by admitting certain testimony into evidence. Because the evidence was insufficient to support the defendant’s conviction of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, that count is reversed, and the charge is dismissed. We affirm the defendant’s conviction of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.

Sevier Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Glenn Fred Glatz - separate opinion
E2019-00431-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge James L. Gass

I join in the majority opinion except that portion of the opinion which examines the issue of evidence admitted in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b). This issue is waived. The State correctly argues it is waived. Defendant acknowledges the issue is waived, but seeks relief in plain error review.

Sevier Court of Criminal Appeals

Edward Lee Hood, Jr. v. State of Tennessee
W2019-00598-CCA-R3-ECN
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Kyle Atkins

The Petitioner, Edward Lee Hood, Jr., appeals the coram nobis court’s dismissal of his petition for writ of error coram nobis in which he challenged his 2009 convictions of two counts of rape of a child and two counts of incest. After a review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the coram nobis court.

Henderson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Morrieo Allen
W2018-01339-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Thomas T. Woodall
Trial Court Judge: Judge Chris Craft

Defendant, Morrieo Allen, was indicted for the offense of first degree felony murder in the perpetration of robbery. At the conclusion of the State’s case-in-chief, Defendant moved for a judgment of acquittal, asserting that the State failed to prove venue in Shelby County and that the evidence was insufficient to support a conviction. The trial court denied Defendant’s motion. A jury found Defendant guilty as charged, and the trial court sentenced Defendant to life in prison. On appeal, Defendant argues that (1) the trial court erred by denying his motion for judgment of acquittal when the proof at trial was insufficient to prove venue in Shelby County; and (2) that there was insufficient evidence to support his conviction. Having reviewed the record on appeal and applicable law, we find no error. The judgment of the trial court is therefore affirmed.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Derrick Wade v. State of Tennessee
W2019-00432-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Kyle Atkins

Pursuant to a plea agreement, the Petitioner, Derrick Wade, received an effective thirty-year sentence for his convictions for two counts of second degree murder, two counts of especially aggravated robbery, and attempted first degree murder. The Petitioner filed a timely post-conviction petition, which was denied after a hearing. On appeal, the Petitioner asserts that he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel and that his pleas were not entered knowingly or voluntarily because he was under duress due to the circumstances of his plea. After a thorough review of the record, we discern no error and affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

Madison Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Garrick Graham
E2018-02162-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge James F. Goodwin, Jr.

The Petitioner, Garrick Graham, filed a pro se motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1. The Sullivan County Criminal Court granted the motion in part and denied the motion in part, and the Petitioner appeals the trial court’s denial. Based upon our view of the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Sullivan Court of Criminal Appeals

Bradley David Townsend v. State of Tennessee
E2018-01052-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Norma McGee Ogle
Trial Court Judge: Judge Jeffery Hill Wicks

The Petitioner, Bradley Townsend, appeals the Roane County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his two convictions of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony, and resulting sentence of eight years. On appeal, he contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to request jury instructions on certain lesser-included offenses. Based upon the oral arguments, the record, and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the Petitioner received the ineffective assistance of counsel with regard to his conviction of aggravated sexual battery in count twenty-one. Therefore, we reverse the judgment of the post-conviction court as to that count and remand the case to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

Roane Court of Criminal Appeals

Jamaal Mayes v. State of Tennessee
E2019-00282-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Timothy L. Easter
Trial Court Judge: Judge Don W. Poole

Petitioner, Jamaal Mayes, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief from his 2003 guilty-pleaded conviction for attempted rape of a child. Petitioner argues that the statute of limitations should be tolled on due process grounds to assert a laterarising claim, namely that he did not become aware that he was subject to community supervision for life until more than ten years after his plea. After a hearing, the postconviction court dismissed the petition as untimely. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Hamilton Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Jeremy Randall C. Ledbetter
M2018-00846-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Steve R. Dozier

The Defendant, Jeremy Randall C. Ledbetter, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of two counts of rape of a child, a Class A felony; two counts of aggravated sexual battery, a Class B felony; two counts of soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor, a Class B felony; and one count of exploitation by displaying sexual acts to a minor, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-522 (2018) (rape of a child), 39-13-504 (2018) (aggravated sexual battery), 39-13-529(a) (soliciting sexual exploitation of a minor) (Supp. 2011, Supp. 2012, Supp. 2013), 39-13-529(b)(1) (displaying sexual acts to a minor). The Defendant is serving an effective eighty-one years for the convictions. On appeal, he contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions, (2) the State’s election of offenses was inadequate, (3) the trial court erred in denying his motion for a severance, (4) the court erred in admitting evidence, and (5) his sentence is excessive. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Timothy T. Millican
M2019-00121-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert L. Holloway, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Robert L. Jones

A Giles County jury convicted Timothy T. Millican, Defendant, of one count of theft of property with a value of at least $10,000 but less than $60,000. The trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range I standard offender to four years at thirty percent release eligibility, which the trial court suspended to five years’ supervised probation following the service of a year in jail. On appeal, Defendant asserts that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction. After a thorough review of the record and applicable case law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Giles Court of Criminal Appeals

Michael Delk v. State of Tennessee
M2019-00842-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert L. Holloway, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Mark J. Fishburn

On September 21, 2015, the Davidson County Grand Jury indicted Petitioner, Michael Delk, for aggravated rape of a child, aggravated sexual battery, sexual exploitation of a minor, and ten counts of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. On May 4, 2017, Petitioner pled guilty to one count of rape of a child and one count of especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the trial court sentenced Petitioner to serve twenty-seven years at one hundred percent for rape of a child and eight years at one hundred percent for especially aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, consecutive to the first count, for a total effective sentence of thirty-five years to serve at one hundred percent. On July 20, 2018, Petitioner filed an untimely pro se Petition for Post-Conviction Relief. After a hearing, the post-conviction court dismissed the petition as time-barred. Following a thorough review of the record and applicable case law, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Willard C. Land
M2018-02121-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert L. Holloway, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Justin C. Angel

In January 2015, the Sequatchie County Grand Jury indicted Defendant, Willard C. Land, for first degree premeditated murder. Following a trial in February 2018, a jury found Defendant guilty of the lesser-included offense of second degree murder, for which Defendant received a sentence of thirty-five years’ incarceration. On appeal, Defendant contends that the trial court erred in admitting evidence of Defendant’s prior threats and acts of violence against the victim and others, and he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his conviction. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

Sequatchie Court of Criminal Appeals

Javonta Marquis Perkins v. State of Tennessee
M2018-02223-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge Angelita Blackshear Dalton

The Petitioner, Javonta Marquis Perkins, appeals the post-conviction court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief in which he argued that juvenile counsel was ineffective for waiving the juvenile transfer hearing and failing to investigate his mental health in connection with the transfer. The Petitioner’s case was transferred to criminal court, and after two trials, he was convicted of aggravated robbery, carjacking, and possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. He received an effective sentence of thirteen years. After a review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Cleotris Ruben
W2019-00507-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Presiding Judge John Everett Williams
Trial Court Judge: Judge James M. Lammey

The Defendant, Cleotris Ruben, entered best interest pleas in two separate cases to one count of Class E felony theft of property and one count of Class A misdemeanor theft of property. Prior to a sentencing hearing, the Defendant filed motions to withdraw his guilty pleas, which the trial court denied. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to an effective sentence of one year in the workhouse and six years of supervised probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in denying his motions to withdraw his pleas because he provided sufficient evidence demonstrating that a “fair and just reason” justifies the withdrawal of his guilty pleas. After a review of the record, we reverse the judgment of the trial court and remand for appointment of new counsel and a new hearing on the Defendant’s motions to withdraw his pleas.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Darin Woods v. State of Tennessee
W2019-00514-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Paula Skahan

The Petitioner, Darin Woods, appeals from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his convictions for attempted second degree murder, aggravated robbery, attempted aggravated robbery, and employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, for which he is serving an effective twenty-seven-year sentence. The Petitioner contends that the trial court erred in denying his petition without holding a meaningful hearing. We reverse the judgment of the postconviction court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Terrell Lamont Reid
W2019-00636-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Kyle Atkins

The Defendant, Terrell Lamont Reid, pursuant to a plea agreement, pleaded guilty to possession of cocaine with intent to sell and to possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and received an effective seventeen-year sentence. He filed a motion pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1 alleging that his sentence was illegal because his firearm offense sentence was enhanced under the criminal gang enhancement statute. The trial court summarily dismissed the motion after determining that the sentence was not illegal. On appeal, he contends that the trial court erred by denying relief because the enhanced sentence for his firearm conviction was unconstitutional and illegal. We reverse the judgment of the trial court.

Madison Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Demetrius D. Blakemore
W2019-00555-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Roy B. Morgan, Jr.

The Defendant-Appellant, Demetrius Blakemore, appeals the order of the Madison County Circuit Court revoking his probation in four cases. On appeal, Blakemore argues that the trial court erred in revoking his probation because his probationary period had expired. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Madison Court of Criminal Appeals

Antwion Dowdy v. State of Tennessee
W2019-00398-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert W. Wedemeyer
Trial Court Judge: Judge John W. Campbell

In 2014, the Petitioner, Antwion Dowdy, was convicted of first degree premeditated murder and four counts of aggravated assault, and the trial court sentenced him to life imprisonment. The Petitioner appealed his convictions to this court, and we affirmed the judgments. State v. Antwion Dowdy, No. W2015-02342-CCA-R3-CD, 2016 WL 7654950 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Feb. 21, 2016), no perm. app. filed. Subsequently, the Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which the postconviction court denied after a hearing. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Vernon Walton v. State of Tennessee
W2019-00379-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert H. Montgomery, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge J. Robert Carter, Jr.

The Petitioner, Vernon Walton, appeals from the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his December 5, 2016 guilty plea conviction of attempted first degree murder, for which he is serving a sixteen-year sentence. He contends that the post-conviction court erred in denying relief based upon his claims of ineffective assistance of counsel and entry of an involuntary guilty plea. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Reginald Parnell
W2019-00247-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge W. Mark Ward

On March 24, 2015, a Shelby County Grand Jury indicted the Defendant-Appellant, Reginald Parnell, for two counts of aggravated assault. On May 21, 2018, the day he was set for trial, the Defendant accepted a plea agreement and entered an Alford plea to each count of aggravated assault in exchange for a concurrent term of three years’ probation. On June 15, 2018, represented by newly retained counsel, the Defendant filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea, which was denied by the trial court following a hearing. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion in denying the Defendant’s motion to withdraw his guilty plea. Upon our review, we affirm.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Gerald McEwen v. State of Tennessee
W2019-00560-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge Camille R. McMullen
Trial Court Judge: Judge Paula L. Skahan

The Petitioner, Gerald McEwen, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his convictions for first degree premeditated murder and attempted first degree murder, for which he received an effective sentence of life without parole. In this appeal, the Petitioner argues that trial counsel was ineffective in failing to adequately cross-examine an eyewitness and in failing to formally move for a mistrial following alleged improper conduct by the prosecutrix. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Shelby Court of Criminal Appeals

Casey Carlos Raines v. State of Tennessee
M2019-00805-CCA-R3-PC
Authoring Judge: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Larry Wallace

The petitioner, Casey Carlos Raines, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief, which petition challenged his 2016 convictions of simple possession of methamphetamine and failure to appear, as time-barred. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Cheatham Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Jonathan A. Wheatley
M2019-00071-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge David D. Wolfe

After a jury trial, the Defendant, Jonathan A. Wheatley, was convicted of two counts of child abuse and neglect. Subsequently, the trial court ordered a new trial, and the Defendant later pled guilty to one count of child abuse and neglect. As a condition of his guilty plea, he sought to reserve the right to appeal three certified questions of law challenging the trial court’s denial of his motion to set aside his two initial convictions. Following our review of the record, we dismiss the appeal because the Defendant failed to properly certify his questions of law in accordance with Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 37(b)(2).

Houston Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Presley William Nave, Jr.
M2018-02085-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge Steve R. Dozier

The Defendant, Presley William Nave, Jr., pled guilty to one count of statutory rape, a Class E felony, and one count of child abuse, a Class D felony, in exchange for a two-year sentence on probation. Following a hearing, the trial court ordered the Defendant to register as a sex offender. The Defendant appeals, arguing (1) that the trial court gave improper weight to the original offenses charged; and (2) that the trial court did not consider factors weighing against placing the Defendant on the sex offender registry. After our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

Davidson Court of Criminal Appeals

State of Tennessee v. Gustavius Smith
M2018-02182-CCA-R3-CD
Authoring Judge: Judge Robert L. Holloway, Jr.
Trial Court Judge: Judge William R. Goodman, III

Gustavius Smith, Defendant, admitted to violating the terms of probation and was allowed to enter a six-month program at a rehabilitation facility. After three additional violation of probation warrants were issued alleging Defendant received new criminal charges, and after Defendant was expelled from two rehabilitation programs, the trial court revoked Defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve the balance of his sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Discerning no error, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

Montgomery Court of Criminal Appeals