State of Tennessee v. Earnest Costosteno Woodley
A Davidson County Criminal Court Jury convicted the Appellant, Earnest Costosteno Woodley, of four counts of attempted first degree premeditated murder, and the trial court sentenced him as a repeat violent offender to four concurrent terms of life without parole. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the trial court erred by admitting evidence in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b), that the trial court erred by allowing irrelevant and highly prejudicial cross-examination of his mental health expert, and that the evidence is insufficient to support the convictions because the State failed to show premeditation and because he established the defense of insanity. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Rico Vales v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Rico Vales, was convicted by a jury of two counts of aggravated assault by display or use of a deadly weapon and one count of being a felon in possession of a handgun. He received an effective sentence of 15 years. Petitioner sought post-conviction relief, claiming that his trial counsel was ineffective. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. Having reviewed the record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
George Washington Matthews v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, George Washington Matthews, appeals from the Lake County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance by: (1) failing to use a peremptory challenge to remove a juror who knew that the Petitioner had been an inmate at the penitentiary; (2) failing to object to testimony that the Petitioner previously had been incarcerated; and (3) failing to advise the Petitioner of the State’s settlement offer of three years. We affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Lake | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jay R. Hassman v. State of Tennessee
In October 2017, the Madison County Circuit Court revoked Jay R. Hassman’s (the Petitioner) probation for relocating to the State of Florida without permission and ordered him to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement. The Petitioner did not appeal the trial court’s revocation of his probation to this court. Instead, he filed a “Motion for New Revocation Hearing” in the trial court, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at the revocation hearing. Jay R. Hassman v. State, No. W2018-00784-CCA-R3-PC, 2019 WL 244585 (Tenn. Crim. App. Jan. 16, 2019). The trial court denied relief on the basis that the motion was untimely as a motion for reduction of sentence under Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 35 and that the motion could not be construed as a petition for post-conviction relief. Id. The Petitioner appealed the denial of his “Motion for New Revocation Hearing” to this court, which was recently denied. Id. Two months after he filed the “Motion for New Revocation Hearing,” on June 4, 2018, the Petitioner filed a petition seeking post-conviction relief, claiming that the State of Tennessee breached the terms of his plea agreement, which was alleged to have been conditioned upon the Petitioner’s ability to “move out of State.” The Petitioner further claimed that due process considerations should toll the untimely filing of the post-conviction petition because “the breach of the plea agreement did not become known to [him] until” his arrest for the probation violation in October 2017. By order on June 8, 2018, the trial court dismissed the post-conviction petition as time-barred and because “the issues raised by the petition could have been raised at the revocation hearing or on appeal.” On July 2, 2018, the Petitioner, acting pro se, filed a “Motion for New Trial,” “disagree[ing]” with the trial court’s June 8 order and findings, and respectfully requesting the trial court to reconsider. On September 12, 2018, by written order, the trial court denied the Petitioner’s “Motion for New Trial.” The Petitioner is now before this court and seeks review from the denial of his “Motion for New Trial.” Because no appeal as of right flows from the Petitioner’s filing, we decline review and dismiss. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Tyler Brooks and Tavares Jackson
A Shelby County Criminal Court Jury convicted the Appellants, Tyler Brooks and Tavares Jackson, of aggravated robbery. Additionally, Appellant Jackson was convicted of vandalism of property valued over $500. The trial court sentenced each Appellant to a total effective sentence of nine years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, both Appellants challenge the sufficiency of the evidence sustaining their aggravated robbery convictions. Appellant Jackson also contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress the victim’s identification of the perpetrators at the scene, by “denying the defense to enter the case notes of the lead detective,” by making prejudicial gestures during trial, and by allowing an officer to give speculative testimony regarding the Appellants’ guilt. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dylan Brewer
Defendant, Dylan Brewer, was convicted of one count of aggravated robbery and was sentenced to eight years. On appeal, Defendant argues that the trial court erred by failing to orally instruct the jury as to the definitions of intentionally and knowingly, that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction for aggravated robbery, and that the trial court erred in excluding Defendant’s written statement after deeming portions of the statement to be self-serving. Upon our review of the record, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to sustain Defendant’s conviction. Additionally, we conclude that any error with regard to the exclusion of Defendant’s statement was harmless because the disputed portion was admitted to clarify an earlier mischaracterization and Defendant testified. However, we conclude that the trial court committed plain error by failing to read to the jury the written instructions defining the terms intentionally and knowingly because the mens rea is an essential element of the offense and was a contested issue at trial. Therefore, we reverse the judgement of the trial court and remand the case for a new trial before a properly instructed jury. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kenneth Spencer v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Kenneth Spencer, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that the post-conviction court erred in finding that he received effective assistance of counsel. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the postconviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Vernon Charles Patton v. State of Tennessee
Vernon Charles Patton, Petitioner, seeks habeas corpus relief from a pending indictment for which he is being held on bail awaiting trial. The habeas corpus court summarily dismissed the petition because the petition failed to comply with the mandatory procedural requirements for filing for habeas corpus relief and failed to state a cognizable claim. We affirm. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Earl Clark, Jr.
A Knox County Criminal Court Jury convicted the Appellant, William Earl Clark, Jr., of aggravated robbery and drug and weapon offenses, and he received an effective eight-year sentence to be served in confinement. On appeal, the Appellant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support the aggravated robbery conviction. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Timothy Junior Parker
Defendant, Timothy Junior Parker, complains on appeal that the trial court improperly ordered him to serve the balance of his consecutive two-year sentences upon finding that Defendant had violated the conditions of probation. Because the trial court did not abuse its discretion, we affirm. |
Humphreys | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Joseph R. Wiggins v. State of Tennessee
In 1983, while incarcerated on other charges, the Petitioner pleaded guilty to the rape of another inmate. The trial court sentenced him to five years, to run concurrently with his existing sentence. In 2002, the Petitioner obtained parole, but his parole was revoked when he failed to register as a sex offender pursuant to the sex offender registry requirements. Sometime before 2010, the Petitioner filed his first petition for habeas corpus relief, alleging that his sentence for rape was illegal because the application of the sex offender registry to his sentence violated ex post facto principles. The petition was denied, and that decision was affirmed by this court on appeal. Joseph R. Wiggins v. State, No. W2010-00091-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL 3075644, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Aug. 6, 2010), no Tenn. R. App. P. 11 application filed. The Petitioner filed this, his second habeas corpus petition in 2010. The habeas corpus court again denied the petition. On appeal, we affirm the habeas corpus court’s judgment. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James Wallace Norton
A Sumner County grand jury indicted the defendant, James Wallace Norton, with ten counts of sexual exploitation of a minor over one hundred images, twenty-three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, and one count of aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor. Following trial, a jury found the defendant guilty of all counts, and the trial court imposed an effective sentence of twenty years. On appeal, the defendant argues the trial court erred in consolidating his two indictments, declining to force the State to make an election regarding which images constituted aggravated sexual exploitation of a minor, admitting testimony regarding the defendant’s internet search history, and admitting the cell phone and contraband images without a proper showing of the chain of custody. He also challenges the sufficiency of the evidence to support his convictions and the applicability of the enhancement factors used in determining his sentence. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jason Perry v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Jason Perry, appeals the ruling of the Knox County Criminal Court granting him relief from a sentence imposed pursuant to Code section 40-35-121(b), the gang enhancement statute previously declared unconstitutional by this court, arguing that the trial court erred by finding that the illegal sentence issue was not a material element of his plea agreement and arguing that he should have been permitted to withdraw his guilty pleas. The record supports the determination of the trial court. For reasons discussed more fully below, however, we affirm that court’s ruling not as a grant of post-conviction relief but as a grant of habeas corpus relief. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
In Re: Cumberland Bail Bonding
The Appellant, Cumberland Bail Bonding, argues that the trial court erred in suspending its bonding privileges due to a violation of Rule 26.05(B) of the Local Rules of the Thirty-First Judicial District, a rule requiring a bonding agent to be present for a defendant’s court appearance. After review, we reverse the judgment of the trial court. |
Van Buren | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Terry Leon Lancaster
Defendant, Terry Leon Lancaster, was indicted on four counts of rape of a child and four counts of aggravated sexual battery for events that took place during the summer of 2015 when the victim, then aged twelve, was staying at Defendant’s home while attending vacation bible school. At trial, the trial court dismissed Counts 1 and 2 of the indictment after a motion for judgment of acquittal. The jury found Defendant guilty of the remaining counts of the indictment, two counts of rape and four counts of aggravated sexual battery. Defendant was sentenced to an effective sentence of thirty years as a multiple offender. Defendant appeals his convictions, arguing that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Stewart | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Angela M. Greene v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Angela Greene, filed a post-conviction petition, seeking relief from her convictions of first degree murder in the perpetration of a theft, aggravated assault, and theft of property valued at $1,000 or more but less than $10,000 and the accompanying life sentence. The Petitioner raised numerous allegations of ineffective assistance of trial counsel, including insufficient trial preparation, failure to request a continuance when cocounsel became ill, failure to raise objections during trial, failure to ask the Petitioner on direct examination whether she killed the victim, and a conflict of interest due to his prior representation of a State’s witness. Following the post-conviction court’s denial of relief, the Petitioner appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
McMinn | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darius Alexander Cox
Defendant, Darius Alexander Cox, was convicted after a jury trial of two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, two counts of aggravated robbery, and two counts of employing a firearm during a dangerous felony. After a sentencing hearing, Defendant received a total effective sentence of forty years. After the denial of his motion for new trial, Defendant appeals and argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions, that the trial court erroneously admitted evidence of other crimes under Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b), that the prosecutor made improper comments during closing argument, and that the trial court erred by imposing consecutive sentences. After a thorough review, we conclude that the trial court committed reversible error by admitting evidence of Defendant’s other crimes because the evidence was not relevant to a material issue other than Defendant’s character. Accordingly, we reverse the judgments of the trial court and remand for a new trial. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Anthony Eugene Barnett
The defendant, Anthony Eugene Barnett, appeals his Lawrence County Circuit Court jury convictions of possession with intent to sell alprazolam, possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony, simple possession of marijuana, and speeding, challenging the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the trial court’s ruling admitting certain evidence. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Lawrence | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Almonda Duckworth v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Almonda Duckworth, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel and his guilty pleas were unknowing and involuntary. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Stephen Richard Mayes
The Defendant, Stephen Richard Mayes, pleaded guilty to aggravated kidnapping, and the trial court entered the agreed out-of-range sentence of fifteen years of incarceration, to be served as a Range II offender. The Defendant filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Rule 36.1 of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure, alleging that he was mentally incompetent at the time of sentencing, that he negotiated to be sentenced as a Range I offender and not a Range II offender, and that his sentence was illegal as it was out-of-range. The trial court summarily dismissed the motion, finding that he had not presented a colorable claim for relief because he had negotiated and agreed to an out-of-range sentence, which had not yet expired. On appeal, the Defendant maintains that his sentence is illegal. After review, we affirm the criminal court’s judgment.
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Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Larry Joe Carroll, AKA Larrie Carroll
Following a bench trial, Larry Joe Carroll (“Defendant”) was convicted of criminal trespass, criminal simulation valued at $1,000 or less, and criminal impersonation, for which he received an effective sentence of two years to serve in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence as it relates to his convictions for criminal simulation valued at $1,000 or less and criminal impersonation. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joe T. Brooks
The Defendant, Joe T. Brooks, appeals as of right, from the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s revocation of his probationary sentence and order of nine months’ incarceration for his conviction of reckless endangerment. The Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by ordering him to serve nine months of confinement before being returned to supervised probation. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ronnell Barclay
Defendant, Ronnell Barclay, was convicted after a jury trial of one count of rape of a child, one count of aggravated sexual battery, and six counts of exploitation of a minor. After a sentencing hearing, Defendant was sentenced to a total effective sentence of |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Alejandro Vasquez v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Alejandro Vasquez, appeals the dismissal of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that due process considerations should toll the running of the statute of limitations because he is a native Spanish speaker and cannot speak English. Following our review, we affirm the dismissal of the petition as time-barred. |
Lake | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Antwan McElmurry
The Defendant, Robert Antwan McElmurry, was convicted by a Dyer County Circuit Court jury of aggravated statutory rape, a Class D felony, and was sentenced to eight years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his conviction. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals |
