State of Tennessee v. Kenneth L. Anderson
Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Kenneth L. Anderson, was convicted of one count of selling less than .5 grams of cocaine, a Class C felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-417 (2010). The trial court sentenced the Defendant to twelve years as a Range III, persistent offender. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends (1) that his right to confront one of the State’s witnesses was violated; (2) that his right to present witnesses in his defense was violated; (3) that one of the State’s witnesses, Penny Webber, was not competent to testify at trial; (4) that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress a recorded phone conversation between himself and Ms. Webber and video recordings of the drug buy; (5) that he was denied his right of access to the courts; (6) that the jury venire did not represent a fair cross-section of the community; (7) that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction; (8) that he was entitled to a new trial on the basis of newly discovered evidence; and (9) that his sentence was excessive. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Marco Blanch
In 2011, the Shelby County Grand Jury indicted Appellant, Marco Blanch, for aggravated rape based upon bodily injury sustained by the victim. A jury convicted Appellant of the lesser included offense of rape. Appellant was sentenced as a Range I, violent offender to an eleven-year sentence at 100 percent. On appeal, Appellant argues that the evidence presented by the State at trial was insufficient to support his conviction because the victim consented to sexual activity. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court and conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support Appellant’s conviction. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darrell Johnson
The defendant, Darrell Johnson, appeals his Shelby County Criminal Court jury convictions of facilitation of attempted aggravated robbery and facilitation of aggravated burglary, challenging the sufficiency of the convicting evidence and the length of his sentences. We affirm the convictions and sentences. On remand, however, we direct the trial court to correct the judgments to properly effectuate merger of the alternative counts of aggravated burglary. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Clarence D. Schreane v. State of Tennessee
In this consolidated appeal, the pro se appellant, Clarence D. Schreane, appeals as of right from the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s orders denying relief from his 2004 convictions of first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. Prior to this court’s consolidation of the case, the State filed motions to dismiss the appeals or, alternatively, to affirm the trial court’s denials of relief pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. In light of the complexities of the issues raised in this appeal, we conclude that the State’s motions should be treated as responsive briefs. Following our review, we affirm the orders of the Hamilton County Criminal Court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Johnie Jefferson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Johnie Jefferson, appeals the trial court’s dismissal of his petition for writ of error coram nobis. He argues that he is entitled to coram nobis relief because the State suppressed exculpatory evidence that became known to him after the limitations period had expired. After review, we affirm the dismissal of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Andre L. McKinney
Defendant, Andre L. McKinney, pled guilty to criminal simulation, a Class E felony, and received a negotiated sentence of two years. On the same day, he pled guilty to possession with intent to sell over 0.5 grams of cocaine and received a negotiated sentence of eight years, consecutive to the sentence of two years. Ultimately, the effective ten-year sentence was suspended, and he was placed on supervised probation. Following the filing of a probation violation warrant, the trial court conducted a hearing where Defendant and his probation officer testified. Defendant admitted that he had used marijuana multiple times while on probation, that he had been charged with and pled guilty to misdemeanor possession of marijuana while on probation, and that he knew he was supposed to report any new charges to his probation officer but failed to do so. The trial court revoked Defendant’s probation and ordered the ten-year sentence to be served by incarceration. Defendant asserts in his appeal that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking probation. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Dyer | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ray Junior Turner v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Ray Junior Turner, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to deliver 300 grams or more of cocaine and one count of delivery of 300 grams or more of cocaine. Each of the offenses is a Class A felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-17-417(j). The trial court sentenced petitioner to sixty years for each conviction as a career offender to be served concurrently. He unsuccessfully appealed his convictions and sentences. See State v. Kenneth Miller and Ray Junior Turner, No. M2008-02267-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL 1644969, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Apr. 22, 2010). Petitioner filed the current petition for post-conviction relief in which he alleged that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. On appeal, petitioner argues that he received ineffective assistance of counsel when trial counsel: (1) failed to properly investigate petitioner’s case and communicate with petitioner; (2) failed to file a motion to suppress wiretap evidence; and (3) failed to properly inspect all discoverable evidence introduced at trial. Following our review of the parties’ arguments, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Christa Gail Pike v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Christa Gail Pike, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from her conviction for attempted first degree premeditated murder of a fellow inmate. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that she received ineffective assistance of counsel. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. William Franklin Robinette
A Greene County Criminal Court Jury convicted the appellant, William Franklin Robinette, of two counts of soliciting first degree premeditated murder. For each conviction, the trial court sentenced the appellant to twenty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, with the sentences to be served consecutively to each other and to a previously imposed sentence for a total effective sentence of fifty years. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting his convictions, the admission of a recording and transcript of the solicitation, the trial court’s failure to dismiss count two because of a violation of the Confrontation Clause, and the sentence imposed by the trial court. Upon review, we affirm the appellant’s convictions. However, the record reflects that no presentence report was prepared prior to the appellant’s sentencing hearing. Therefore, the case must be remanded for a new sentencing hearing. |
Greene | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jeffery Demond Miree v. State of Tennessee
The pro se petitioner, Jeffery Demond Miree, appeals as of right from the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s order denying his petition for writ of error coram nobis. The State has filed a motion to affirm the trial court’s order pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals. Following our review, we conclude that the State’s motion is well-taken and affirm the order of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Wayne Garner
The appellant, Robert Wayne Garner, appeals his jury convictions for first degree murder in perpetration of a felony, a Class A felony, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-202(a)(1); aggravated arson, a Class A felony, see Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-302; and theft of property valued over ten thousand dollars, a Class C felony, Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-14-103. The appellant received the mandatory minimum sentence for first degree felony murder of life in prison. The trial court additionally sentenced the defendant to serve twenty-five years for his conviction of aggravated arson and three years for his conviction of theft. The latter sentences were ordered to be served concurrently, but consecutively to the life sentence for felony murder, for a total effective sentence of life plus twenty-five years. On appeal Garner alleges insufficiency of the evidence; trial court error allowing hearsay testimony; trial court error not allowing impeachment of a witness with a prior conviction; and trial court error in allowing the hearsay of a phone call. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Giles | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Perry Neal Barham
Appellant, Perry Neal Barham, was indicted by the Chester County Grand Jury for one count of rape of a child and one count of aggravated sexual battery. The State subsequently dropped the rape charge. Appellant was convicted by a jury of aggravated sexual battery and sentenced by the trial court as a Range II offender to twenty years with a 100 percent release eligibility. On appeal, Appellant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to allow the presentation of evidence of the victim’s prior sexual history under Rule 412 of the Tennessee Rules of Evidence, that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, and that the trial court erred in sentencing him to the maximum sentence in the range. We have reviewed the record on appeal and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Chester | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kelvin Collins v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Kelvin Collins, petitioned the Shelby County Criminal Court for postconviction relief from his 2011 guilty-pleaded convictions of facilitation to commit robbery and aggravated robbery, arising out of two separate incidents. The convictions resulted in a total effective sentence of eight years to serve in the Department of Correction. Following an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief, and following our review, we affirm the order of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dexter Cox
A Shelby County grand jury indicted Appellant, Dexter Cox, for first degree premeditated murder in September of 2008. After a jury trial, Appellant was found guilty of first degree murder, for which the trial court sentenced Appellant to life without the possibility of parole. The sentence was ordered to be served consecutively to a previously imposed life sentence. Appellant challenges his conviction, claiming that his confession was the product of an illegal arrest and was involuntary. Following our review, we affirm the judgmens of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Joe N. Hill v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Joe N. Hill, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief from his McNairy County Circuit Court guilty-pleaded conviction of incest, for which he received a sentence of three years’ probation. In this appeal, the petitioner contends that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel and that his guilty plea was not knowingly and voluntarily entered. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
McNairy | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jerome Johnson
The Defendant-Appellant, Jerome Johnson, was indicted by a Shelby County Grand Jury for attempted second degree murder in count 1, aggravated assault in count 2, and solicitation to commit the offense of filing a false police report in count 3. Following a jury trial, Johnson was convicted in count 1 of the lesser included offense of reckless endangerment, a Class A misdemeanor; in count 2 of the charged offense of aggravated assault, a Class C felony; and in count 3 of the charged offense of solicitation to commit the offense of filing a false police report, a Class A misdemeanor. The trial court sentenced Johnson as a Range III, persistent offender to fifteen years’ imprisonment for the aggravated assault conviction and eleven months and twenty-nine days’ imprisonment for the reckless endangerment and solicitation to commit the offense of filing a false police report convictions. The court ordered that the sentences for the reckless endangerment and aggravated assault convictions be served concurrently and ordered that the sentence for the solicitation conviction be served consecutively to the other two sentences for an effective sentence of fifteen years plus eleven months and twenty-nine days. On appeal, Johnson argues that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Donald Smith v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Donald Smith, contends that his guilty plea was not knowingly and intelligently entered because he was not coherent at the hearing due to mental incapacities and that trial counsel was deficient for failing to request a mental evaluation. After considering the record and the relevant authorities, we affirm the judgment of the postconviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael W. Smith v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Michael W. Smith, appeals the habeas corpus court’s dismissal of his pro se petition for habeas corpus relief. On direct appeal from his convictions for assault and aggravated burglary in Shelby County, this Court determined that the trial court constructively amended the indictments during the jury charge causing reversible error. See State v. Michael Smith, No. W2011-01630-CCA-R3-CD, 2013 WL 3702369 at *7-8 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, July 12, 2013). As a result, Petitioner’s convictions were reversed and remanded for a new trial. Id. at 1. Because the habeas corpus petition in this case seeks a new trial, the judgment of this Court on direct appeal granting a new trial renders the instant appeal moot. Accordingly, Petitioner’s appeal is dismissed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Charles Williams v. State of Tennessee
On August 4, 2008, a Shelby County jury convicted Petitioner, Charles Williams, of first degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. State v. Charles Williams, No. W2008-02211-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL1930965, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, May 13, 2010), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Apr. 12, 2011). Petitioner was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to consecutive sentences of life and fifteen years. In 2011, Petitioner filed a timely pro se petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. The post-conviction court denied Petitioner relief. On appeal, |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Christopher A. Williams v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Christopher A. Williams, appeals the summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus that challenged his 1997 Shelby County Criminal Court jury conviction of felony murder. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Hardeman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tony Wolfe v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Tony Wolfe, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court Jury of first degree premeditated murder and was sentenced to life imprisonment. Thereafter, he filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective. The postconviction court denied the petition, and the petitioner appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Lewis Young v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Lewis Young, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief, arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at trial. Following our review, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ray A. Tullos
A Bledsoe County Circuit Court Jury convicted the appellant, Ray A. Tullos, of attempted second degree murder. The trial court sentenced the appellant to eleven years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the appellant challenges the trial court’s evidentiary rulings, the sufficiency of the evidence sustaining his conviction, and the sentence imposed. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Bledsoe | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Russell Dean Long and Jessica Renee Adkins
A Washington County jury convicted Russell Dean Long of first degree felony murder committed during the perpetration of aggravated child abuse and first degree felony murder committed during the perpetration of aggravated child neglect. The jury convicted Jessica Renee Adkins of first degree felony murder committed during the perpetration of aggravated child neglect. The trial court merged Defendant Long’s convictions and sentenced both of the defendants to serve life in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Defendant Long asserts that: (1) there is insufficient evidence to support his convictions; (2) the trial court allowed the introduction of inadmissible hearsay evidence through the videotaped conversation between the defendants; and (3) the trial court erred by failing to exclude an autopsy photograph of the victim. Defendant Adkins asserts that: (1) there is insufficient evidence to support her conviction; and (2) the trial court improperly overruled her objection to the State’s use of a visual aid during closing arguments. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we conclude there exists no error in the judgments of the trial court. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Washington | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Billy Tate
Appellant, Billy Tate, was convicted of burglary of a business and theft over $1,000, and the trial court sentenced him to twelve years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. After filing a petition for post-conviction relief, he was granted a delayed appeal of his convictions. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred by: (1) denying his motion to suppress a showup identification and the subsequent in-court identification by the same witness; (2) not declaring a mistrial when a witness testified that appellant had refused to give a statement; (3) allowing the State to introduce lay testimony regarding scientific evidence; and (4) denying his motion to suppress based on an illegal seizure. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals |
