State of Tennessee v. Dustin Shawn Price
The defendant, Dustin Price, was convicted by a Davidson County Criminal Court jury of first degree felony murder, first degree premeditated murder, two counts of reckless endangerment, and three counts of attempted first degree murder. The two first degree murder convictions were merged, and the defendant received an effective sentence of life plus 40 years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred by: (1) denying his motion to sever offenses; (2) admitting jail house recordings of his telephone conversations with a Davidson County Jail inmate; (3) allowing the prior testimony of a witness under Tennessee Rule of Evidence 803(26); and (4) ordering consecutive sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jordan Mansfield Looper
Appellant, Jordan Mansfield Looper, pleaded guilty to attempted second degree murder, with the length and manner of service of his sentence to be determined by the trial court. The trial court sentenced him to serve twelve years in confinement. On appeal, appellant argues that the trial court erred in its sentencing by using an inapplicable enhancement factor and denying an alternative sentence. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Eric Chamber v. State of Tennessee
On August 21, 2012, Petitioner, Eric Chamber, filed a pro se petition in the Shelby County Criminal Court, seeking post-conviction relief from his convictions for two counts of first degree murder and one count of especially aggravated kidnapping. He was convicted of these offenses in a jury trial, and the convictions were affirmed on appeal. State v. Eric Chambers [sic], No. 02C01-9811-CR-00346, 2000 WL 279645 (Tenn. Crim. App. March 6, 2000). Mandate from this court was issued May 25, 2000. Petitioner asserts that his petition is not barred by the one year statute of limitations because decisions by the United States Supreme Court in March 2012 established “a constitutional right that was not recognized as existing at the time of trial.” The trial court summarily dismissed the petition because it was filed beyond the one year statute of limitations imposed by Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-30-102(a). Petitioner has appealed, and we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Shannon V. Jones v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Shannon V. Jones, was convicted by a Lauderdale County jury of one count of facilitation of delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance weighing less than .5 grams and delivery of a counterfeit controlled substance. As a result, he was sentenced as a career offender to twelve years for the facilitation conviction and six years for the delivery of the counterfeit controlled substance conviction. The sentences were ordered to be served concurrently. Petitioner appealed his convictions. See State v. Shannon Jones, No. W2009-01706-CCA-R3-CD, 2010 WL 3619537, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Sept. 17, 2010), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Feb. 16, 2011). His convictions were affirmed on appeal. Id. Subsequently, Petitioner sought post-conviction relief on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. Petitioner filed a timely notice of appeal. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court because Petitioner has failed to demonstrate that the record preponderates against the post-conviction court’s findings. Accordingly, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Derek Lee White v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Derek Lee White, pled guilty to second degree murder, attempted first degree murder, and two counts of especially aggravated robbery, with an agreed effective sentence of thirty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Petitioner timely filed a petition seeking post-conviction relief, claiming that he had received the ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court denied the petition after a hearing. On appeal, the Petitioner claims that his attorney failed to: (1) meet with him; (2) fully utilize exculpatory evidence; and (3) hire a private investigator to assist in the defense. After a thorough review of the record, the briefs, and relevant authorities, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Archie T. Wilson v. State of Tennessee
In 2011, the Petitioner, Archie T. Wilson, pled guilty to attempted aggravated rape and attempted aggravated kidnapping, and the trial court sentenced him to a twenty-year effective sentence. The trial court also ordered that the Petitioner register as a sex offender and be placed on community supervision for life. The Petitioner filed a petition for post conviction relief, which the post-conviction court dismissed after a hearing. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that his guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered and that he had received the ineffective assistance of counsel. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we conclude that the post-conviction court did not err when it dismissed the petition. The post-conviction court’s judgment is, therefore, affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jim George Conaser a.k.a. Jimmy George Conaser
A Davidson County jury convicted the Defendant, Jim George Conaser a.k.a. Jimmy George Conaser, of separate counts of failing to timely register as a sexual offender and of failing to sign a Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (TBI) sexual offender registration form, both Class E felonies. The trial court imposed a consecutive terms of four years for these convictions. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence, the trial court’s refusal to dismiss count two, the trial court’s failure to merge the counts, the trial court’s jury instructions, and the sentences imposed. Following our review of the record and the applicable authorities, the judgment and four-year sentence in count one are affirmed. However, upon review of count two, we conclude that the evidence is insufficient to support the Defendant’s conviction and, therefore, reverse and dismiss his conviction and sentence as to that count. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jim George Conaser a.k.a. Jimmy George Conaser-concurring in part and dissenting in part
Although I agree with most of the conclusions set forth in the majority opinion, including that the appellant’s arrest created a break in the events, I respectfully disagree that the evidence is insufficient to support the appellant’s conviction in count 2 for failing to sign the TBI registration form. Therefore, I would affirm both of the appellant’s convictions |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ruben Pimentel v. State of Tennessee
On June 3, 2005, Petitioner, Ruben Pimentel, pled guilty to first degree murder and two counts of aggravated arson. He filed a petition for post-conviction relief almost four years later on March 9, 2009. The trial court summarily dismissed the petition because it was filed outside the applicable statute of limitations of one year. On appeal, a panel of this court reversed and remanded the case to the trial court for the appointment of counsel and for a hearing to determine if due process concerns tolled the statute of limitations. See Ruben Pimentel v. State, No. M2009-00668-CCA-R3-PC, 2010 WL 271160 at *2 (Tenn. Crim. App. Jan. 22, 2010). In addition, this court instructed the trial court to determine whether the filing of the petition in 2009 was within the reasonable opportunity allowed by due process tolling of the statute of limitations if due process concerns required a reasonable tolling of the statute of limitations. Id. Upon remand, counsel was appointed, a hearing was held, and the trial court again dismissed the petition, from which order Petitioner appeals pro se, after waiving his right to counsel. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court |
Warren | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James Michael Naive
The defendant, James Michael Naive, appeals his Williamson County Circuit Court conviction of first degree murder, claiming that the trial court erred by denying his motions to suppress both the statement he made to police and his bank records, that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, and that the trial court erred by admitting certain witness testimony and by permitting a witness for the State to remain in the courtroom prior to his testimony. In addition, the defendant claims that the prosecutor committed misconduct by impermissibly shifting the burden of proof to the defense during closing argument. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Billy Lebron Burson
A Hamilton County Criminal Court Jury convicted the appellant, Billy Lebron Burson, of three counts of misdemeanor reckless endangerment, three counts of aggravated assault, and felony reckless endangerment. The trial court merged the misdemeanor reckless endangerment convictions into the aggravated assault convictions and imposed a total effective sentence of six years in the Tennessee Department of Correction, which was to be served consecutively to a federal sentence. On appeal, the appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence sustaining his aggravated assault convictions, the sentences imposed, and the trial court’s admission of testimony from the State’s “firearms expert.” Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darius F.L. Dix
Appellant, Darius F. L. Dix, was indicted in a multi-defendant, multi-count indictment by the Montgomery County Grand Jury for simple possession of marijuana and possession of twenty-six grams or more of cocaine with intent to sell or deliver. After a jury trial, Appellant was convicted of both offenses. As a result, the trial court sentenced Appellant to ten years for the cocaine conviction and eleven months and twenty-nine days for the marijuana conviction, to be served concurrently with each other but consecutively to a sentence in another case for which Appellant was on probation/community corrections at the time of his arrest. Appellant’s ten-year sentence was ordered to be served on probation. Subsequently, Appellant filed a pro se “appeal of verdict” in which he challenged the sufficiency of the evidence. Counsel later filed an untimely motion for new trial. The trial court denied the motion, and Appellant appealed to this Court arguing that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for possession of cocaine. After a review of the record and applicable authorities, we determine that there was sufficient evidence presented at trial for the jury to determine that Appellant possessed more than twenty-six grams of cocaine for resale. Accordingly, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Eugene O. Dale
Appellant, Eugene O. Dale, pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor, where the number of materials possessed was greater than fifty and less than one hundred, a Class C felony, subject to a reserved certified question of law that challenged the trial court’s denial of appellant’s motion to suppress evidence. The trial court imposed the agreed-upon sentence of eight years with a release eligibility of thirty-five percent. On appeal, appellant argues that the warrant authorizing the search of his computer was not supported by probable cause because the affidavit for the search warrant relied upon unconstitutionally obtained information. Following our review of the parties’ arguments, the record, and the applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Tyrone Leon Nelson v. State of Tennessee
A Tipton County Grand Jury returned an indictment against Defendant, Tyrone Leon Nelson, charging him with possession of more than one-half ounce of marijuana with intent to deliver, possession of drug paraphernalia, and possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony. After a jury trial, Defendant was found guilty of the lesser offense of facilitation of possession of more than one-half ounce of marijuana with intent to deliver, and possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the commission of a dangerous felony. Defendant was acquitted of the paraphernalia charge. The trial court sentenced Defendant to eleven months, twenty-nine days for the facilitation charge and three years for the firearm charge to be served concurrently for an effective three-year sentence in the Department of Correction. On appeal, Defendant argues that (1) the trial court erred by failing to grant his motion for acquittal of the conviction for possession of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony when the jury acquitted him of the underlying felony, and (2)the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for facilitation of possession of more than one-half ounce of marijuana with intent to deliver. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Eugene Crawford, Jr.
The Defendant, Robert Eugene Crawford, Jr., was convicted by a Sullivan County jury of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect. The trial court imposed consecutive terms of twenty-five years for each of these convictions. In this direct appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress his statements to the police; (2) he was entitled to disclosure of grand jury materials; (3) reenactment photographs of the abuse were improperly admitted into evidence; (4) he should have been permitted to conduct individual voir dire of the potential jurors; (5) the trial court improperly limited his cross-examination of two witnesses; (6) his investigator should have been permitted to testify as a lay witness about the Defendant’s susceptibility to suggestion and the investigation techniques used; (7) he should have been allowed to present evidence from his mental evaluation about his reading comprehension difficulties; and (8) the trial court made several erroneous sentencing determinations, including the denial of his right to allocution, the length of the sentences imposed, and the imposition of consecutive sentencing. Following our review of the record and the applicable authorities, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Damon Houston v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Damon Houston, was convicted of especially aggravated robbery and sentenced to fifteen years as a Range I, violent offender. He was unsuccessful on direct appeal to this Court. State v. Damon Houston, No. W2010-00399-CCA-R3-CD, 2011 WL 2672015, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Jul. 8, 2011). Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel, that there were “unconstitutional errors” in the trial process, that his conviction was based on a coerced confession, that his conviction was based on the use of evidence obtained pursuant to an unlawful arrest, and that there was newly discovered evidence. We have reviewed the record on appeal and conclude that Petitioner has not proven that he was denied effective assistance of counsel. Furthermore, because of his failure to cite authority and put forth arguments to support his assertions, the remaining issues are waived. Therefore, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Lester Page v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Lester Page, contends that his guilty plea to incest, a Class C felony, was not knowingly and intelligently entered because he received the ineffective assistance of counsel and that the post-conviction court erred in denying him post-conviction relief. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable authorities, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
CALVIN EUGENE BRYANT v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
The Petitioner, Calvin Eugene Bryant, appeals the Davidson County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief. The Petitioner argues on appeal that trial counsel provided ineffective assistance of counsel by failing to request a jury instruction on the lesser included offense of facilitation. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
ROBERT J. SKILLEN v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
Robert J. Skillen ("the Petitioner"), proceeding pro se, filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus, alleging that the indictment for his two convictions for sexual battery by an authority figure and four convictions for rape of a child is defective because it failed to allege any facts constituting an offense. The habeas corpus court summarily denied relief, and this appeal followed. We affirm the habeas corpus court’s judgment pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Brandon Adams v. Dwight Barbee, Warden
The Petitioner, Michael Brandon Adams, appeals the Lauderdale County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for the writ of habeas corpus from his guilty plea conviction for aggravated child abuse, for which he is serving an eighteen-year sentence at 100%. The Petitioner contends that the trial court erred in dismissing the petition. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey Scott Gold
A Sullivan County jury convicted the Defendant-Appellant, Jeffrey Scott Gold, of aggravated child abuse and aggravated child neglect, Class A felonies, for which he received concurrent terms of twenty-two-years’ imprisonment. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred in (1) granting the State’s motion to depose a prospective witness to preserve that witness’s testimony for trial; (2) denying his motion for judgment of acquittal as to the aggravated child neglect conviction; and (3) imposing an excessive sentence. Following a thorough review, we reverse and vacate the aggravated child neglect conviction. In regard to the other issues, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Sullivan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Myron Tyrone Harrison
Appellant, Myron Tyrone Harrison, entered a guilty plea to sale of a Schedule II controlled substance and received a seven-year suspended sentence. Subsequently, his probation officer filed probation violation warrants alleging that: (1) appellant had tested positive for cocaine on a drug test; (2) he had failed to obtain employment; and (3) he was arrested for public intoxication and failed to report the arrest. Following a hearing, the trial court revoked appellant’s probation and ordered execution of his sentence. Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John D. Pruitt
Appellant, John D. Pruitt, entered guilty pleas to vandalism of property valued at more than $500 but less than $1,000, burglary, felony escape, and theft of property valued at $10,000 or more but less than $60,000. Pursuant to the terms of the guilty plea, appellant received an effective six-year sentence, and the State dismissed the remaining charges against him. The parties submitted the issue of alternative sentencing to the trial court for determination. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered the effective six-year sentence to be served in the Tennessee Department of Correction (“TDOC”). Appellant contends that the trial court did not properly consider his request for split confinement. Following our review, we discern no error and affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Grundy | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Ernest N. Bowen v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Ernest N. Bowen, appeals the Bedford County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief from his three convictions for selling a Schedule II controlled substance and one conviction for one possessing a Schedule II controlled substance for resale and resulting effective fifteen-year sentence. On appeal, the Petitioner claims that he received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel, which resulted in his pleading guilty unknowingly and involuntarily. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of the petition. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Alina Donegan
The Defendant, Alina Donegan, appeals as of right from the Dickson County Circuit Court’s order revoking her probation and requiring her to serve the remainder of her sentence in confinement. In September 2011, the Defendant pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to manufacture methamphetamine, a Class C felony; one count of possession of less than .5 grams of methamphetamine, a Class C felony; and one count of promotion of methamphetamine manufacture, a Class D felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-12-103, -17-417, -17-433. The trial court imposed an effective six-year sentence and suspended the sentence to probation upon the Defendant’s "successful entrance into and completion of the drug court" program. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the trial court violated her right to due process by not allowing her to present witnesses at the revocation hearing. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals |
