Jarvis McClain v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Jarvis McClain, entered a guilty plea in the Shelby County Criminal Court to especially aggravated robbery and received the agreed-upon sentence of thirteen and one-half years in prison as a mitigated offender to be served at 100% release eligibility. He filed a petition for post-conviction relief, which was denied after an evidentiary hearing. In this appeal, petitioner claims that trial counsel was ineffective for several reasons: (1) failing to explain the terms of his plea agreement; (2) failing to explain the range of punishment for the offense for which petitioner was indicted; and (3) failing to disclose to petitioner evidence discovered by the investigator. He also claims that the ineffective assistance of counsel rendered his guilty plea involuntary. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ken Parker
Ken Parker (“the Defendant”) was convicted by a jury of first degree felony murder and first degree premeditated murder. The trial court merged the first degree premeditated murder conviction into the first degree felony murder conviction and sentenced the Defendant to life imprisonment. On appeal, the Defendant asserts that the trial court erred in not granting a mistrial with respect to a police officer’s testimony. Additionally, the Defendant alleges that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his convictions. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm the Defendant’s convictions. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. David Edmond Rogers
The defendant, David Edmond Rogers, was convicted by a Hamilton County jury of aggravated burglary, a Class C felony, and theft over $500, a Class E felony, and was sentenced by the trial court as a career offender to fifteen years at sixty percent for the aggravated burglary conviction and six years at sixty percent for the theft conviction, with the sentences to be served consecutively to his sentences for prior Georgia convictions. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence obtained as a result of his traffic stop and that the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roy Brian Avans
Appellant, Roy Brian Avans, appeals the trial court’s revocation of his probation and reinstatement of his effective ten-year sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Appellant contends that the trial court abused its discretion by revoking his probation and ordering service of the entire sentence without properly considering other available options. We discern no error and affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Marion | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lesergio Duran Wilson
The Appellant, Lesergio Duran Wilson, petitions this Court for an accelerated interlocutory appeal as of right pursuant to Tennessee Supreme Court Rule 10B, Section 2. The Appellant seeks review of the trial court’s order denying his motion to recuse. After a thorough review of the petition, this Court concludes that the trial court properly denied Appellant’s motion for recusal. The order of the trial court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Brian Edward Owen v. State of Tennessee
This matter is before the Court upon the State’s motion to affirm the judgment of the habeas corpus court by memorandum opinion pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Petitioner, Brian Edward Owen, has appealed the habeas corpus court’s order summarily dismissing the petition for writ of habeas corpus. Upon a review of the record in this case, we are persuaded that the habeas corpus court was correct in summarily dismissing the habeas corpus petition and that this case meets the criteria for affirmance pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted and the judgment of the habeas corpus court is affirmed. |
Hickman | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeremy Stevenson
The Defendant-Appellant, Jeremy Stevenson, was convicted by a Shelby County jury of first degree felony murder and especially aggravated robbery and was sentenced to concurrent sentences of life imprisonment and twenty years. On appeal, Stevenson argues that the evidence is insufficient to establish his identity as the perpetrator of these offenses. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Rodney Watkins
The Defendant, Rodney Watkins, appeals from his conviction by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of second degree murder, a Class A felony. See T.C.A. § 39-13-210 (2010). The Defendant is serving a twenty-five-year sentence as a violent offender. On appeal, he contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction, (2) the trial court erred in admitting evidence about rumors regarding the victim’s disappearance, and (3) the trial court erred in ruling that the defense could not cross-examine a witness about the witness’s prior assault of his stepfather. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Floyd Rodriquez Johnson v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Floyd Rodriquez Johnson, appeals the Montgomery County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The petitioner is currently serving an effective twenty-five year sentence in the Department of Correction following his guilty pleas to multiple drug charges. On appeal, the petitioner contends that his guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily entered due to the ineffective assistance of counsel. Specifically, he contends trial counsel was ineffective by failing to ensure that the petitioner understood the terms of the plea agreement and the resulting sentencing consequences if the petitioner failed to complete a drug rehabilitation furlough. Following review, we conclude that the post-conviction court properly determined that the petitioner was not denied his right to the effective assistance of counsel and that the pleas were entered knowingly and voluntarily. The denial of post-conviction relief is affirmed. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jeffrey Scott Petty
The Defendant-Appellant, Jeffrey Scott Petty, was convicted by a Dickson County Circuit Court jury of first degree felony murder and arson and was sentenced to consecutive sentences of life imprisonment and five years, respectively. On appeal, Petty argues that the trial court committed plain error by instructing the jury that his statement to law enforcement was a confession rather than an admission against interest. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Derrick Sawyers v. State of Tennessee
This matter is before the Court upon the State’s motion to affirm the judgment of the trial court by memorandum opinion pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. The Petitioner, Derrick Sawyers, filed a "Motion for Relief from Judgment Pursuant to T[enn.] R. Civ. P. Rule 60.02" in the Criminal Court for Davidson County, alleging that (1) his sentences were illegal and (2) the trial court violated his due process rights. The trial court treated the motion as a petition for writ of habeas corpus, it denied relief, and this appeal followed. This case meets the criteria for affirmance pursuant to Rule 20 of the Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted, and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Rocky Joe Houston
The defendant, Rocky Joe Houston, was convicted on April 1, 2010, of reckless endangerment, a Class A misdemeanor, and evading arrest, a Class E felony, for which he was sentenced, respectively, to eleven months, twenty-nine days and one year, as a standard offender. In his notice of appeal, he asserted that the trial court erred in denying the judgment of acquittal and asked that this court order the lawyer in his 2008 trial to return the sum of $65,000, which was a portion of the amount the defendant asserts he paid to the lawyer. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Roane | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Roy L. McAlister
Roy L. McAlister ("the Defendant") pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated statutory rape and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the Defendant was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to an effective sentence of three years, to be suspended to supervised probation after service of 219 days in confinement. Upon the filing of a probation violation warrant, the Defendant was taken into custody, and a probation violation hearing was held. At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court revoked the Defendant’s probation and ordered him to serve the remainder of his sentence in confinement. The Defendant appealed the trial court’s ruling. Based upon the record before us, we are compelled to vacate the judgment of the trial court and remand this action to the Robertson County Circuit Court for further findings consistent with this opinion. |
Robertson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Terrence Hill
A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Terrence Hill, of second degree murder. The trial court imposed an eighteen-year and six-month sentence in the Tennessee Department of Correction, to be served at 100%. On appeal, the Defendant argues that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction; and (2) the trial court erred when it discharged a prospective juror based upon her inability to be impartial. After thoroughly reviewing the record and applicable authorities, we find that the evidence is sufficient to sustain the Defendant’s conviction and that the trial court did not err in discharging the prospective juror. Accordingly, we affirm the trial court’s judgment. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher M. Mimms
The defendant was convicted of selling more than 0.5 grams of cocaine, a Class B felony, and selling more than 0.5 grams of cocaine within a school zone, a Class A felony. On appeal, the defendant claims that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction of the latter charge. The defendant also claims that the trial court erred by failing to instruct the jury with respect to lesser included offenses and by permitting the State to ask questions concerning prior drug transactions between the defendant and a confidential informant. After review, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support the defendant’s convictions and that his remaining claims have been waived. We affirm the judgments of the trial court accordingly. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Larry Payne v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Larry Payne, was convicted by a jury of four counts of aggravated robbery, Class B felonies, against two victims. On direct appeal, the Court of Criminal Appeals merged the four convictions into two, one for each victim, and otherwise affirmed the judgments. The Tennessee Supreme Court declined discretionary review. The petitioner then brought this timely post-conviction petition, asserting various claims of ineffective assistance of counsel. The petitioner’s sole issue on appeal is whether he was denied the effective assistance of counsel due to his trial counsel’s failure to request a jury instruction on the lesser included offense of theft. After a thorough review of the record, we conclude that the petitioner has not established any prejudice resulting from his counsel’s failure to request a jury charge on the lesser included offense of theft. The petitioner’s failure to establish prejudice is fatal to his ineffective assistance claim. The judgment of the court below is affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Marlos Shields v. State of Tennessee
A Shelby County jury convicted petitioner, Marlos Shields, of aggravated robbery and aggravated burglary. The trial court sentenced him to an effective eighteen-year sentence. Following his direct appeal, petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that he received ineffective assistance of counsel. The post-conviction court denied relief, and petitioner now appeals. Following our review of the record, the parties’ briefs, and applicable case law, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Terrance Holliday
The defendant, Terrance Holliday, was found guilty of first degree (premeditated) murder of the victim, Michael Woods, and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole. On appeal, the defendant claims that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. The defendant also claims that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress a photographic identification and by denying his motion in limine with respect to certain statements made by a deceased co-defendant, which were introduced into evidence though another witness. After careful review, we conclude that the evidence is sufficient to support the defendant’s conviction and that the trial court did not err by denying the defendant’s motions. The judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Darrick Eugene McAllister
The Knox County Criminal Court denied Defendant Darrick Eugene McAllister’s motion to suppress all evidence seized in a warrantless search. Subsequently, Defendant entered a guilty plea, and according to the amended judgment in the record, Defendant pled guilty to possession with intent to sell less than 0.5 grams of cocaine, a Class C felony, and received a sentence of eight (8) years as a Range II multiple offender. The amended judgment and the negotiated plea agreement documents show that Defendant reserved a certified question of law for appeal. The transcript of the guilty plea hearing is not in the record. After a review of the record, we affirm the amended judgment of the trial court. We note, however, that the negotiated plea agreement documents reflect that Defendant was going to plead guilty to the Class C felony offense of attempted possession of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a drug free zone (a park). However, we did not have jurisdiction in this case to do anything but affirm the amended judgment (which we do) or reverse the amended judgment and dismiss the charges. The trial court, however, may review the entire record and take appropriate measures, if any, to correct the amended judgment. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jerry Ray Davidson v. State of Tennessee
The Dickson County Circuit Court denied the Petitioner, Jerry Ray Davidson, post-conviction relief from his convictions of first degree premeditated murder and aggravated kidnapping and his sentence of death. The Petitioner appeals. Having discerned no error, we affirm the post conviction court’s denial of relief. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Gary S. Mayes v. State of Tennessee
On December 12, 2011, the petitioner, Gary S. Mayes, filed a pro se petition for a writ of error coram nobis alleging newly discovered evidence related to the Knox County Criminal Court’s 2008 denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. The coram nobis court summarily denied relief. We affirm the denial of relief. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mahlon Johnson
A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Mahlon Johnson, of one count of aggravated assault and two counts of sexual battery, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of twenty-seven years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions for sexual battery; (2) the trial court erred when it failed to merge the sexual battery convictions; (3) the Defendant’s convictions for sexual battery and aggravated assault violate double jeopardy protections; and (4) the trial court improperly sentenced him. The State agrees that there is insufficient evidence to support the Defendant’s sexual battery convictions, and it asks us to reverse those convictions and dismiss the indictments. After a thorough review of the record and applicable authorities, we conclude there exists in the record sufficient evidence to support the Defendant’s convictions and that the trial court did not err when it did not merge those convictions. We further conclude that the trial court did not err when it sentenced the Defendant. We, therefore, affirm the Defendant’s convictions and sentence. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James Ryan Stephenson
The defendant, James Ryan Stephenson, was convicted by a Rhea County jury of reckless homicide, a Class D felony, and was sentenced by the trial court as a Range II, multiple offender to eight years in the Department of Correction, to be served consecutively to his sentence in a burglary case for which he was on probation at the time of the homicide. On appeal, he argues that the trial court erred by: (1) granting the State’s request to remove a juror on the second day of trial; (2) allowing the State to impeach his credibility with his prior convictions for theft and burglary; (3) issuing a jury instruction on the impeachment of a witness after the testimony of a defense witness but not after the testimony of a State witness; and (4) failing to apply any mitigating factors in sentencing. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Rhea | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Larry R. Porterfield
The defendant, Larry R. Porterfield, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, and the Grundy County Circuit Court sentenced him as a Range I, standard offender to a term of four years’ imprisonment. On appeal, the defendant challenges the manner of service of his sentence. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Grundy | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Frederick Alexander Avery v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Frederick Alexander Avery, was convicted by a jury in the Davidson County Criminal Court of aggravated robbery, especially aggravated robbery, reckless endangerment, and attempted second degree murder. As a violent offender, he received a total effective sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Subsequently, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective for failing to file a motion for severance and a motion for a speedy trial and for advising the petitioner to not testify at trial. The post-conviction court denied relief, holding that the petitioner failed to establish that counsel was ineffective. However, because trial counsel had miscalculated the date for filing an appeal to the supreme court, the post-conviction court granted the petitioner a Rule 11 delayed appeal. See Tenn. S. Ct. R. 28, § 9(D)(1)(b). The petitioner appeals the denial of post-conviction relief based on his ineffective assistance of counsel claims. Upon review, we conclude that the post-conviction court properly granted the petitioner a delayed appeal. However, the post-conviction court erred by not staying the post-conviction proceeding pending the disposition of the delayed appeal. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals |
