State of Tennessee v. Jerry Elliott
The defendant, Jerry W. Elliott, was convicted by a Henderson County Circuit Court jury of driving under the influence (“DUI”), a Class A misdemeanor, and violations of the open container, financial responsibility, and registration laws, all Class C misdemeanors. He was sentenced to eleven months, twenty-nine days for the DUI conviction and thirty days for violations of the open container and registration laws. He also received fines for each conviction as well as for violation of the financial responsibility law. The trial court separately found the defendant guilty of violation of the implied consent law, for which his driver’s license was revoked for one year. On appeal, the defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence convicting him of DUI and also argues that his conviction for violation of the implied consent law is improper because the charging instrument is not in the record. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Henderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Calvin Landers v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Calvin Landers, was convicted by a jury of rape of a child and sentenced to twenty years. His conviction and sentence were affirmed on direct appeal. State v. Calvin Landers, No. W2007-CCA-R3-CD, 2008 WL 2901603 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Jackson, Jul. 25, 2008), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Jan. 20, 2009). Petitioner filed a timely petition for post-conviction relief on the basis of ineffective assistance of counsel. Petitioner also asserted that his sentence violated Blakely v. Washington, 542 U.S. 296 (2004) , that his conviction was based on evidence obtained pursuant to an unlawful arrest, that his conviction was based on evidence obtained pursuant to an unlawful search, and that there was a “fatal variance” between the indictment and the proof. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied relief. Petitioner appealed. After a thorough review, we determine that Petitioner has failed to show by clear and convincing evidence that he is entitled to post-conviction relief where the proof showed that trial counsel made a tactical decision to forego a motion to suppress; met with Petitioner at least ten times prior to trial; and was given the opportunity to cross-examine witnesses. Moreover, Petitioner did not raise his issue with regard to exhibits in the petition for post-conviction relief so it cannot be raised on appeal. Accordingly, the judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Demario Rawlings
The defendant, Demario Rawlings, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of driving under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor, and was sentenced to eleven months and twenty-nine days in the county jail with all but five days suspended. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Marquette Woods
The defendant, Marquette Woods, was convicted by a Shelby County Criminal Court jury of aggravated robbery, a Class B felony, and was sentenced to nine years in the Department of Correction. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the convicting evidence. After review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Glen Curtis Letsinger v. State of Tennessee
Glen Curtis Letsinger (“the Petitioner”) filed for post-conviction relief from his conviction of rape of a child and the resulting minimum sentence of fifteen years. He alleges that he received ineffective assistance of counsel in conjunction with his guilty plea and that his plea thereby was rendered constitutionally infirm. After an evidentiary hearing, the postconviction court denied relief, and this appeal followed. Upon our careful review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher Vigil
Appellant, Christopher Vigil, appeals from his conviction for criminally negligent homicide. As a result of the conviction, Appellant was sentenced to two years in incarceration. On appeal, Appellant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence and his sentence. We determine that the evidence was sufficient to support the conviction for criminally negligent homicide where the proof showed Appellant was engaged in conduct that he knew, or should have known, created a substantial and unjustifiable risk to the victim and constituted a gross deviation from the standard of care of an ordinary person under those circumstances and that Appellant’s actions proximately caused the victim’s death. Further, the trial court properly sentenced Appellant to two years where the record indicated Appellant had a “significant” prior criminal history. Accordingly, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Washington | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Barry Wayne Dunham v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Barry Wayne Dunham, appeals the Macon County Criminal Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his conviction for first degree murder, for which he is serving a life sentence. The Petitioner contends that he received the ineffective assistance of counsel. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Macon | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Dexter McMillan
The appellant, Dexter McMillan, filed in the Knox County Criminal Court a motion to reopen his case, which the trial court treated as a petition for post- onviction relief. The trial court dismissed the petition, and the appellant appeals. The State filed a motion requesting that this court affirm the trial court’s denial of relief pursuant to Rule 20, Rules of the Court of Criminal Appeals. Upon review of the record and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the trial court properly dismissed the petition. Accordingly, the State’s motion is granted, and the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Scotty Lee Myers v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Scotty Lee Myers, was convicted of second degree murder, and he received a sentence of twenty-three years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Thereafter, he filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective. The post-conviction court denied the petition, and the petitioner now appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Hanes Cooper
The Defendant, Hanes Cooper, appeals as of right from the trial court’s denial of judicial diversion. The Defendant pled guilty to attempted theft of $10,000 or more but less than $60,000, official misconduct, and conspiracy to commit forgery of $10,000 or more but less than $60,000. After the plea agreement was entered, the Defendant filed an application for judicial diversion which the trial court denied. Following the denial of his application for judicial diversion, the Defendant was sentenced, pursuant to the plea agreement, to a six-year term of probation. The Defendant contends that the trial court abused its discretion in denying his application for judicial diversion. Discerning no error, we affirm the trial court, but we remand the case for correction of the judgments. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Wilsey v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Michael Wilsey, appeals the denial of his petition for writ of habeas corpus challenging his detention via rendition warrant, and the State moves this court to summarily affirm the denial via Rule 20 of the Rules of the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals .The State’s motion is well taken, and accordingly, the denial of habeas corpus relief is affirmed pursuant to Rule 20. Additionally, the petitioner’s request for bond pursuant to Rule 8 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure is denied. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Chad Allen Love
Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Chad Allen Love, was convicted of one count of aggravated robbery. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 39-13-402. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant contends that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his conviction. Following our review, we conclude that the evidence was insufficient to establish the Defendant’s identity as the perpetrator of the crime. Accordingly, we reverse and dismiss the judgment of the trial court. |
Sevier | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kale Sandusky
The Defendant, Kale Sandusky, pled guilty to possession of marijuana with intent to sell, a Class E felony, and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. See T.C.A. §§ 39-17-417, -425 (2010). He was sentenced as a Range I, standard offender to two years’ probation for the possession with intent to sell conviction and to eleven months and twenty-nine days’ probation for the possession of drug paraphernalia conviction, to be served concurrently. The Defendant’s plea agreement reserved a certified question of law regarding the legality of the arrest warrant that led to a search of his home. We reverse the judgments of the trial court and dismiss the charges against the Defendant. |
Wayne | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Larry Thomas Johnson
The defendant, Larry Thomas Johnson, appeals his Bedford County Circuit Court guilty- pleaded convictions of the sale of .5 grams or more of cocaine and possession with the intent to sell .5 grams or more of cocaine, claiming that the trial court erred by imposing a Range II sentence in the absence of any notice from the State that it would seek enhanced punishment. Discerning no error, we affirm |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ernest W. Mays
The defendant, Ernest W. Mays, pled guilty, in two separate cases, in the Dickson County Circuit Court to: (1) two counts of selling cocaine less than .5 grams, a Class C felony; (2) conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping, a Class C felony; (3) simple assault, a Class A misdemeanor; and (4) retaliation for past action, a Class E felony. Pursuant to the plea agreement, the defendant was to receive an effective sentence of ten years, as a Range II offender, with the manner of service to be determined by the trial court. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court ordered that the sentence be served in confinement. On appeal, the defendant contends that the court erred in denying him an alternative sentence. Following review of the record before us, we conclude no error occurred and affirm the sentences as imposed. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Arthur Lee Taylor v. State of Tennessee
Arthur Lee Taylor (“the Petitioner”) filed for post-conviction relief from his convictions of possession of cocaine with intent to sell and/or deliver and possession of dihydrocodeinone and his resulting effective thirty-year sentence as a career offender. He alleges that he received ineffective assistance of counsel at his jury trial. After a hearing, the postconviction court denied relief, and this appeal followed. Upon our careful review of the record, we affirm the post-conviction court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Gary Wayne Calhoun v. David Mills, Warden
The Criminal Court of Morgan County granted habeas corpus relief to the Petitioner, Gary Wayne Calhoun, for convictions in the Criminal Court of Sullivan County for “bringing stolen property into the State valued in excess of $200.00” in case number 21,478 and for “simple robbery” in case number 22,532. The Respondent, David Mills, Warden, has appealed. After a thorough review of the record, we reverse the judgment of the habeas corpus court. |
Morgan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jessica Birkhead
Appellant, Jessica Birkhead, appeals under Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 3 after the trial court’s grant of judicial diversion on a charge of vandalism under $500. On appeal |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Johnny Coffey
The defendant, Johnny Coffey, appeals his Bradley County Circuit Court jury conviction of second degree murder, claiming that the trial court erred by denying him funds to procure additional expert assistance, by denying his request to play witness statements in their entireties, by refusing to grant his motion for a mistrial, by denying his request for a jury instruction on self-defense, and by failing to apply certain mitigating factors to reduce his sentence. Discerning no reversible error, we affirm. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Hammond v. State of Tennessee
A Madison County Circuit Court jury convicted the petitioner, David Hammond, of rape, and he was sentenced to twelve years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, alleging that his trial counsel was ineffective. The post-conviction court denied the petition, and the petitioner now appeals. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lorenzo McLemore, III and Melissa Denise Gaines
The Defendant-Appellant, Lorenzo McLemore, III, was indicted by the Davidson County Grand Jury for three counts of attempted first degree murder, one count of especially aggravated burglary, and one count of employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. During the first phase of McLemore’s bifurcated trial, he was convicted of three counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter, a Class D felony, and the trial court declared a mistrial on the especially aggravated burglary count. During the second phase, the jury found McLemore guilty of employment of a firearm during the attempt to commit a dangerous felony, a Class C felony. The trial court imposed concurrent sentences of four years at thirty percent for the three convictions for attempted voluntary manslaughter and a consecutive sentence of six years at one hundred percent for the conviction for employment of a firearm during the attempt to commit a dangerous felony, for an effective sentence of ten years. On appeal, McLemore argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction for employment of a firearm during the attempt to commit a dangerous felony and that the trial court committed plain error in bifurcating his trial. The other Defendant Appellant, Melissa Denise Gaines, McLemore’s mother, was indicted by the Davidson County Grand Jury for three counts of attempted first degree murder and employment of a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. She was subsequently found guilty of three counts of reckless endangerment, a Class A misdemeanor, and the trial court dismissed the firearm charge because the reckless endangerment convictions did not qualify as a dangerous felony for the firearm charge. Gaines argues on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support her convictions for reckless endangerment. Upon review, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Mike Settle v. David Osborne, Warden
Petitioner, Mike Settle, appeals the habeas corpus court’s dismissal of his petition for habeas corpus relief in which he claimed that he was entitled to habeas corpus relief because his plea agreement and sentences for crimes committed in 1999 in Madison County are void because his sentence for escape was ordered to be served concurrently to a federal sentence in violation of Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 32(c)(3). Petitioner failed to follow the mandatory procedural requirements for the valid filing of a petition for the writ of habeas corpus. Therefore, we affirm the judgment dismissing the habeas petition. |
Morgan | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Charles Edward Graham v. State of Tennessee
A Knox County jury convicted Petitioner, Charles Edward Graham, of reckless aggravated assault, tampering with evidence, possession of marijuana, and failure to provide proof of financial responsibility, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of twentyseven years. State v. Charles Edward Graham, No. E2005-02937-CCA-R3-CD, 2008 WL 199851, at *1, *4 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Knoxville, Jan. 24, 2008), perm. app. denied, (Tenn. Sep. 15, 2008). Petitioner was unsuccessful on appeal to this Court. Id. at *1. Petitioner subsequently filed a petition for post-conviction relief arguing that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance of counsel. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition. Petitioner now appeals this denial. We determine that the post-conviction court’s denial was proper because trial counsel did not coerce or unduly influence Petitioner with regard to his decision not to testify at trial; trial counsel was employing a reasonable trial tactic by not requesting jury instructions on any lesser included offenses; and trial counsel was not deficient with regard to attempting to obtain a plea bargain. Therefore, we affirm the denial of the petition. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Robert Fusco
Following a jury trial, the Defendant, Robert Fusco, was convicted of two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, which were merged, and one count of each of the following offenses: conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping, attempted aggravated robbery, and aggravated burglary. See Tenn. Code Ann.§§ 39-12-101,-12-103,-13-202,-13-304,-13-305, -13-402, -13-403, & -14-403. The trial court determined that the Defendant was a Range II, multiple offender for sentencing purposes and imposed an effective 65-year sentence. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant raises the following issues: (1) whether the trial court erred in failing to charge the lesser-included offense of attempted especially aggravated kidnapping; (2) whether the assistant district attorney general committed prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument; (3) whether the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions for especiallyaggravated kidnapping,conspiracyto commit aggravated robbery,and conspiracy to commitaggravated kidnapping;(4) whether his dual convictions for especiallyaggravated kidnapping and attempted aggravated robbery violate due process concerns because the restraint of the victim was not beyond that necessary to complete the robbery; (5) whether the trial court erred bynot merging his two conspiracy convictions because the offenses were the object of the same agreement; (6) whether the trial court erred by using certain out-ofstate convictions to enhance his sentencing range; and (7) whether his sentence was excessive.Following our review, we remand this case to the Montgomery County Circuit Court for the entry of corrected judgments to reflect merger of the Defendant’s conspiracy convictions. In all other respects, we conclude that there is no reversible error in the judgments of the trial court and affirm. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lynn Gary Fryer
The appellant, Lynn Gary Fryer, pled guilty in the Madison County Circuit Court to aggravated assault, for which he was given a seven-year probationary sentence. Thereafter, he trial court revoked the appellant’s probation and ordered him to serve his sentence in confinement. On appeal, the appellant challenges the trial court’s revocation of his probation. Upon review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals |
