State of Tennessee v. Antonio D. Gause a/k/a Bebop
The Defendant, Antonio D. Gause, was convicted by a Lauderdale County Circuit Court jury of two counts of first degree felony murder under alternate theories; especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony; and accessory after the fact, a Class E felony. After merging the felony murder convictions, the trial court sentenced the Defendant to concurrent terms of life imprisonment for the first degree felony murder conviction, twenty-five years for the especially aggravated robbery conviction, and two years for the accessory after the fact conviction, for an effective sentence of life imprisonment in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the sufficiency of the evidence in support of his convictions. Based on our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Lauderdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antonio Demetrius Adkisson a/k/a Antonio Demetrius Turner, Jr.
A Gibson County jury convicted the defendant, Antonio Demetrius Adkisson a/k/a Antonio Demetrius Turner, Jr., of two counts of second-degree murder, for which he received an effective sentence of twenty years in confinement. On appeal, the defendant contends (1) that the juvenile court erred in transferring the defendant to circuit court and (2) that the trial court erred in failing to suppress the defendant’s statement. After reviewing the record and considering the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Gibson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antonio Demetrius Adkisson a/k/a Antonio Demetrius Turner, Jr. - DISSENT
Police officers in this case obtained a confession from a juvenile by threatening him with the death penalty, repeatedly denying his requests for his mother who was present at the station, and interrogating him for over six hours in the middle of the night. After reviewing the totality of the circumstances, I would have concluded that the trial court erred in denying the Defendant’s motion to suppress because the Defendant’s Miranda waiver was invalid and his confession was involuntary. I also would have concluded that the juvenile court erred in finding probable cause that the Defendant committed the offenses. Therefore, I must respectfully dissent. |
Gibson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kesean Dewayne Hall
The Defendant, Kesean Dewayne Hall, appeals his jury convictions for second degree murder, attempted second degree murder, employing a firearm during the commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony, and criminal trespass. For these convictions, he received an effective thirty-five-year sentence. On appeal, the Defendant challenges (1) the denial of his motion to sever the separate shooting episodes; (2) the sufficiency of the convicting evidence; (3) the admission of video footage showing the Defendant trespassing on the housing development’s property; and (4) the admission of “video evidence related to Crime Scene 3.” He also raises a claim of cumulative error and a challenge to his sentence. Following our review, we conclude that due to inadequacies in the Defendant’s appellate brief, all of his issues are waived save sufficiency of the evidence. First, relative to the sufficiency of the evidence, we conclude that the evidence was insufficient to support the Defendant’s criminal trespass conviction, and that conviction must be reversed and dismissed. Next, the evidence’s being sufficient to support the Defendant’s remaining convictions for second degree murder, attempted second degree murder, and employing a firearm during the commission of or attempt to commit a dangerous felony, those convictions are affirmed. The case is remanded to the trial court for further proceedings consistent with this opinion. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lavondas C. Nelson
A Rutherford County jury found Defendant, Lavondas C. Nelson, guilty of two counts of sale of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school (Counts 1 and 2), and sale of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine (Count 3). The trial court sentenced him to forty years in the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC). On appeal, Defendant argues the evidence was insufficient to establish that he sold cocaine within a school zone, the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury on entrapment, and his sentence is excessive. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. However, we remand the case to the trial court for entry of revised judgments in Counts 1 and 2 that reflect the proper release eligibility for those offenses. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Nicholas D. Brooks v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Nicholas D. Brooks, appeals the Shelby County Criminal Court’s denial of his post-conviction petition, seeking relief from his convictions for two counts of first degree felony murder, one count of especially aggravated robbery, one count of aggravated burglary, and one count of employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of trial and appellate counsel. Based on our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antonio Turley
A Shelby County jury convicted the Defendant, Antonio Turley, of attempted first degree murder, attempted first degree murder with serious bodily injury, and reckless endangerment with a dangerous weapon. The trial court imposed a total effective sentence of two consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the admission of certain evidence and the sufficiency of the evidence. He also alleges prosecutorial misconduct. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgments. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Nakomis Jones
For events in 2001, a Shelby County jury convicted the Petitioner, Nakomis Jones, of murder, kidnapping, and gun related charges, and the trial court sentenced him to an effective sentence of life in prison plus thirty-eight years. The Petitioner unsuccessfully appealed his convictions, as well as filed for post-conviction relief, Federal habeas corpus relief, and motions to reopen the denial of relief in each instance. As relevant here, in 2022, the Petitioner filed a petition pursuant to the Post-Conviction Fingerprint Analysis Act of 2021. He sought fingerprint analysis of the palm print and a handgun collected during the investigation. The post-conviction court summarily dismissed the petition. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that the post-conviction court erred when it denied his petition. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Adrian Moore
The Defendant, Adrian Moore, was convicted in the Shelby County Criminal Court of second degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, especially aggravated robbery, and two counts of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and received an effective sentence of forty-six years in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant claims that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions of second degree murder and especially aggravated robbery. Based upon our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Carl Franklin Pendergrast v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Carl Franklin Pendergrast, appeals the Bedford County Circuit Court’s denial of post-conviction relief from his guilty-pleaded convictions for four counts of sale of methamphetamine less than .5 grams, two counts of sale of hydrocodone, one count of sale of cocaine less than .5 grams, and one count of conspiracy to deliver methamphetamine less than .5 grams, for which he received a total effective sentence of twenty-six years’ incarceration. Petitioner contends that he is entitled to post-conviction relief because his guilty pleas were the product of coercion and, therefore, not voluntarily entered. Following a thorough review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of relief. |
Bedford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Patrick Marshall v. Brandon Watwood, Warden
The Petitioner, Patrick Marshall, appeals the Lake County Circuit Court’s summary dismissal of his petition for writ of habeas corpus relief. Based on our review, we affirm the summary dismissal of the petition. |
Lake | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jeffrey Judkins v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Jeffrey Allen Judkins, appeals the denial of his post-conviction petition, arguing that the post-conviction court erred in finding that he received the effective assistance of counsel at trial. Following our review of the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Lawrence | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Christopher Joseph Riley
Defendant, Christopher Joseph Riley, was convicted by a jury of felony murder by aggravated child abuse (count one), felony murder by aggravated child neglect (count two), two counts of aggravated child abuse (counts three and five), reckless endangerment (count four), aggravated child neglect (count six), and two counts of child abuse (counts seven and eight). Defendant was sentenced to a total effective sentence of life imprisonment plus forty-eight years. On appeal, Defendant claims the trial court erred in failing to require the State to make an election of offenses at the close of the proof, and that the trial court improperly imposed consecutive sentences. Following our review of the record, the briefs of the parties, and the applicable law, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Michael Robert Quinn
Michael Robert Quinn (“Defendant”) appeals from his Knox County Criminal Court |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. James Kevin Pardue
James Kevin Pardue, Defendant, was charged via presentment with one count of theft of property valued at $10,000 or more but less than $60,000, and one count of home improvement fraud. After a bench trial, Defendant was found guilty of the lesser included offense of misdemeanor theft in count 1 and home improvement fraud in count 2. Defendant was sentenced to an effective sentence of six years on probation and ordered to pay $50,000 in restitution at the rate of $600 per month as a condition of his probation. Defendant appealed, arguing that the evidence was insufficient to sustain the conviction for home improvement fraud. Defendant does not challenge his conviction for misdemeanor theft. After a review of the record and the parties’ arguments, we agree with Defendant that the evidence is insufficient to support the conviction for home improvement fraud. As a result, Defendant’s conviction for home improvement fraud is reversed and the matter is remanded to the trial court for any further proceedings which may be necessary. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Joshua Moore
The Defendant, Joshua Moore, was convicted of first degree premeditated murder. On |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Katelyn Taylor v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, Katelyn Taylor, pleaded guilty to two counts of first degree murder in exchange for concurrent sentences of life imprisonment. Petitioner then filed a pro se petition for post-conviction relief claiming ineffective assistance of counsel, and that her guilty pleas were not knowingly and voluntarily. After appointing counsel and holding an evidentiary hearing, the post-conviction court denied the petition, which Petitioner appealed. After review, we conclude that Petitioner failed to prepare a sufficient brief in compliance with Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 27(a)(7) and Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Rule 10(b), therefore, her issues are waived. Additionally, after our review of the record, we conclude Petitioner’s claims are without merit. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Benton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Kirk D. Farmer
After a Dickson County jury trial, Defendant, Kirk D. Farmer, was convicted of vandalism of $2,500 or more but less than $10,000 and disorderly conduct. The trial court sentenced him to an effective term of three years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. On appeal, Defendant argues the evidence produced at trial was insufficient to sustain his vandalism conviction. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Anthony Duane Gray, Jr.
A Montgomery County jury convicted the Defendant, Anthony Duane Gray, Jr., of assault, |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Antonio Glover
A Shelby County jury convicted the defendant, Antonio Glover, of aggravated rape for |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Alfonso Thomas Peck
Pro se Petitioner, Alfonso Thomas Peck,1 was convicted by a Hamilton County jury of two counts of aggravated rape, for which he received concurrent sentences of life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. He filed a motion to correct an illegal sentence pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36.1, which the trial court summarily denied in part and granted in part. On appeal, the Petitioner challenges the partial summary denial, arguing that his sentences are illegal because the judgment documents fail to specify the sentence length in years. We affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Earl David Crawford v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner appeals as of right the Bradley County Criminal Court’s order dismissing his motion to correct illegal sentences. Upon our review, we conclude that the Petitioner has failed to prepare a sufficient brief compliant with Tennessee Rule of Appellate Procedure 27(a)(7) and Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Rule 10(b). Accordingly, the Petitioner’s issues are waived, and his appeal is dismissed. |
Bradley | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jose S. Loredo (In Re A Close Bonding Co., LLC, Surety)
The Appellant, A Close Bonding Co., LLC, acting as the bail bond surety in the criminal |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Connie Reguli
A Williamson County jury convicted the Defendant, Connie Reguli, of one count of facilitation of custodial interference and two counts of being an accessory after the fact. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of three years of probation after service of thirty days in confinement and denied the Defendant’s request for judicial diversion. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the evidence is legally insufficient to support her convictions. She also asserts that the trial court erred by (1) failing to dismiss the indictment for its failure to include an essential element of the underlying felony of custodial interference; (2) failing to instruct the jury concerning the essential elements of custodial interference; and (3) failing to instruct the jury on the defenses of voluntary surrender and legal representation. Finally, the Defendant contends that the trial court erred in imposing a sentence of split confinement and denying her request for judicial diversion. Consistent with our decision in State v. Hancock, 678 S.W.3d 226 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2023), we recognize that the principal’s actions in this case did not violate Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-13-306 at the time they occurred. As such, we hold that the Defendant cannot be guilty of facilitating the felony of custodial interference or being an accessory after the fact. Accordingly, we respectfully reverse the trial court’s judgments, vacate the Defendant’s convictions, and dismiss the case. |
Williamson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Roderick Bates v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Roderick Bates, appeals from the Hamilton County Criminal Court’s denial |
Hamilton | Court of Criminal Appeals |
