State of Tennessee v. Karloss Thirkill and Rico Huey
After a jury trial, the defendants, Karloss Thirkill and Rico Huey, were convicted of aggravated robbery, and this joint appeal followed. On appeal, Huey challenges the trial court’s partial denial of his motion to suppress. Thirkill challenges the trial court’s denial of his request to impeach a fact witness and accomplice under Rules 404 and 608 of the Tennessee Rules of Evidence and the sufficiency of the evidence to sustain his conviction. Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Erick Tenaz
The defendant, Erick Tenaz, appeals his Davidson County Criminal Court guilty-pleaded conviction of conspiracy to commit second degree murder, claiming only that the trial court erred by ordering that he serve his entire nine-year sentence in confinement. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Cyrus Randy Whitson
Defendant, Cyrus Randy Whitson, appeals the trial court’s dismissal of his motion for arrest of judgment. On appeal, Defendant argues that because the judgment form for his murder conviction is lacking the “file-stamp” date, his motion is timely and should have been granted. Because Defendant does not have a right to appeal the trial court’s dismissal pursuant to Rule 3 of the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, we dismiss the appeal. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Charles Edward Day
The defendant, Charles Edward Day, appeals his Anderson County Circuit Court jury conviction of reckless aggravated assault, claiming that the trial court erred by admitting certain evidence at trial, that the State committed prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument, that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction, that the sentence imposed was excessive, and that the cumulative effect of these errors prevented him from receiving a fair trial. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Anderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Stanley Abernathy James v. State of Tennessee
Stanley Abernathy James (“the Petitioner”) was found guilty of second degree murder by a Knox County jury, for which the Petitioner received a sentence of twenty-five years. This court affirmed the Petitioner’s conviction and sentence, and our supreme court denied further review. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging ineffective assistance of counsel, which the post-conviction court denied. On appeal, the Petitioner argues that trial counsel rendered ineffective assistance because trial counsel: (1) failed to fully pursue a defense theory of voluntary manslaughter instead of self-defense; (2) requested a jury instruction that misstated Tennessee law; (3) failed to fully research and investigate potential witnesses; and (4) failed to fully research and investigate the Petitioner’s medical history. After a thorough review of the record and applicable case law, we affirm. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Marquis D. Hendricks v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Marquis D. Hendricks, was convicted of first degree murder, attempted first degree murder, possession of cocaine with intent to deliver, possession of cocaine with intent to sell, and simple possession of marijuana. The Petitioner received an effective sentence of life in prison for the convictions. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief arguing that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to argue and request jury instructions on the statutory defenses of duress and necessity. Following a hearing, the post-conviction court found that there was no deficient performance by trial counsel because the facts did not support either statutory defense and denied the petition. After a thorough review of the record, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of relief. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Thomas Pleas Watts
The Defendant, Thomas Pleas Watts, pleaded guilty in the Rutherford County Circuit Court to possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia. See T.C.A. §§ 39-17-418 (2010) (amended 2014, 2016) (misdemeanor possession of marijuana), 39-17-425 (2014) (misdemeanor possession of drug paraphernalia). Pursuant to the plea agreement, the trial court granted the Defendant judicial diversion for eleven months and twenty-nine days. On appeal, the Defendant presents certified questions of law regarding the trial court’s denying his motion to suppress. We dismiss the appeal. |
Rutherford | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David Delgado Echeveria v. State of Tennessee
Petitioner, David Delgado Echeveria, pled guilty to the possession of 300 grams or more of cocaine with the intent to manufacture, sell, or deliver. Over five years later, he filed a petition for post-conviction relief, asserting that his attorney had failed to advise him of the potential immigration consequences of his plea. The post-conviction court dismissed the petition for failure to file within the statutory limitations period, and Petitioner appeals. We conclude that the petition was filed outside the limitations period and that Petitioner has not shown he is entitled to due process tolling. The judgment of the post-conviction court is affirmed. |
Wilson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Michael Goodrum v. State of Tennessee
The petitioner, Michael Goodrum, appeals the denial of post-conviction relief from his 2012 Maury County Circuit Court jury convictions of possession with intent to sell .5 grams or more of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a park and possession with intent to sell .5 grams or more of cocaine within 1,000 feet of a school, for which he received a sentence of 15 years. In this appeal, the petitioner contends that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel and that the cumulative effect of his counsel’s errors prevented him from receiving a fair trial. Discerning no error, we affirm. |
Maury | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Claude David Powers
The Defendant, Claude David Powers, pleaded guilty in the Montgomery County Circuit Court to aggravated assault, a Class C felony. See T.C.A. § 39-13-102 (2014) (amended 2015). The trial court sentenced the Defendant as a Range I, standard offender to four years, with one year to serve in confinement and the remainder to serve on probation. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) his four-year sentence is excessive and (2) the trial court erred in denying his request for full probation. Because the trial court failed to place the appropriate findings of fact and determinations on the record as required by our sentencing laws, we remand the case to the trial court for a new sentencing hearing. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Kenneth Hayes v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Kenneth Hayes, appeals the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief in which he challenged his convictions for reckless aggravated assault, two counts of aggravated assault, criminal attempt to commit the intentional killing of an animal worth over $1000, theft of property over $1000, and evading arrest and his effective sentence of forty years, eleven months and twenty-nine days in confinement. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he was denied his right to the effective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to raise sufficiency of the evidence in the motion for a new trial, trial counsel failed to object to the application of enhancement factors during the sentencing hearing, and trial counsel failed to object to the trial court’s determination that the Petitioner was a Range II offender. After review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the post-conviction court’s denial of relief. |
Shelby | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
James Hoover v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, James Hoover, pleaded no contest to vehicular homicide and vehicular assault. The trial court entered the sentence agreed to by the parties: twelve years. The Petitioner then filed a petition for post-conviction relief in which he alleged that his counsel had been ineffective, rendering his plea unknowingly and involuntarily entered. After a hearing, the post-conviction court denied the Petitioner relief, and after review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment. |
Tipton | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Mario Cogshell
The Defendant, Mario Cogshell, entered guilty pleas in the Robertson County Circuit Court to three counts of possessing less than 0.5 grams of cocaine with intent to sell. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of ten years to be served in confinement. On appeal, the Defendant argues that his sentence is excessive. Upon review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. However, we remand the case for entry of proper judgment forms for the charges that were dismissed as a result of the guilty plea. |
Robertson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jennifer Hodges
Defendant, Jennifer Hodges, pleaded nolo contendere to six counts of statutory rape, a Class D felony, and one count of solicitation of a minor, a Class E felony. Defendant was sentenced to four years for each count of aggravated statutory rape and two years for solicitation. All sentences were ordered to run concurrently for an effective four-year sentence. The effective sentence was suspended, and she was placed on probation for four years. On appeal, Defendant contends that the trial court erred by not granting her request for judicial diversion and that the trial court erred by sentencing her to the maximum sentences for her convictions. |
Montgomery | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Demarcus Lashawn Blackman
The Defendant, Demarcus Lashawn Blackman, was indicted by a Marshall County grand jury for the sale and delivery of .5 grams or more of cocaine in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated sections 39-17-417(a)(2) and (3) (2010). He was later convicted by a jury as charged. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court merged the convictions and imposed twelve years’ incarceration. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant argues that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court abused its discretion in imposing its sentence. We affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Marshall | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Lester Arnold Clouse
A White County jury convicted Defendant, Lester Arnold Clouse, of aggravated assault, assault, and resisting arrest. The trial court merged the resisting arrest conviction into the aggravated assault conviction and sentenced Defendant to an effective fifteen-year sentence as a Range III, persistent offender, to be served consecutively to other outstanding sentences. On direct appeal, this court affirmed Defendant’s convictions but reversed his sentence and remanded the case for a new sentencing hearing. See State v. Lester Arnold Clouse, No. M2013-02633-CCA-R3-CD, 2014 WL 7332181, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Dec. 23, 2014). Following a sentencing hearing on remand, the trial court imposed an effective fourteen-year sentence as a Range III, persistent offender to be served consecutively to his sentences for other convictions. On appeal, Defendant challenges the trial court’s finding that he qualified as a persistent offender, the length of his sentence, and the imposition of partial consecutive sentences. After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, we affirm Defendant’s sentences for aggravated assault and assault, and we reduce Defendant’s sentence for resisting arrest, a Class B misdemeanor, to six months. We remand the case to the trial court for entry of a corrected judgment on the resisting arrest conviction to reflect that the conviction is merged into Defendant’s aggravated assault conviction in accordance with the trial court’s prior findings. |
White | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee Christopher Lynn Taylor
The Defendant, Christopher Lynn Taylor, appeals as of right from the trial court’s order of total incarceration after his second violation of his six-year probationary sentence. The Defendant contends that the trial court erred in determining that he was a danger to society and by denying his request for drug treatment in the Community Corrections Program. Following our review, we discern no error. Thus, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. |
Anderson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
James Mellon v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, James Mellon, appeals as of right from the denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, the Petitioner contends that he received ineffective assistance of counsel because trial counsel failed to present a viable defense. Following our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
David C. Duncan v. State of Tennessee
Nearly thirty-five years from the date Petitioner, David C. Duncan, burglarized the home of, raped, and then killed a victim in Sumner County, he appeals the summary denial of his petition for writ of error coram nobis. Upon our review of the record, not only is the petition untimely filed, it also fails to allege any newly discovered evidence that may have affected the outcome of Petitioner's trial. Therefore, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Sumner | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Ricky Lee Palmer
Defendant, Ricky Lee Palmer, appeals from his conviction of aggravated assault for which he was sentenced to six years. On appeal, he challenges the sufficiency of the evidence. We determine that the evidence was monumentally sufficient to sustain the conviction for aggravated assault. Therefore, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. |
Davidson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Timothy Reynolds
Defendant, Timothy Reynolds, pled guilty to the sale of less than .5 grams of cocaine. As a result of the guilty plea he was sentenced to six years with one year to serve and the remainder to be served on supervised probation. After Defendant’s probation was partially revoked on two separate occasions, a third probation violation resulted in the complete revocation of probation. Defendant appeals the revocation of probation. We affirm the trial court’s decision to revoke Defendant’s probation. |
Giles | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Anthony Dodson v. Blair Leibach, Warden
Petitioner, Anthony Dodson, appeals from the trial court’s summary dismissal of his pro se petition for writ of habeas corpus in which he alleged that his conviction for attempted first degree murder is illegal. After a thorough review, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Trousdale | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
Jeffrey S. Petty v. State of Tennessee
The Petitioner, Jeffrey S. Petty, appeals the Dickson County Circuit Court’s denial of his petition for post-conviction relief. On appeal, he argues that trial counsel was ineffective by (1) failing to move for a mistrial based on juror misconduct; (2) failing to file a motion to suppress evidence found in the Petitioner’s car; and (3) failing to include certain issues in his motion for new trial. Upon our review, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court. |
Dickson | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. Jason William Kirk
The Appellant, Jason William Kirk, appeals the Madison County Circuit Court’s denial of his motion to withdraw his guilty pleas to theft of property valued $10,000 or more and evading arrest and resulting effective fifteen-year sentence. Based upon the record and the parties’ briefs, we affirm the trial court’s denial of the motion. |
Madison | Court of Criminal Appeals | |
State of Tennessee v. John Lowery
Petitioner, John Lowery, appeals from the trial court’s denial of his petition for writ of error coram nobis. Eleven years after Petitioner’s convictions and sentences were affirmed on direct appeal, Petitioner filed a petition for writ of error coram nobis, which was summarily dismissed by the trial court. In his petition, Petitioner asserted that two witnesses recanted their identification of Petitioner as the shooter, and a previously unknown witness said that Petitioner was not at the scene of the crime. On appeal, this court reversed the court’s summary dismissal of the petition and remanded for an evidentiary hearing. On remand, the State filed a response, asserting that the statute of limitations had run. Following an evidentiary hearing, the trial court denied relief, finding the two witnesses who recanted not credible and that the testimony of the newly discovered witness did not meet the test that it “might have” changed the outcome of the trial. Having reviewed the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgment of the trial court. |
Knox | Court of Criminal Appeals |
