State of Tennessee v. Aaron D. Ostine

A Cheatham County jury convicted the Defendant, Aaron D. Ostine, of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder, and aggravated robbery.  The trial court merged the two murder convictions and imposed a life sentence.  The court then sentenced the Defendant to twelve years for the aggravated robbery conviction.  On appeal, the Defendant contends that: (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions; (2) the trial court erred when it denied a motion to suppress his statements to police; and (3) the State engaged in prosecutorial misconduct during closing argument.  After a thorough review of the record and the applicable law, this Court affirmed the trial court’s judgment.  See State v. Aaron D. Ostine, No. M2013-00467-CCA-R3-CD, 2014 WL 2442988 (Tenn. Crim. App., at Nashville, May 28, 2014).  The Defendant filed a Rule 11 application, pursuant to the Tennessee Rules of Appellate Procedure, to the Tennessee Supreme Court.  Our Supreme Court granted the application and remanded the case to this Court for reconsideration in light of State v. Jackson, 444 S.W.3d 554 (Tenn. 2014).  After considering the facts and circumstances of this case as compared to those in Jackson, we again affirm the trial court’s judgment.