State of Tennessee v. Jacob A. Wright ( 2016 )


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  •         IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE
    AT NASHVILLE
    Assigned on Briefs February 9, 2016
    STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JACOB A. WRIGHT
    Appeal from the Criminal Court for Davidson County
    No. 2015-A-736    J. Randall Wyatt, Jr., Judge
    No. M2015-01517-CCA-R3-CD – Filed February 10, 2016
    The defendant, Jacob A. Wright, appeals the revocation of the probationary sentence
    imposed for his Davidson County Criminal Court conviction of kidnapping. Discerning
    no error, we affirm.
    Tenn. R. App. P. 3; Judgment of the Criminal Court Affirmed
    JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which ALAN E.
    GLENN and ROBERT L. HOLLOWAY, JR., JJ., joined.
    Nick McGregor, Nashville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jacob A. Wright.
    Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Lacy Wilber, Assistant Attorney
    General; Glenn R. Funk, District Attorney General; and Amy M. Hunter, Assistant
    District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
    OPINION
    On April 15, 2015, the defendant, originally charged with one count each of
    the aggravated kidnapping and domestic assault of the victim, pleaded guilty to one count
    of kidnapping, in exchange for dismissal of the domestic assault charge and a three-year
    sentence to be served on supervised probation.
    On July 6, 2015, the defendant’s probation supervisor filed a probation
    violation report alleging that the defendant had violated the terms of his probation by
    being arrested for domestic assault in Davidson County and by having an outstanding
    fugitive-from-justice warrant in the state of Georgia.
    At the July 30, 2015 revocation hearing, Joseph Stevenson testified that, at
    approximately 8:00 p.m. on July 2, 2015, he returned to his residence at the Congress Inn
    on Dickerson Road and passed the room where the defendant and the victim, the
    defendant’s girlfriend, resided. Because the window into the defendant’s room was not
    covered, Mr. Stevenson saw the defendant and the victim “having a physical altercation”:
    He is basically swinging and trying to fight on top of her.
    She is on the other side of him in a defensive motion trying to
    defend herself.
    ....
    She was basically down on her, I guess, down on her
    knees in front of him.
    As Mr. Stevenson continued past the defendant’s room, the defendant
    hurriedly closed the curtains, but Mr. Stevenson could still hear the couple “yelling and
    arguing and screaming.” Before Mr. Stevenson was able to contact the police, another
    resident at the complex had done so. When law enforcement officers arrived, Mr.
    Stevenson provided a statement. Mr. Stevenson testified that he was aware that the
    defendant and the victim had had “previous incidents.”
    John Geas, the defendant’s probation supervisor, testified that the defendant
    began probation on April 15, 2015. Sometime later, Officer Geas learned that the
    defendant had an outstanding fugitive-from-justice warrant in the state of Georgia, having
    absconded from “a DUI, and one other charge,” for which the defendant had received a
    three-year sentence.
    At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court concluded as follows:
    Well, I heard enough here from Mr. Stevenson very loud
    clear and clear [sic] what was happening there and it is the
    [c]ourt’s decision based on the preponderance of the evidence
    that this activity that was going on at the Congress Inn at
    Dickerson Road was in violation of probation. He has this
    other issue out of Georgia, that doesn’t help him any, but this
    victim in this case, domestic assault is the same victim as the
    kidnapping who he is on probation about to begin with, under
    all of those circumstances this warrant is going to be
    sustained and probation is going to be revoked.
    The accepted appellate standard of review of a probation revocation is
    abuse of discretion. See State v. Shaffer, 
    45 S.W.3d 553
    , 554 (Tenn. 2001); see also State
    -2-
    v. Reams, 
    265 S.W.3d 423
    , 430 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2007). Generally, “[a] trial court
    abuses its discretion when it applies incorrect legal standards, reaches an illogical
    conclusion, bases its ruling on a clearly erroneous assessment of the proof, or applies
    reasoning that causes an injustice to the complaining party.” State v. Phelps, 
    329 S.W.3d 436
    , 443 (Tenn. 2010). The 1989 Sentencing Act expresses a burden of proof for
    revocation cases: “If the trial judge finds that the defendant has violated the conditions of
    probation and suspension by a preponderance of the evidence, the trial judge shall have
    the right by order duly entered upon the minutes of the court to revoke the probation and
    suspension of sentence. . . .” T.C.A. § 40-35-311(e)(1).
    Upon a finding by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant has
    violated the conditions of probation, the trial court may revoke the defendant’s probation
    and “[c]ause the defendant to commence the execution of the judgment as originally
    entered, or otherwise in accordance with § 40-35-310.” Id.; see also Stamps v. State, 
    614 S.W.2d 71
    , 73 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1980). Following a revocation, “the original judgment
    so rendered by the trial judge shall be in full force and effect from the date of the
    revocation of such suspension.” 
    Id. § 40-35-310.
    In the present case, the proof adduced at the revocation hearing showed that
    the defendant violated the terms of his probation by assaulting the victim – the same
    victim whom he had kidnapped, resulting in the sentence of probation. The record fully
    supports this determination, justifying the revocation of probation.
    We hold that the trial court acted within its discretion, and we affirm the
    order of revocation and the imposition of the original sentence.
    _________________________________
    JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR., JUDGE
    -3-
    

Document Info

Docket Number: M2015-01517-CCA-R3-CD

Judges: Judge James Curwood Witt, Jr.

Filed Date: 2/10/2016

Precedential Status: Precedential

Modified Date: 2/10/2016