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State v. Reed7/7/1999
On September 25, 1990, a Cocke County jury convicted Appellant Jamie Dwayne Reed of voluntary manslaughter. That same day, the trial court sentenced Appellant as a Range I standard offender to a term of five years in the Tennessee Department of Correction. Appellant filed a motion for a new trial on October 19, 1990, and the trial court denied the motion on October 22, 1990. Appellant filed notice of appeal on October 22, 1990. Apparently, no further activity occurred in this case until September 25, 1997, when the State filed a motion to revoke Appellant's bond because he had failed to file notice or perfect an appeal in this Court . Appellant filed a motion to reinstate his bond on February 18, 1998, and the trial court reinstated bond on April 8, 1998. On appeal, Appellant challenges both his conviction and his sentence, raising the following issues:
1) whether the evidence was sufficient to support his conviction;
2) whether the jury was prejudiced by a comment made by a bailiff;
3) whether the trial court imposed an excessive sentence; and
4) whether the trial court should have imposed probation.
After a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
I. FACTS
Officer Lynn Shults of the Newport Police Department testified that he was called to the scene of a wreck at the Eastport Exxon Station on October 4, 1989. When Shults arrived, he received information that someone had been shot. Shults subsequently entered the Eastport Market and found the victim, Jonathan Hicks, lying on his back. After determining that Hicks had no pulse, Shults saw that Hicks had car keys in his hand and that there was a trail of blood between Hicks and a car.
Ed Thompson testified that while he was at the Eastport Market, a car sped through the car wash, made a u-turn, and hit a white car, making a lot of racket. Shortly thereafter, Thompson heard what sounded like three firecrackers going off. Thompson then saw a man with blood coming out of his mouth run into the store, grab a candy rack, and fall to the floor.
According to the autopsy report of Doctor Cleland Blake, Hicks died from internal hemorrhaging caused by a single gunshot wound to the chest. At the time of death, Hicks had an ethyl blood alcohol level of "0.10 gms 90" and had trace amounts of diazepam and nordiazepan in his system.
Detective Jimmy Gregg of the Newport Police Department testified that when he arrived at the scene at 9:18 p.m., he only found Hick's car. Gregg then went to Cocke County Baptist Hospital where Appellant had been transported by Officer James Holt. After Appellant received treatment for two stab wounds to his left arm, Appellant signed a waiver of his Miranda rights. Appellant subsequently gave a statement to the police that was introduced into evidence along with his waiver of rights form. A knife that was recovered from Appellant's car was also apparently introduced through the testimony of Detective Gregg.
In the statement that he gave to police, Appellant said that while he was at the service station, Hicks drove up and crashed into Appellant's car. Appellant then demanded that Hicks pay for the damage and when Hicks refused, the two began fighting. At some point, Hicks stabbed Appellant in the arm. Appellant subsequently went back to his vehicle, opened the door, pulled a gun out from under the driver's seat, and then shot Hicks. Appellant then left the scene and threw the gun in a river. Appellant later turned himself in to the police.
At trial, Appellant testified that he was parked at the car wash when Hicks crashed into his car. The two men got i
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