 |
 |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|
|
|
|
State v. Rhyan1/27/2003
also was at the wall. He said that when the defendant shot the victim, he and Big Daddy ran away. He acknowledged that in his statement to police, he said that the defendant "just clicked due to being cursed." He denied telling the police that the defendant said to the victim, "You ain't got nothing, you ain't going to take shit from me, trick. You ain't got nothing but a rusty ass knife. I'll take the knife from you and kick your ass with it." Instead, he said the victim made those statements to the defendant.
Dr. Cynthia Gardner, the Assistant Medical Examiner for Shelby County, testified that the victim died from a gunshot wound to the chest. The bullet penetrated the victim's heart, and he may have lived for a few minutes after the shooting. She acknowledged that during that time, he may have tried to get up. She said the victim had an abrasion on his forehead that may have been caused by the victim falling. She said the abrasion also could have been caused by the victim being struck in the head with a blunt object. At the time of his death, the victim had a blood alcohol content (BAC) of .18 percent. She said the gun used to kill the victim was fired from more than two feet away. On cross-examination, she said that in order for the six foot, two hundred seven pound victim to have had a BAC of .18 percent, he had to have consumed eight to ten drinks.
Tarlisha Carey, Lawrence Yancy's stepdaughter, testified for the defense that she lived one block from the Metro Market and that on December 3, 1998, Mr. Yancy came to her house and told her that someone had been shot. She said that earlier that day, she and Mr. Yancy had been smoking crack and drinking beer in her home. On cross-examination, she acknowledged telling a prosecutor that she had been taking drugs on December 3 and did not remember what had happened that day. She also acknowledged that she did not tell the prosecutor about Mr. Yancy drinking and smoking crack with her on December 3. She said, though, that the prosecutor never asked her about it. She said that at 11:30 p.m. on December 3, the police came to her house but that she was not home. She acknowledged talking to the defendant's attorney about the case and having a prior conviction for misdemeanor theft. A jury convicted the defendant of second degree murder.
I. SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE
The defendant claims that the evidence is insufficient to support his conviction. He contends that, at most, he is guilty of voluntary manslaughter because the evidence shows that he and the victim were in a heated argument, that the victim was cursing him and had threatened to take something from him, and that he "just clicked." The state argues that the evidence is sufficient to support the defendant's second degree murder conviction. We agree with the state.
Our standard of review when the defendant questions the sufficiency of the evidence on appeal is "whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S. Ct. 2781, 2789 (1979). We do not reweigh the evidence but presume that the jury has resolved all conflicts in the testimony and drawn all reasonable inferences from the evidence in favor of the state. See State v. Sheffield, 676 S.W.2d 542, 547 (Tenn. 1984); State v. Cabbage, 571 S.W.2d 832, 835 (Tenn. 1978). Questions about witness credibility were resolved by the jury. See State v. Bland, 958 S.W.2d 651, 659 (Tenn. 1997).
A conviction for second degree murder requires proof that the defendant unlawfully and knowingly killed another. See Tenn. Code
Page 1 2 3 4 5 6 Tennessee DUI Attorneys
DUI Lawyers
|
| |
to fill out a simple form to connect to DUI Lawyers in your area.
|
|