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State v. Lampton8/23/2001
Assigned on Briefs April 11, 2001
The Defendant was convicted of second offense driving under the influence and violation of the open container law. The trial court sentenced her to eleven months, twenty-nine days incarceration for the DUI conviction, suspended after service of ninety days, and to thirty days incarceration, suspended, for violation of the open container law. In this appeal as of right, the Defendant argues that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support her convictions. Having reviewed the record, we conclude that sufficient evidence was presented to support the jury's findings of guilt and therefore affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Affirmed
Robert W. Wedemeyer, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Joe G. Riley and John Everett Williams, JJ., joined.
OPINION
On May 5, 2000, a Madison County jury convicted the Defendant, Sheron Lampton, of driving under the influence (DUI) and violation of the open container law. At the conclusion of the trial, the Defendant stipulated that she was a DUI second offender. The trial court conducted a sentencing hearing on June 13, 2000. At the sentencing hearing, the State and the Defendant proposed an agreed sentence to the trial court, which the trial court approved. Pursuant to the agreement, the court sentenced the Defendant to eleven months, twenty-nine days incarceration for the second offense DUI conviction, suspended upon service of ninety days, after which time the Defendant was to be placed on Community Corrections. The trial court sentenced the Defendant to thirty days incarceration, suspended, for the violation of the open container law conviction. The court ordered that the sentences be served concurrently. The court also fined the Defendant $600 for the DUI conviction and $50 for the violation of the open container law conviction. The Defendant now appeals as of right, challenging the sufficiency of the evidence used to convict her. Having reviewed the record, we conclude that sufficient evidence was presented at trial to support the Defendant's convictions and thus affirm the judgment of the trial court.
At trial, Officer C. Wizer of the Jackson Police Department testified that he had been a police officer for a total of six years. He recalled that on the morning of July 18, 1999, while patrolling the streets of Jackson, he saw a white Chevrolet Caprice car which he suspected might be in violation of the window tint law. See Tenn. Code Ann. § 55-9-107. When he pulled the vehicle over, the Defendant emerged from the driver's seat holding a glass container. Wizer stated that as she exited her vehicle, the Defendant poured out the contents of the container. According to Wizer, he asked the Defendant what was in the glass, and she admitted that the glass contained beer. Wizer stated that while speaking with the Defendant, he could smell the odor of alcohol about her person. He also recalled that a passenger was riding with the Defendant at the time of the stop. Wizer testified that there was an open bottle of whiskey in the car, and the passenger admitted that it belonged to him.
Wizer testified that he asked the Defendant if she was armed, and she responded that she was not. He then checked the Defendant for weapons. Wizer maintained that as he patted the Defendant down, the Defendant began to pull out all her pockets, and she also untucked her shirt. He stated that at one point during the weapons check, he thought the Defendant "was going to take her shirt off." Wizer also noted that the Defendant's pants were unzipped, and he asked her to zip up her pants.
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