State v. Sikes9/6/2001
Assigned on Briefs August 7, 2001
As the result of an altercation with the manager of a fast food restaurant, the defendant was convicted by a jury of aggravated assault, a Class C felony; assault, a Class A misdemeanor; unlawful possession of a handgun while under the influence, a Class A misdemeanor; and the unlawful possession of a weapon with the intent to go armed, as a Class C misdemeanor. He was sentenced by the trial court to an effective sentence of four and one-half years, with 150 days in confinement, and the remainder of his time on intensive probation. Following the denial of his motion for a new trial, the defendant filed a timely appeal to this court, raising the issues of whether the evidence was sufficient to support his convictions of possession of a weapon with the intent to go armed and possession of a handgun while under the influence, and whether the trial court erred in enhancing his aggravated assault sentence to four and one-half years and sentencing him to intensive probation. Based on a careful review, we conclude that the evidence was sufficient to support the defendant's convictions, and that the trial court did not err in enhancing the defendant's sentence for aggravated assault. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Circuit Court Affirmed
Alan E. Glenn, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which David G. Hayes and Joe G. Riley, JJ., joined.
OPINION
DISCUSSION
On the evening of September 28, 1999, the defendant, Donald Steve Sikes, placed an order at the drive-through of a Church's Chicken in Jackson, Tennessee. Church's Assistant District Manager Charles Helloms, who was inside when the defendant was served, noticed as he was leaving the restaurant that the defendant was still at the drive-through window. Concerned about the length of time that the defendant had been in the drive-through line, Helloms approached to ask if there was a problem. According to Helloms, the defendant responded with anger and violence, first pulling out a handgun and threatening to shoot him, and then following Helloms as he retreated to his car and striking him in the face with his hand. The defendant was subsequently charged with aggravated assault, assault, unlawful possession of a handgun while under the influence, unlawful possession of a weapon with the intent to go armed, and public intoxication.
At trial, Helloms testified that when he left the restaurant he pulled into the drive-through lane, where he saw the defendant still at the drive-through window talking to two employees. Since he knew that the defendant had been in the lane approximately twenty to twenty-five minutes and had already been served, he pulled his car alongside the defendant's pickup truck, got out, and walked over to inquire if everything was all right. Helloms said that he was in uniform, and that he introduced himself as the restaurant's assistant district manager.
The defendant responded by asking him "who in the fuck" he was. Helloms repeated that he was the assistant district manager and was trying to determine if there was a problem. The defendant replied that he did not care who he was, and that he would shoot him because he was standing too close to his truck. When Helloms failed to move, the defendant, reaching behind him, pulled out a small, black handgun, pointed it at Helloms, and said something along the lines of "You don't believe I'll shoot?" Helloms testified that, without thinking, he replied, "Go ahead," but he was immediately fearful that the defendant would, in fact, shoot him. Instead, the defendant laid his gun down, and Hel
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