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State v. Fields5/6/1999
The Defendant, George Dennis Fields, appeals as of right following his sentencing in the Davidson County Criminal Court. Defendant pled guilty to solicitation to commit first degree murder. No agreement was determined as to the length or manner of service of the sentence. The trial court sentenced Defendant as a Range I Standard Offender to eleven (11) years of incarceration. Defendant filed a timely notice of appeal. Subsequently, Defendant timely filed a motion for reduction of his sentence pursuant to Rule 35(b) of the Tennessee Rules of Criminal Procedure. Following the denial of this motion, Defendant filed a separate appeal. Both appeals were consolidated by order of this court. We affirm the judgment of the trial court.
When an accused challenges the length, range or the manner of service of a sentence, this court has a duty to conduct a de novo review of the sentence with a presumption that the determinations made by the trial court are correct. Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-35-401(d). This presumption is "conditioned upon the affirmative showing in the record that the trial court considered the sentencing principles and all relevant facts and circumstances." State v. Ashby, 823 S.W.2d 166, 169 (Tenn. 1991).
In conducting a de novo review of a sentence, this court must consider: (a) the evidence, if any, received at the trial and the sentencing hearing; (b) the presentence report; (c) the principles of sentencing and arguments as to sentencing alternatives; (d) the nature and characteristics of the criminal conduct involved; (e) any statutory mitigating or enhancement factors; (f) any statement that the defendant made on his own behalf; and (g) the potential or lack of potential for rehabilitation or treatment. Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 40-35-102, -103, and -210; see State v. Smith, 735 S.W.2d 859, 863 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1987).
The State summarized its proof at the guilty plea hearing as follows:
". . . rior to August 29, 1996, Deputy Mike Watson of the Sumner County Sheriff's Department received information from an informant, an individual, actually, it was Butch Vaughn, to the effect that he had been contacted or had conversation with this Defendant about a possible hit; that is, a solicitation to commit murder, the victim being a Mr. Paul Martin. Deputy Watson contacted agents of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation and Agent Richard Stout, who is present here today, was assigned to the case."
"They arranged for another agent, Joe Copeland, to play the part of a hit man, and arrangements were made to meet with the Defendant, Mr. Fields, on August 29, 1996; that meeting took place at the Knight's Inn on Trinity Lane, here in Davidson County, Tennessee . . and the meeting was videotaped. Present in the room were the undercover agent, Mr. Copeland, Butch Vaughn, and the Defendant, and during the course of the recording, the Discussion was made to have Mr. Martin killed. Finances were discussed. Mr. Fields left the first meeting and returned at approximately 12:30 p.m., and again, all this is on videotape; counted out or paid a thousand dollars ($1,000.00) as down payment on the contract with Mr. Copeland, who, again, was posing as the hit man. Mr. Fields was arrested at that time."
Videotapes and audiotapes of telephone conversations between the Defendant, Copeland, and Vaughn were also admitted into evidence.
The Defendant's proof at the sentencing hearing consisted of several character witnesses. Leslie Cunningham Greer testified that she had known the Defendant for twenty (20) years, first meeting him when he was a police officer in Fairview. She described the Defendant as a good friend and father, however he did become
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