Dwight Twarn Champion v. State of Tennessee

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedSeptember 15, 2022
DocketW2021-01392-CCA-R3-PC
StatusPublished

This text of Dwight Twarn Champion v. State of Tennessee (Dwight Twarn Champion v. State of Tennessee) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Dwight Twarn Champion v. State of Tennessee, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2022).

Opinion

09/15/2022 IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON Assigned on Briefs August 2, 2022

DWIGHT TWARN CHAMPION v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Madison County No. C-21-144 Roy B. Morgan, Jr., Judge ___________________________________

No. W2021-01392-CCA-R3-PC ___________________________________

The Petitioner, Dwight Twarn Champion, was tried jointly with his co-defendant and was convicted of facilitation of criminal attempt of possession of cocaine with a weight of 0.5 grams or more with intent to sell, facilitation of criminal attempt of possession of cocaine with a weight of 0.5 grams or more with intent to deliver, and possession of marijuana, for which he received an effective twelve-year sentence. The Petitioner filed a petition for post-conviction relief, claiming that trial counsel was ineffective because he failed to file a motion to suppress, interview one of the State’s witnesses, investigate the precise location of a black plastic bag containing drugs found outside the home, cross-examine one of the State’s witnesses, and file a motion to sever the Petitioner’s trial from his co- defendant’s trial. The post-conviction court denied the petition. After review, we affirm the post-conviction court’s judgment.

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 TIMOTHY L. EASTER, J., joined. JOHN EVERETT WILLIAMS, P.J., not participating.1

Alexander Camp (on appeal); and Joseph T. Howell (at hearing and on appeal), Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellant, Dwight Twarn Champion.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Richard D. Douglas, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Jody S. Pickens, District Attorney General; and Al Earls, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

1 The Honorable John Everett Williams passed away on September 2, 2022, and did not participate in this opinion. We acknowledge his faithful service to this Court. OPINION

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Law enforcement searched the home of Ms. Lena Virginia Cole, the Petitioner’s co-defendant, pursuant to a search warrant and found a “‘marijuana cigarette blunt,’” a glass Pyrex measuring cup with white powdery residue in it, and a black plastic bag containing 5.2 grams of cocaine, 13.9 grams of crack cocaine, suboxone strips, and a digital scale. State v. Dwight Twarn Champion, No. W2019-00230-CCA-R3-CD, 2020 WL 504826, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Jan. 30, 2020), perm. app. denied (Tenn. June 5, 2020). Evidence connected the Petitioner to Ms. Cole’s home, and the Petitioner and Ms. Cole were both indicted for possession with intent to sell or deliver 0.5 grams or more of cocaine in counts one and two, simple possession of marijuana in count three, and possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia in count four. Id.

At trial, the evidence showed that Madison County Sherriff’s Department (“MCSD”) Investigator Nathaniel Shoate searched the bedroom of the home and found a “‘marijuana cigarette blunt’” on the nightstand. Id. MCSD Investigator Michael Byrd found currency wrapped in a sock in a dresser and a black wallet with currency in it. Id. He did not know to whom the currency belonged, but based on the amount and denominations present, he believed that narcotics transactions were probably taking place. Id. Jackson Police Department Investigator Jarrod Cobb testified that he found a glass Pyrex measuring cup on the kitchen counter with a white powdery residue inside. Id. The white residue tested positive for crack cocaine in two field tests conducted by Investigator Cobb at the home. Id. He testified that a measuring cup would have been used for manufacturing cocaine and was not used for cocaine consumption. Id.

Special Agent Cathy Dent of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (“TBI”) searched the yard. Id. Along the property line adjoining Ms. Cole’s residence on the left, Special Agent Dent found a black plastic bag. Id. She informed the lead investigator but did not remain to observe the bag being opened. Id. at *2. She stated that she did not investigate the property boundaries before her search and that she just had to “‘guess . . . whose line would go to what spot.’” Id. She agreed that she did not communicate with any neighbors. Id.

MCSD Investigator Dennis Ifantis investigated Ms. Cole’s home prior to the search. Id. He stated that the Petitioner was in a relationship with Ms. Cole and that he frequently spent the night at Ms. Cole’s home. Id. He found several documents tying the Petitioner and Ms. Cole to the home, including the Petitioner’s paystubs and credit cards, -2- Ms. Cole’s driver’s license, and a Tennessee auto insurance card for the Petitioner and Ms. Cole, which covered a BMW. Id.

Investigator Ifantis stated that the black plastic bag contained 5.2 grams of cocaine, 13.9 grams of crack cocaine, suboxone strips, and a digital scale and that, based on the weight of the narcotics and the presence of a digital scale, the drugs were possessed with the intent to sell and distribute rather than for personal use. Id. He testified that, to the best of his knowledge, the black plastic bag was found on Ms. Cole’s property and not on the neighbor’s property. Id. at *3. He stated that neither the Petitioner nor Ms. Cole had any way to view the search of the bag or where it was found because they were detained in the front yard near the porch when the bag was located and examined. Id. He explained that a drug dealer would hide narcotics in a thicket on a wood line to separate themselves from the drugs and other incriminating evidence. Id. He stated that three cell phones were located in the back bedroom of Ms. Cole’s home and that having multiple cell phones was common in illegal drug transactions. Id. He ascertained that one of the cell phones belonged to Ms. Cole but that it did not contain evidence of illegal activity. Id. The two other cell phones were not operational. Id.

Investigator Ifantis testified regarding a conversation in which he

spoke to [the Petitioner] once he was in jail and told [the Petitioner] that the investigators found “dope” in his backyard. Investigator Ifantis said that [the Petitioner] “was surprised” by this news. Later, Investigator Ifantis listened to a recording of [the Petitioner’s] “booking call” in which [the Petitioner] told someone that there “wasn’t nothing on that property. That sh** was next door . . . . They come down and swear by nine it was on the property. That sh** wasn’t on no property.”

On cross-examination, . . . he agreed that he told [the Petitioner] that a black plastic bag was found before [the Petitioner] was heard talking about the bag in the “booking call.” He also agreed that, while he was searching the black plastic bag in the backyard, he was not aware of whether [the Petitioner] and [Ms.] Cole were viewing his activities.

Id. He said that he tried to talk to Ms. Cole’s next-door neighbors on two occasions but that nobody answered the door. Id.

The jury found the Petitioner guilty in count one of facilitation of criminal attempt of possession of cocaine with a weight of 0.5 grams or more with intent to sell as a lesser included offense of possession with intent to sell or deliver 0.5 grams or more of cocaine, guilty in count two of facilitation of criminal attempt of possession of cocaine with a -3- weight of 0.5 grams or more with intent to deliver as a lesser included offense of possession with intent to sell or deliver 0.5 grams or more of cocaine, and guilty in count three of possession of marijuana. Id. at *4. The jury was unable to reach a verdict in count four relating to the possession with intent to use drug paraphernalia charge, and the State dismissed that count. Id.

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Bluebook (online)
Dwight Twarn Champion v. State of Tennessee, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/dwight-twarn-champion-v-state-of-tennessee-tenncrimapp-2022.