State of Tennessee v. Charles Lincoln Falkner

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJune 2, 2008
DocketE2006-02094-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished

This text of State of Tennessee v. Charles Lincoln Falkner (State of Tennessee v. Charles Lincoln Falkner) 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
State of Tennessee v. Charles Lincoln Falkner, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE March 26, 2008 Session

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CHARLES LINCOLN FAULKNER

Direct Appeal from the Circuit Court for Sullivan County No. S46,737 Phyllis H. Miller, Judge

No. E2006-02094-CCA-R3-CD - Filed June 2, 2008

The Defendant, Charles Lincoln Faulkner, was convicted of selling more than 0.5 grams of cocaine within 1000' of school property and delivery of more than 0.5 grams of cocaine within 1000' of school property. The trial court merged the convictions and sentenced the Defendant to twenty years in prison and a fine. On appeal, the Defendant alleges the trial court erred by: (1) failing to dismiss the charges because of a material variance between the presentment and evidence at trial; (2) failing to exclude evidence of prior bad acts; (3) failing to exclude expert testimony; (4) instructing the jury in error; (5) failing to bifurcate the trial; and (6) sentencing the Defendant in violation of the Sixth Amendment. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we 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 JERRY L. SMITH and J.C. MCLIN , JJ., joined.

Leslie S. Hale, Blountville, Tennessee, for the Appellant, Charles Lincoln Faulkner.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Michael E. Moore, Solicitor General; John H. Bledsoe, Assistant Attorney General; H. Greeley Wells, Jr., District Attorney General; Kent Chitwood, Jr., Assistant District Attorney General, for the Appellee, the State of Tennessee.

OPINION

I. Facts

The Sullivan County Grand Jury originally issued a presentment charging that the Defendant did “sell or deliver point five (.5) grams or more of a substance containing Cocaine, a Schedule II Controlled Substance, within 1000' of John Sevier Middle School, contrary to T.C.A. § 39-17-417, a Class A felony . . . .” The State moved to amend the presentment, which the trial court allowed. The amended presentment alleged one count of sale of a controlled substance and one count of delivery of a controlled substance, both in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated sections 39-17- 417 and 39-17-432; the amended presentment otherwise conformed with the original presentment that it replaced.

The State presented the following evidence at the Defendant’s trial: Deputy Richard McCann, of the Sullivan County Sheriff’s Office, testified that he and Angela Sullivan planned an undercover “buy” on January 31, 2001. She was a confidential informant, and, as soon as Deputy McCann met her, he searched her. He then placed a “body wire” on her and searched her car ensuring she possessed no contraband. On cross-examination, Deputy McCann stated that he would not search another police officer making a “buy,” but it was policy to search informants. He stated that trust was not a factor in his decision to search Sullivan.

Angela Sullivan testified that she knew the Defendant through his wife, with whom she attended high school. Prior to the “buy,” she had known the Defendant for four to six months. During that time, she “met with him” seven or eight times, always at the Minute Market on Center Street in Kingsport. Originally, it was the Defendant’s idea to meet at the Minute Market; then, the Minute Market became their regular meeting place.

Sullivan further testified that she first approached the law enforcement of Sullivan County about working together because she had been charged with attempt to obtain narcotics by fraud and criminal solicitation. Sullivan stated that, although no promises were made to her, she felt as though she could “help her case” by becoming a confidential informant. She faced two to six years for her conviction, and she received two years of probation. She once violated her probation by failing a drug test, for which she spent seventy-six days in jail. Sullivan also admitted that she previously pled guilty to selling ecstacy fourteen years ago in South Carolina.

Sullivan stated that, on the day in question, she met the officers at a preassigned location. She and her car were both searched, and she then made a phone call to the Defendant’s pager. The Defendant called Sullivan back, and Sullivan told the Defendant that she wanted to purchase cocaine. The Defendant stated that he would need to call her back, which he did. He told Sullivan that the deal was a “go,” and they should meet him at “the place” they had previously met. Sullivan and Agent Kinser, the agent who accompanied her on the purchase, then proceeded to the Minute Market. When they arrived at the Minute Market,1 the Defendant was standing by a pay phone with a group of individuals. He approached the vehicle and got in on the rear passenger side. Once inside, they exchanged greetings, and the Defendant “pulled out a baggie with rock cocaine in it” and passed it to Agent Kinser. Officer Kinser handed the Defendant five hundred dollars, and they said good-bye.2

1 Sullivan identified on a large map precisely where she parked the car at the Minute Market and from where the Defendant approached.

2 Sullivan stated that she was wired throughout the transaction, and a tape of the transaction was played for the jury.

2 On cross-examination, Sullivan testified that she received payments for being a confidential informant on prior occasions but not in this instance. Sullivan stated that, after the purchase, the Defendant walked back to where she initially saw him standing when they drove up.

Agent Shannon Kinser, with the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation (“TBI”), testified that he and Sullivan worked together once prior to this occasion. On this occasion, Sullivan arrived at the designated location, the police searched her, and she called the Defendant. The police placed a wire on Sullivan, and Agent Kinser proceeded with Sullivan to the Minute Market where the deal was to take place. When they approached, the Defendant was standing with three to four other gentlemen. They parked at the Minute Market,3 and the Defendant approached and entered their vehicle. After the transaction, Sullivan and Kinser drove away from the Minute Market the same way as they had come.

In specifically describing the transaction, Agent Kinser stated that the Defendant entered the car, and Sullivan introduced the Defendant as “Sean.” The Defendant handed Agent Kinser a bag of what appeared to be rock cocaine, and Agent Kinser asked the Defendant if it was worth $500. The Defendant responded that it was, and Agent Kinser asked him if he weighed it. The Defendant responded that he had not, but his “boy” had. Agent Kinser paid the Defendant $500, and the Defendant exited the vehicle.4

On cross-examination, Agent Kinser stated that he did not take pictures of the drugs before they were sent to the TBI. He stated that he could not specifically remember what the Defendant did after exiting the car, but Kinser recalled seeing the group of men with whom the Defendant was standing get in a car and leave. He asked his surveillance team to obtain the tag number on that car. Agent Kinser stated that he felt as though the amount of drugs he received for his $500 was “a little light, but it’s not uncommon for the first purchase that a new person makes.” He stated that, as a general rule when staging a drug buy, he tries to buy as much as possible. On redirect-examination, Agent Kinser testified that, when he arrived at the Minute Market, he was unaware of the location of John Sevier Middle School.

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State of Tennessee v. Charles Lincoln Falkner, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-tennessee-v-charles-lincoln-falkner-tenncrimapp-2008.