State of Tennessee v. Corey D. Gilbert

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJune 11, 2013
DocketM2012-01231-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished

This text of State of Tennessee v. Corey D. Gilbert (State of Tennessee v. Corey D. Gilbert) 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. Corey D. Gilbert, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2013).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT NASHVILLE Assigned on Briefs April 17, 2013

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. COREY D. GILBERT

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Montgomery County No. 40901308 Michael Jones, Judge

No. M2012-01231-CCA-R3-CD - Filed June 11, 2013

A Montgomery County jury convicted the Defendant, Corey D. Gilbert, of first degree felony murder and attempted aggravated robbery. The trial court imposed a mandatory life sentence for the felony murder conviction and a three-year sentence for the attempted aggravated robbery conviction. On appeal, the Defendant challenges the evidence supporting his conviction for attempted aggravated robbery as the underlying offense for the felony murder conviction. After a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the trial court’s judgments.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Circuit Court Affirmed

R OBERT W. W EDEMEYER, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which T HOMAS T. W OODALL and J AMES C URWOOD W ITT, J R., JJ., joined.

Gregory D. Smith, Clarksville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Corey D. Gilbert.

Robert E. Cooper, Jr., Attorney General and Reporter; Brent C. Cherry, Senior Counsel; John W. Carney, District Attorney General; Steve Garrett, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION I. Facts

This case arises from the attempted robbery and shooting death of the victim, George Labront Miller, which occurred on July 21, 2009. For these crimes a Montgomery County grand jury indicted the Defendant for first degree felony murder and aggravated robbery.

At a trial on these charges, the State presented the following evidence: George Miller, the victim’s father, testified that his son was twenty-one years old at the time of his death. Miller recalled that he last saw his son alive at a family reunion on July 4, 2009. The next time he saw his son was at the funeral home. Miller identified a photograph of his deceased son.

Brittaney Welch testified that in July 2009 she lived in a room at the A & W Motel. The victim also resided at the A & W Motel in a room near Welch’s room. Welch recalled that, on the night of July 21, 2009, she observed a black woman get out of a black Impala with tinted windows and go up to the victim’s room with him. Another black woman drove the Impala away. Later in the evening she heard what sounded like a fight coming from the victim’s room. At around 11:00 p.m., Welch observed the Defendant and Dominick Hodges, a co-defendant, run past her room and to an empty parking lot behind the motel where they got into the same black Impala she had earlier seen. The black Impala sped away at a “high rate of speed.” Welch testified that the next morning she saw “a whole lot of police” taking the door off of the victim’s room.

On cross-examination, Welch testified that she had previously seen the victim sell drugs to another resident of the hotel. Welch testified that she was fifteen years old at the time of these crimes. Welch identified her statement to police and agreed that she did not mention the sounds of a fight emanating from the victim’s room or the Defendant’s flight past her room later that night. She explained that she did not tell police these facts because, at the time, she did not know what was relevant to the case.

Shawntay Evans testified that she, Cassandra Santos, the Defendant, and Dominick Hodges made a plan to rob the victim. Evans said that, at first, there were text messages exchanged regarding “setting [the victim] up with [Hodges].” On the night of July 21, 2009, Santos was at Evans’s house, and the Defendant and Hodges drove to Evans’ house in the Defendant’s black Impala. A plan was devised for Evans to gain entry into the victim’s motel room, and then she was to notify the others when to come to the room to rob the victim. She explained that she was selected to enter the room first because the victim had a romantic interest in her. Evans could not recall the victim’s room number but said that the motel where he stayed was the A & W Motel.

Evans testified that, earlier in the evening, the victim’s ex-girlfriend, Candace Ligon, had been at Evans’ home and told Evans that the victim did not carry a gun. The victim relayed this information to the others, and the group agreed that the Defendant and Hodges would not use a gun during the robbery but would just hit the victim to scare him into giving up his money. Evans said that they planned to rob the victim of “[m]oney, dope, whatever we found.” Even though they knew the victim was unarmed, both the Defendant and Hodges carried guns. Evans recalled that Hodges did not “like his gun” because “it was small,” so

2 the Defendant drove them to “Lincoln Homes” to find a different gun for Hodges. When Hodges was unable to find a replacement gun, the group proceeded to a Kroger where the Defendant, “T.K.,” and Hodges got out of the car, and Santos drove Evans to the motel.

Evans testified that she met the victim at the motel, and the two went upstairs to his room. Santos waited until Evans entered the room and then drove back to the Kroger to pick up the Defendant and Hodges. Inside the victim’s room, Evans and the victim “chilled,” “talked,” and “smoked blunts.” While in the room, Evans communicated with Santos by texting the Defendant’s phone. Evans said that she tried to get the door unlocked, so the Defendant and Hodges could get inside, but when she could not do so, she walked outside to the parking lot. In the parking lot, she saw the Defendant and Hodges on the side of the building, and Hodges motioned for Evans to go back to the victim’s room.

Evans testified that she returned to the room leaving the door open this time and told the victim that she was waiting for her cousin. Evans and the victim were seated on the bed when the Defendant and Hodges came into the room with their guns drawn and began “pistol-whipp[ing]” the victim. Evans said that, as she ran out of the room while the Defendant and Hodges were hitting the victim, the victim was covering his face and trying to get up off of the bed. Evans recalled that, after the Defendant and Hodges came out of the victim’s room, but before they got into the Impala, Hodges threw the guns into the bushes at the back of the Cumberland Grille restaurant where the car was parked. Evans recalled that she and Santos were in the back seat of the Impala, the Defendant was in the passenger seat, and Hodges drove the car away from the motel.

Evans testified that Hodges drove to a wooded area and parked the car. Evans, the Defendant, Santos, and Hodges then went into the woods to hide. Evans said that they did this in an attempt to conceal themselves because they did not know if anyone had seen the black Impala. While in the woods, Hodges said that he thought he had accidentally shot the victim. Evans said that she responded saying “no” and “that’s not true,” and the Defendant said, “[W]ell, y’all didn’t see the way the blood hit against the wall.”

Evans testified that she initially lied to police because she was scared and did not want anyone to get in trouble. One of Evans’ family members, however, encouraged Evans to tell the truth and Evans’ mother “made [her] go to the detective.” Evans then told the police the same version of events that she told the jury. Evans said that she was seventeen years old at the time of these crimes, and she was charged with first-degree murder in Juvenile Court. Evans said that she pled guilty to conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery in Juvenile Court and served one month in a detention facility. Evans said that she and Santos accepted the same plea offer. Evans said that the only item taken from the victim that night was marijuana.

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

Jackson v. Virginia
443 U.S. 307 (Supreme Court, 1979)
State v. Dorantes
331 S.W.3d 370 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2011)
State v. Hanson
279 S.W.3d 265 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2009)
State v. Rice
184 S.W.3d 646 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2006)
State v. Goodwin
143 S.W.3d 771 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2004)
State v. Carruthers
35 S.W.3d 516 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2000)
State v. Smith
24 S.W.3d 274 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2000)
State v. Buggs
995 S.W.2d 102 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1999)
State v. Bland
958 S.W.2d 651 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1997)
State v. Caldwell
80 S.W.3d 31 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2002)
State v. Pendergrass
13 S.W.3d 389 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 1999)
State v. Ball
973 S.W.2d 288 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 1998)
Liakas v. State
286 S.W.2d 856 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1956)
Carroll v. State
370 S.W.2d 523 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1963)
State v. Reid
91 S.W.3d 247 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2002)
Duchac v. State
505 S.W.2d 237 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1973)
Marable v. State
313 S.W.2d 451 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1958)
State v. Dykes
803 S.W.2d 250 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 1990)
State v. Matthews
805 S.W.2d 776 (Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 1990)
Bolin v. State
405 S.W.2d 768 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 1966)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
State of Tennessee v. Corey D. Gilbert, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-tennessee-v-corey-d-gilbert-tenncrimapp-2013.