State of Tennessee v. Jerrico Lamont Hawthorne

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedSeptember 7, 2016
DocketE2015-01635-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished

This text of State of Tennessee v. Jerrico Lamont Hawthorne (State of Tennessee v. Jerrico Lamont Hawthorne) 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. Jerrico Lamont Hawthorne, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE Assigned on Briefs June 29, 2016

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JERRICO LAMONT HAWTHORNE

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Hamilton County No. 281988 Rebecca J. Stern, Judge

No. E2015-01635-CCA-R3-CD – Filed September 7, 2016

The Defendant, Jerrico Lamont Hawthorne, was convicted by a Hamilton County Criminal Court jury of first degree premeditated murder, first degree felony murder during the perpetration of or attempt to perpetrate a robbery, attempt to commit first degree murder, a Class A felony, especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony, and attempt to commit especially aggravated robbery, a Class B felony. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-202 (2014), 39-13-403 (2014), 39-12-101 (2014). The trial court merged the felony murder conviction with the premeditated murder conviction and sentenced the Defendant to life imprisonment. The court also sentenced the Defendant to concurrent sentences of twenty-five years for attempted first degree murder, twenty-five years for especially aggravated robbery, and twelve years for attempted especially aggravated robbery. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions, (2) the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress the pretrial identifications, (3) the trial court erred by permitting evidence of cell phone data, (4) the trial court erred by permitting evidence pursuant to the dying declaration exception to the rule against hearsay, and (5) the trial court erred by failing to provide jury instructions on the lesser included offenses of voluntary manslaughter, reckless homicide, and criminally negligent homicide. Although we affirm the Defendant‟s convictions for first degree premeditated and felony murder, attempted first degree murder, and especially aggravated robbery, we reverse the trial court‟s judgment for attempted especially aggravated robbery, vacate the conviction, and dismiss the charge because of insufficient evidence.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Criminal Court Affirmed in Part; Reversed in Part; Dismissed in Part

ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY, JR., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which CAMILLE R. MCMULLEN and ROBERT L. HOLLOWAY, JR., JJ., joined. Donna Miller (on appeal) and Amanda Dunn (at trial), Chattanooga, Tennessee, for the appellant, Jerrico Lamont Hawthorne.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Brent C. Cherry, Senior Counsel; William H. Cox III, District Attorney General; and Lance Pope and Cameron Williams, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

On November 9, 2011, the Defendant and his codefendant, Deangelo Napoleon Justice, were indicted for premeditated and felony murder of James Williams, Jr., attempt to commit first degree murder of Yetta Harris, especially aggravated robbery of Mr. Williams, attempted especially aggravated robbery of Ms. Harris, attempted especially aggravated robbery of Jeffrey Dunnigan, aggravated assault of Mr. Dunnigan, and the reckless endangerment of C.H.1 Before the trial, the charges related to Mr. Dunnigan and C.H. were dismissed, and the Defendant sought to suppress Ms. Harris‟s and Mr. Dunnigan‟s pretrial identifications.

Motion to Suppress

Jeffrey Dunnigan testified that on July 27, 2011, he was living with his mother, Yetta Harris, and his younger brother, C.H. Mr. Dunnigan said that his mother and James Williams, Jr., had been in a romantic relationship for about eight years at the time of Mr. Williams‟s death. Mr. Dunnigan said that between 10:30 and 11:30 p.m., he left home to purchase a drink and that when he returned, the Defendant and the codefendant appeared from the side of the home and were holding guns. He said that the men approached him, that they pointed their guns at him, and that the Defendant told him to get inside the home. Mr. Dunnigan said that the men took him to a bedroom where his younger brother was located, that the men stomped, beat, and electrocuted him with a Taser, and that the men asked for his money. Mr. Dunnigan said that the Defendant left the room after Mr. Dunnigan told the Defendant where to find money and that the Defendant returned about three minutes later. Mr. Dunnigan said that the Defendant left the room again after hearing a car engine and that his parents walked inside the home through the front door. Mr. Dunnigan said that after a brief pause, he heard gunshots. He said that after the gunshots, the codefendant left the room and that Mr. Dunnigan heard additional gunshots. Mr. Dunnigan left the bedroom, walked to

1 This court refers to minors by their initials.

-2- the living room, and saw his mother and Mr. Williams had been shot. The Defendant and the codefendant were gone.

Mr. Dunnigan testified that he called 9-1-1, that the police and an ambulance arrived about twenty minutes later, and that he spoke with Detective Jay Montgomery and another detective later that night at the police station. Mr. Dunnigan said that the detectives provided him a photograph lineup and that he identified the Defendant as one of the men in his home. Mr. Dunnigan identified the photograph lineup he viewed at the police station, which was received as an exhibit.

Mr. Dunnigan testified that on August 10, 2011, the police provided him another photograph lineup and that he identified the codefendant. The photograph lineup was received as an exhibit. He noted that the police showed him several photograph lineups between his identifying the Defendant and the codefendant and that he did not identify anyone in those lineups. Mr. Dunnigan said that when he identified the codefendant, his mother was not in the room.

Mr. Dunnigan testified that before the night of the shooting, he had never seen the Defendant or the codefendant. He said that he was certain the Defendant and the codefendant were the men who were inside his home on the night of the shooting.

On cross-examination, Mr. Dunnigan testified that the photographs from the lineup were black and white and that the photograph lineup contained eight pages, each showing one photograph. He said the detectives provided him the pages in a stack. He did not recall viewing one page showing all eight photographs. He did not recall viewing forty photographs before identifying the Defendant. He said that he was instructed by the detectives to write his initials on the photograph he identified as the Defendant. Mr. Dunnigan did not recall if the police had a suspect at the time he identified the Defendant and said the police did not tell him they were looking for a particular person.

Mr. Dunnigan testified that he described the shooter as having a dark complexion and dreadlocks and that he provided a description of the shooter‟s clothes. He recalled the shooter wore a light gray shirt and black shoes with white laces. He said that although he heard both men speak during the incident, the police did not provide him a voice lineup. He said he and his mother did not speak about the men‟s identities while they waited for the ambulance to arrive but admitted he and his mother discussed the men later.

-3- Mr. Dunnigan testified that the Defendant and the codefendant were behind him as they walked inside the home, that Mr. Dunnigan was pushed face first on the floor in the bedroom, and that the men stayed behind him while Mr. Dunnigan was on the floor. He said no porch lights were on when the men appeared from the side of the home but noted the street lights allowed him to see them.

Mr. Dunnigan acknowledged his preliminary hearing testimony in which he said he was electrocuted with a Taser about ten to fifteen times and testified that the codefendant said not to say anything after the incident. Mr.

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State of Tennessee v. Jerrico Lamont Hawthorne, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-tennessee-v-jerrico-lamont-hawthorne-tenncrimapp-2016.