State of Tennessee v. Joseph Tolbert III a/k/a Micah Joshua Ford

507 S.W.3d 197, 2016 WL 3177133, 2016 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 404
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedMay 27, 2016
DocketE2015-00770-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished
Cited by14 cases

This text of 507 S.W.3d 197 (State of Tennessee v. Joseph Tolbert III a/k/a Micah Joshua Ford) 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. Joseph Tolbert III a/k/a Micah Joshua Ford, 507 S.W.3d 197, 2016 WL 3177133, 2016 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 404 (Tenn. Ct. App. 2016).

Opinion

OPINION

ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY, JR., J.,

delivered the opinion of the court,

in which THOMAS T. WOODALL, P.J., and ROBERT W. WEDEMEYER, J. joined.

The Defendant, Joseph I. Tolbert III, 1 was convicted by a Knox County Criminal Court jury of three counts of first degree felony murder, first degree premeditated murder, attempt to commit first degree murder, two counts of especially aggravated robbery, and two counts of especially aggravated burglary. See T.C.A. §§ 39-13-202 (2014) (first degree murder), 39-13-403 (2014) (especially aggravated robbery), 39-14^04 (2014) (especially aggravated burglary), 39-12-101 (2014) (criminal attempt). The convictions for felony murder and premeditated first degree murder were merged and the Defendant received an effective sentence of life plus twenty-two years. On appeal, the Defendant contends that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions, (2) his convictions for especially aggravated burglary are statutorily barred, and (3) his convictions for especially aggravated burglary violate double jeopardy principles. We affirm the judgments of the trial court relative to first degree felony murder, attempted first degree murder, and one of the especially aggravated robbery convictions. We merge the convictions for especially aggravated burglary to reflect one conviction for aggravated burglary and reduce the second conviction for especially aggravated robbery to aggravated assault and remand for resentencing relative to these counts.

*202 This case arises from a December 28, 2009 incident in which the Defendant entered the victims’ apartment, robbed them, fatally shot Michael Cowen and stabbed Brittany Davis.

At the trial, Michael Mayes testified that he was the records keeper for the Knox County Emergency Communications District. The audio recording of a December 28, 2009 9-1-1 call made by Ms. Davis was played for the jury. In the recording, Ms. Davis told the operator that someone had just robbed them, that she had been stabbed “everywhere,” and that her boyfriend had been shot, although later she said he was shot and stabbed. She said that her boyfriend was on the floor, that she did not know how many times he had been shot, and that she thought he was dead. When asked whether “they” kicked in the door, Ms. Davis responded affirmatively. Ms. Davis’s responses became delayed, and she had to be asked questions repeatedly. She said that she did not know who robbed them. She told the operator that her daughter was at her grandmother’s house. She stated that she locked the front door because she thought “he might come back” but could not unlock the door for the police. She asked the operator to hurry because she thought she was dying.

Brittany Davis testified that in December 2009, she and Mr. Cowan had been living together for four years, that she was engaged to Mr. Cowan, and that they had a daughter together. She said that in April 2009, they moved to a two-bedroom apartment and that the apartment had a front entrance, secured by a deadbolt, and a rear entrance. She stated that on December 27, Mr. Cowan went to work at a convenience store located at an apartment complex in which they previously lived and that she was aware Mr. Cowan was involved with marijuana at the previous apartment complex.

Ms. Davis testified that on December 27, she arrived home from work at 10:00 p.m. Ms. Davis said that them daughter was staying overnight with their daughter’s great-grandmother. She stated that Mr. Cowan began playing a video game, that she left and bought a pack of cigarettes, and that she returned around 11:00 p.m. and fell asleep on the couch next to Mr. Cowan, who continued playing the video game.

Ms. Davis testified that she awoke to a “loud bang” and that she estimated it took three or four minutes to understand what was happening. She said that she saw “[ljarge grades of light, just sparks, like fireworks but no sound” coming from the path to her front door. She stated that Mr. Cowan was in front of her and that he had been shot. She said that she saw him bleeding and “leaning forward grabbing his stomach” before he fell forward face down. She said that Mr. Cowan did not move after he fell. She stated that she felt someone was trying to kill her and that she decided against trying to escape because she did not want to be shot.

Ms. Davis testified that she attempted to hide under a table but that she was pulled up by her hair and a pistol was forced into her mouth. She said a man, later identified as the Defendant, was holding the pistol. She stated that the Defendant was wearing a mask that “bulged” in the back. She said that the Defendant pulled the pistol’s trigger and that she heard clicking but that the pistol did not fire. Ms. Davis said the Defendant “slung [her] around,” walked to the kitchen while holding her hair, and began stabbing her with a kitchen knife.

Ms. Davis testified that she asked the Defendant to stop stabbing her and that she talked to him about her then-eighteen- *203 month-old daughter. She said that the Defendant began asking for guns and ammunition and that he had a northern accent. She stated that she recognized slang terms he used because she knew people from Brooklyn, New York, but that the Defendant did not have a Brooklyn accent. She said that she looked for money in the kitchen in an attempt to make the Defendant stop stabbing her. She stated that Mr. Cowan stored money and marijuana in containers hidden around the house and that she searched the kitchen and her bedroom. She said that the Defendant never released her, that she could see Mr. Cowan from the kitchen, and that Mr. Cowan did not make any noise or move.

Ms. Davis testified that when she went into her bedroom closet, she attempted to fight the Defendant, grabbed his face mask, and stretched it away from his face. She stated that she began screaming and that the Defendant told her, “Shut up, b-, before I kill you.” She said that the closet light was on and that she recognized the Defendant. She stated that she knew the Defendant from the previous apartment complex as “Keith” and that she also knew a man she thought was the Defendant’s brother. She said that she found two “bricks” of money in her nightstand, that she threw the money on her bed, and that the man took the money, threw her across the bed and into the bathroom, and ran away. Ms. Davis said that she heard the front door shut and that she began to walk toward the living room when she heard the front door open again.

Ms. Davis testified that she lay on the floor and tried to make herself stop breathing. She said that she saw the Defendant’s feet run past her, that the Defendant returned and stabbed her, and that the Defendant stood over Mr. Cowan and shot him. After the Defendant left, Ms. Davis stated that she found her cell phone, called 9-1-1, and locked the front door. She said that she became angry because the 9-1-1 operator asked many questions, the police were taking too long to arrive, and she thought she and Mr. Cowan were dying. She stated that she eventually unlocked the door for the police.

Ms. Davis testified that she was placed in a medically induced coma for three days, that she was told Mr. Cowan had died, and that she spoke to Knoxville Police Officer Nevin Long on December 31.

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

Related

State of Tennessee v. Jarvis T. Emerson
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2025
State of Tennessee v. Vincent Olajuan Morrison
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2025
State of Tennessee v. Courtney B. Mathews
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2024
State of Tennessee v. Joseph Anthony Santillan
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2021
STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ANGELA KILGORE
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2021
Montez Adams v. State of Tennessee
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2021
State of Tennessee v. Tyler Ward Enix
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2021
State of Tennessee v. John M. Banks
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2020
State of Tennessee v. Nathan G. Fleming
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2020
State of Tennessee v. Edward Spencer III
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2020
Fraker v. Butler
E.D. Kentucky, 2019
State of Tennessee v. Michael D. Fykes
Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, 2019
State of Tennessee v. LaJuan Harbison
539 S.W.3d 149 (Tennessee Supreme Court, 2018)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
507 S.W.3d 197, 2016 WL 3177133, 2016 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 404, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-tennessee-v-joseph-tolbert-iii-aka-micah-joshua-ford-tenncrimapp-2016.