State of Tennessee v. Timothy Curtis Greeman

CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedOctober 9, 2015
DocketW2014-02300-CCA-R3-CD
StatusPublished

This text of State of Tennessee v. Timothy Curtis Greeman (State of Tennessee v. Timothy Curtis Greeman) 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. Timothy Curtis Greeman, (Tenn. Ct. App. 2015).

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON Assigned on Briefs September 1, 2015

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. TIMOTHY CURTIS GREENMAN

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Tipton County No. 7829 Joseph H. Walker, Judge

No. W2014-02300-CCA-R3-CD - Filed October 9, 2015

The defendant, Timothy Curtis Greenman, appeals his Tipton County Circuit Court jury convictions of aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, and facilitation of burglary of a motor vehicle, claiming that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions and that the trial court erred by admitting certain evidence at trial. Discerning no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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

JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which ROGER A. PAGE and TIMOTHY L. EASTER, JJ., joined.

Bryan R. Huffman, Covington, Tennessee, for the appellant, Timothy Curtis Greenman.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Clarence E. Lutz, Assistant Attorney General; D. Michael Dunavant, District Attorney General; and Jason R. Poyner and James Walter Freeland, Jr., Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

In November 2013, the Tipton County Circuit Court grand jury charged the defendant with one count each of burglary of a motor vehicle, aggravated burglary, and aggravated robbery arising out of the home invasion of Larry and Bernadine Alley. The trial court conducted a jury trial in August 2014.

The State‟s proof at trial showed that the Alleys, both of whom were in their early 80s, lived in a residence at the corner of Duncan Drive and Elizabeth Drive in Atoka. From the Alleys‟ residence, Duncan Drive runs generally in an easterly direction, where, after roughly six-tenths of a mile, it intersects with Rosemark Road. Approximately three-tenths of a mile south of the Duncan/Rosemark intersection, Persimmon Cove runs to the west and Hawthorn Lane runs to the east.

On the morning of July 2, 2013, Mr. Alley, after chipping golf balls in his back yard, reentered his house at approximately 10:00 a.m.; he left the garage door up and the entry door from the garage to the kitchen unlocked. Inside the garage were the Alleys‟ two vehicles: a Jeep Liberty and a pickup truck. The Jeep‟s doors were closed but unlocked.

Mr. and Mrs. Alley were seated in their living room and had just begun watching a movie on television when Mr. Alley suddenly found himself face down on the floor. Mr. Alley felt someone‟s hand holding him down by the back of his neck, and his assailant, later identified as the defendant, instructed him not to move, tapping Mr. Alley‟s right temple with a hammer. When Mr. Alley attempted to lift his head, the defendant stated, “„Don‟t move or I‟ll bloody your f***ing head all over this f***ing carpet.‟” The defendant then instructed his accomplice, later identified as Devin Austill, to “„[g]et the money, get the drugs.‟”

Mr. Austill accompanied Mrs. Alley into the master bedroom, and she gave him over $300 in cash. In the meantime, the defendant continued to hold Mr. Alley‟s neck against the floor while threatening him. The Alleys both testified that the defendant was in charge and that Mr. Austill followed the defendant‟s directives. Although Mr. Alley was unable to see the defendant, he was able to notice Mr. Austill‟s shoes as Mr. Austill was walking to the bedroom. Mr. Alley described the “Nike” athletic shoes as “red and white and black.” Mr. Alley initially described the assailants to law enforcement officers as “two males black” because the defendant was “talking like a black man.” Mr. Alley stated, however, that the accent sounded “put on” and that he knew “it was not real.” Both the defendant and Mr. Austill had tied bandanas around their heads to obscure their faces. Mrs. Alley testified that the defendant “sounded very black” because he was using “street talk slang” and that the defendant‟s hair was black. Mr. Alley testified that the defendant was “directing” Mr. Austill and that Mr. Austill was “following orders” from the defendant.

When Mr. Austill returned to the living room with the cash, the defendant instructed him to “[g]et the drugs.” The Alleys explained that the only medication they had was Mrs. Alley‟s blood pressure medication and that the medication could prove fatal to the assailants. The defendant abandoned the notion of the drugs and directed Mr. Austill to rip the telephone line out of the wall. Although Mrs. Alley pointed out the location of her cellular telephone, the assailants did not take it. The defendant and Mr. Austill then fled from the house. -2- Mr. Alley ran outside but saw no one. Before he reentered his house, he noticed that the driver‟s door of the Jeep Liberty was open and that “materials [were] scattered” on the ground near the open door. The only items missing from the Alleys‟ residence and vehicle were the cash and Mrs. Alley‟s asthma inhaler.

Officer Rex Allen Wallace with the Town of Atoka Code Enforcement heard the report of a home invasion by “[t]wo black subjects” on his police scanner at approximately 10:15 a.m. on July 2. At approximately 11:00 a.m., Officer Wallace was parked at the corner of Persimmon Cove and Hawthorn Lane when he noticed two white males walking southbound on Rosemark Road. As Officer Wallace observed the two men for “[a]t least two minutes,” the men crossed through the intersection and proceeded to walk down Persimmon Cove. The two men caught the eye of Officer Wallace because they were wearing “camouflage shorts, no shirts, one wearing a backpack,” and one carrying a rifle. Officer Wallace identified the defendant as the man he saw carrying the backpack.

Later that evening, Officer Wallace encountered a policeman and asked whether officers had captured the suspects involved in the home invasion. When the officer responded that they had “got a young white male,” Officer Wallace asked if it “happen[ed] to be on Persimmon Cove.” The police officer responded in the affirmative and told Officer Wallace to come to the police station the following day to make a statement.

Investigator Dan Jones with the Atoka Police Department responded to the call of the Alleys‟ home invasion on July 2. At approximately 2:00 p.m., Investigator Jones was notified that officers had located a person of interest, and he proceeded to an apartment complex where he encountered Mr. Austill and Mr. Austill‟s father. Mr. Austill was wearing dark shorts and a t-shirt, and, after obtaining consent to search the apartment, Investigator Jones recovered a black backpack and a pair of black, red, and white Nike athletic shoes. After taking a statement from Mr. Austill, Investigator Jones considered the defendant a suspect. Investigator Jones also met with Officer Wallace and presented him with a photographic lineup, from which Officer Wallace positively identified the defendant as one of the two men he saw walking on Rosemark Road on the morning of July 2.

Investigator Jones used confidential informant Taylor McPeak, who also happened to be related to Mr. Austill, to arrange a meeting with the defendant on July 4 at the Atoka Car Wash. Investigator Jones wired Mr. McPeak with a special wristwatch which recorded both audio and video and which was monitored by Investigator Jones, -3- who was stationed nearby. A digital video disc of the recording was admitted into evidence and played for the jury. Although the clarity of both the audio and video was poor, certain phrases and sentences were clear, and the defendant was clearly visible on the recording on several occasions. On the recording, Mr. McPeak made several attempts to get the defendant to speak about the home invasion. At roughly 18:44:20 on the video, the defendant began speaking very softly.

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Bluebook (online)
State of Tennessee v. Timothy Curtis Greeman, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-of-tennessee-v-timothy-curtis-greeman-tenncrimapp-2015.