State v. Dulsworth

781 S.W.2d 277, 1989 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 500
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedJune 29, 1989
StatusPublished
Cited by51 cases

This text of 781 S.W.2d 277 (State v. Dulsworth) 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 v. Dulsworth, 781 S.W.2d 277, 1989 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 500 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1989).

Opinion

OPINION

JONES, Judge.

The appellants; Timmy Lydell Duls-worth 1 and Roger Cordell Stewart, were found guilty of robbery with a deadly weapon by a jury of their peers. Duls-worth was also convicted of assault with intent to commit murder in the first degree. The trial judge found that Duls-worth was a persistent offender and committed especially aggravated offenses; and he imposed a Range II sentence of life imprisonment as to each offense. The two sentences are to be served concurrently. Stewart was found to be a standard offender, and the trial court imposed a Range I sentence of twenty-five (25) years.

After the trial court denied the appellants’ respective motions for a new trial, they appealed as of right to this Court pursuant to Rule 3(b), Tenn.R.App.P.

ISSUES PRESENTED FOR REVIEW

Dulsworth has raised nine issues for our review. He contends that:

(a)the trial court committed error of prejudicial dimensions in denying his motion to suppress the evidence seized incident to his unlawful arrest;

(b) the trial court committed error of prejudicial dimensions in denying the motion to suppress the blood sample taken from his body after his arrest;

(c) the trial court committed error of prejudicial dimensions in denying his motion to suppress the victim’s in-court identification;

(d) the instruction given by the trial court regarding the exiles of law governing the testimony of an accomplice was erroneous;

(e) the instruction given by the trial court regarding the range of punishment for the offense of assault with intent to commit murder in the first degree was erroneous; and the trial court committed error in imposing a sentence pursuant to T.C.A. § 39-2-103(b);

(f) the trial court erred in failing to instruct the jury as to all of the lesser included offenses of assault with intent to commit murder in the first degree;

(g) the trial court committed error in overruling his objections to evidence introduced by the State;

(h) the instructions given by the trial court regarding the issues of identity and voluntary intoxication were erroneous; and

(i) the trial court erred in sentencing him as a persistent offender.

Stewart has raised four issues for our review. He contends that:

(a) the evidence contained in the record is insufficient to permit a rational trier of fact to find him guilty of armed robbery beyond a reasonable doubt;

(b) the trial court committed error of prejudicial dimensions in denying his motion to suppress the evidence seized from his person after his arrest;

(c) the instruction given by the trial court regarding the rule of law governing the aiding and abetting of a criminal offense was erroneous; and

*281 (d) the sentence imposed by the trial court was excessive.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

On the morning of January 17, 1987, Elmer Lee Likens’ 2 automobile became stuck in a creek. Dulsworth and Stewart discovered Likens’ predicament as they were driving along a road near the creek. They stopped and helped Likens remove his vehicle from the creek. Later, Likens joined Dulsworth and Stewart.

During the morning and afternoon of the day in question, Dulsworth, Stewart and Likens drank beer and discussed the possibility of robbing the victim. Dulsworth initiated the discussion. He told his companions he knew where they “could make a good bit of money.” All three agreed to participate in the robbery, and plans were made to rob the victim. Later, they drove past the victim’s farm, located north of Lafayette, Tennessee, in Stewart’s vehicle. The victim was in the barn. The victim waved at them, and they waved back at him. They then returned to Lafayette.

The appellants and Likens went to the victim’s residence at 6:30 p.m. Likens went to the front door, knocked, and the victim opened the door. He told the victim that they had had a flat tire, and he asked to use the telephone to call for assistance. The victim advised Likens that he did not have a telephone. Dulsworth and Likens then forced entry into the residence while Stewart remained in the vehicle. Likens searched the residence for the victim’s wife. He found her in the bathroom, and told her to lay on the floor until the robbery had been completed. Meanwhile, Dulsworth, armed with a hunting knife, immediately attacked the victim. He stabbed the victim four times. He then demanded the victim’s wallet at knife-point. The victim gave him the wallet, and both Dulsworth and Likens left the victim's residence. The three fled from the scene in Stewart’s car. Subsequently, they went to the home of Stewart’s former wife in Lafayette.

While enroute to the home of Stewart’s former wife, Dulsworth told Likens and Stewart that he thought he had killed the victim. Stewart replied that Dulsworth “did what [he] had to do.” They also noticed that Dulsworth had cut his hand with the knife. After reaching their destination, an attempt was made to treat the cut on Dulsworth’s hand. They also split the money found in the victim’s wallet. The currency was stained with blood. The billfold was placed in a stove and burned.

The police recovered a bloody $50.00 bill from Stewart’s pants pocket. A second bloody $50.00 was retrieved from a convenience store. Dulsworth had given Likens the bill to purchase a six-pack of beer at the store. The police also recovered $41.00 from a cell that Dulsworth had occupied. The currency had been placed in a crack in the cell wall.

The victim was taken to the hospital in Lafayette for treatment of his wounds. The sheriff interviewed the victim, and advised local law enforcement officers of the incident via radio. Two men, who had a scanner in their car, heard the broadcast. They went to the hospital and told the sheriff that, while enroute to Kentucky, they saw a four-door rust or burnt orange Datsun with damage to the rear of the vehicle in the area where the victim resided. There were three people in the vehicle. While enroute home, they saw the same vehicle enter the highway from a gravel road. The vehicle was enroute to Lafayette. It was the same vehicle they had seen while travelling to Kentucky. The sheriff gave local officers a description of the vehicle by radio. A deputy sheriff advised the sheriff that Stewart owned a vehicle meeting the description given by the two men.

Law enforcement officers converged on the residence of Stewart’s former wife. A vehicle matching the description given by *282 the two men was parked in the driveway of the home. Some of the officers went to the front door and others went to the back door. Stewart exited through the back door and was detained by the officers. He was subsequently placed in the back seat of a police cruiser. The other officers entered the front door and searched the residence with the consent of Stewart’s former wife. Likens was found in a rear bedroom. They noticed blood, indicating someone had been bleeding.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
781 S.W.2d 277, 1989 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 500, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-dulsworth-tenncrimapp-1989.