State v. Harris

30 S.W.3d 345, 1999 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 1072
CourtCourt of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
DecidedOctober 19, 1999
StatusPublished
Cited by16 cases

This text of 30 S.W.3d 345 (State v. Harris) 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. Harris, 30 S.W.3d 345, 1999 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 1072 (Tenn. Ct. App. 1999).

Opinion

*347 OPINION

THOMAS T. WOODALL, Judge.

On September 2, 1997, the Hardeman County Grand Jury indicted Appellant Alvin A Harris for aggravated robbery and aggravated assault. After a jury trial on January 9, 1998, Appellant was convicted of aggravated robbery and facilitation of aggravated assault. On January 29, 1998, the trial court sentenced Appellant as a Range I standard offender to concurrent terms of eight years for aggravated robbery and two years for facilitation of aggravated assault. Appellant challenges his convictions, raising the following issues:

1) whether the trial court abused its discretion when it allowed the State to introduce a photograph into evidence;
2) whether the trial court erred when it ruled that certain out of court statements were inadmissible;
3) whether the trial court abused its discretion when it denied Appellant’s request for access to a tape recording of a plea hearing in juvenile court;
4) whether the trial court abused its discretion when it denied Appellant’s request to obtain a copy of a petition and order from juvenile court;
5) whether the trial court’s refusal to grant Appellant’s request for access to records from juvenile court prevented him from having a fair trial; and
6) whether the evidence was sufficient to support Appellant’s convictions for aggravated robbery and facilitation of aggravated assault.

After a review of the record, we affirm the judgment of the trial Court.

I. FACTS

William Haas testified that when he parked his truck in front of the Grand Junction Pharmacy on July 11, 1997, he noticed a black Dodge pickup that was parked nearby. Haas also observed that there were two black males in the truck and the male sitting in the passenger’s seat was wearing a baseball cap. Haas then entered the pharmacy and got his prescription filled. When Haas left the pharmacy fifteen minutes later, the black truck was still there. Haas was not able to identify the two occupants of the black truck.

Joney Buntyn, Appellant’s cousin, testified that when she drove by the Grand Junction Pharmacy, she saw a black pickup truck with red letters on it parked in front of the pharmacy. Buntyn also saw that Appellant was sitting in the driver’s seat of the truck and Marlon “Tony” Em-brey was standing on the steps of the pharmacy. In addition, Buntyn saw Appellant wave to her when she drove by. Buntyn also testified that she knew that the black truck was owned by Embrey’s father.

Lucy Gaston testified that on July 11, 1997, she was working as a clerk in the pharmacy. While Gaston was waiting on a customer at approximately 11:20 a.m., she looked up and saw a young black male pointing a pistol at her head. The young male then stated, “Give me your money,” and Gaston complied by giving him $150 from the cash register. Shortly thereafter, the robber left the pharmacy. Gaston could not identify the robber because he was wearing a mask during the robbery.

Robert Horton testified that he was also working at the pharmacy on July 11, 1997. At approximately 11:80 a.m., Horton saw a young black male who was holding a gun enter the pharmacy. The robber then pointed his gun at Horton and Gaston, walked up to the cash register, and demanded that Gaston give him the money. After the robber took the money and left the pharmacy, Horton walked to the front of the pharmacy and looked out the window. Horton believed that the robber had gone to the back of the store because he could not see the robber and he could not see any vehicles.

Horton also testified that he could not identify the robber who came in the pharmacy because he was wearing a bandana *348 over his face and he was also wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap.

Mechelle Ramey testified that she lives in a house that is directly behind the Grand Junction Pharmacy. Ramey testified that when she was driving to her home at approximately 11:30 a.m. on July 11, 1997, she saw that there was a young black male who was wearing a baseball cap standing on her porch. Ramey became frightened and decided to drive past her house instead of stopping. At this point, Ramey saw the young black male leave her property and she decided to follow him. Ramey subsequently saw the black male run to a church parking lot and get into the passenger’s seat of a black Dodge pickup truck that had red letters on it. Shortly thereafter, Ramey saw the black pickup turn around and drive away.

Chief Thomas Graves of the Grand Junction Police Department testified that he investigated the robbery at the Grand Junction Pharmacy. Graves testified that he interviewed Appellant on July 11, 1997, and Appellant denied that he had any knowledge of the robbery.

Chief Graves testified that on July 18, 1997, Appellant gave a statement after he signed a waiver of rights form. The written statement contains the following colloquy:

[Graves]: On July 11-1997 did you robb [sic] Grand Jet. Pharmacy—
[Appellant]: I did not rob nothing.
[Graves]: Were you with anyone that robbed the Grand Jet. Pharmacy on July 11-1997.
[Appellant]: Yes sir.
[Graves]: Who were you with.
[Appellant]: Tony Embry.
[Graves]: Who went in the drug store.
[Appellant]: Tony Embry.
[Graves]: What did you do when Tony Embry went in drug store.
[Appellant]: I drove the truck a Dodge Ram pickup around back behind a church behind basketball goal.
[Graves]: After the robbery where did you go. ■
[Appellant]: I drove the truck to Tony Embry house and I went to town—
[Graves]: What kind of gun was used in robbery.
[Appellant]: 38 pistol.
[Graves]: Where is the pistol now.
[Appellant]: I don’t know, that’s his stuff—
[Graves]: Who’s [sic] idea was it to rob the drug store.
[Appellant]: Tom [sic] Embry.
[Graves]: What did he say when he picked you up that morning.
[Appellant]: Let’s go to the store and we went to drug store.
[Graves]: What time of day did he, Tony Embry pick you up—
[Appellant]: About 10 AM or 11 AM on July 11-1997.
[Graves]: Did you get any of the money—
[Appellant]: Man no—
[[Image here]]
[Graves]: Anything you want to take away from this statement—

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Bluebook (online)
30 S.W.3d 345, 1999 Tenn. Crim. App. LEXIS 1072, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-harris-tenncrimapp-1999.