State v. Tony Williams

• Court: Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee
• Decided: January 29, 1999
• Docket: 02C01-9810-CC-00301
• Status: Published

Opinion

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT JACKSON FILED JANUARY 1999 SESSION January 29, 1999

Cecil Crowson, Jr. Appe llate Court C lerk STATE OF TENNESSEE, ) ) NO. 02C01-9810-CC-00301 Appellee ) ) HENRY COUNTY VS. ) ) HON. JULIAN P. GUINN, TONY BERNARD WILLIAMS, ) JUDGE ) Defendant ) ) IN RE: ALLEGHENY MUTUAL ) CASUALTY CO. ) (Bond Forfeiture) ) Appellant )

FOR THE APPELLANT: FOR THE APPELLEE:

VICTORIA L. DIBONAVENTURA PAUL G. SUMMERS 104 W. Washington Street, Ste. A Attorney General and Reporter P. O. Box 1231 Paris, TN 38242 ELIZABETH T. RYAN Assistant Attorney General Cordell Hull Building, 2nd Floor 425 Fifth Avenue North Nashville, TN 37243-0493

ROBERT "GUS" RADFORD District Attorney General

STEVEN L. GARRETT Assistant District Attorney General P. O. Box 94 Paris, TN 38242

OPINION FILED:

REVERSED

JOE G. RILEY, JUDGE OPINION

This is an appeal by Allegheny Mutual Casualty Company as a result of a

bond forfeiture ordered by the Circuit Court of Henry County. The state concedes

the trial court erred in ordering the forfeiture. We agree and reverse the judgment

of the trial court.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Defendant, Tony Bernard Williams, made a $5,000 bond with Allegheny

Mutual Casualty Company on charges of selling cocaine. Subsequently, the

defendant entered a guilty plea to selling cocaine and received a sentence of three

years with six months to be served in the county jail and the balance on supervised

probation.

Probation violation warrants were subsequently issued with bonds set;

however, defendant did not make bond on these warrants. The trial court revoked

probation and ordered the defendant to serve the remainder of the sentence. The

trial court also ordered that judgment be taken on the original appearance bond for

the cost of transporting the defendant from Illinois on the probation violation

warrants. The amount of the claim was $324.93.

Allegheny Mutual Casualty Company filed a motion to set aside the bond

forfeiture. The trial court denied the motion, and this appeal followed.

ANALYSIS

This Court has previously determined that when Tenn. Code Ann. § 40-11-

130 and 138 are read together, a surety’s obligation on the original appearance

bond does not continue after sentencing while the defendant is serving an

alternative sentence. State v. Sharon Melton, C.C.A. No. 01C01-9612-CC-00497,

Franklin County (Tenn. Crim. App. filed March 12, 1998, at Nashville). Pursuant to

3 the express language of Tenn. Code Ann. §40-11-138(b), the surety is relieved of

its liability on the original bond upon the trial court’s acceptance of the defendant’s

guilty plea and the announcement of the sentence. Id. We continue to adhere to

this statutory interpretation.

The judgment of the trial court is reversed.

___________________________ JOE G. RILEY, JUDGE

CONCUR:

________________________________ DAVID G. HAYES, JUDGE

_______________________________ JOHN EVERETT WILLIAMS, JUDGE