Brown v. State

• Decision Date: 14 November 2022
• Docket Number: W2021-01331-CCA-R3-PC
• Parties: CHRISTOPHER BROWN v. STATE OF TENNESSEE
• Court: Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals

CHRISTOPHER BROWN v. STATE OF TENNESSEE

No. W2021-01331-CCA-R3-PC

Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, Jackson

November 14, 2022

Assigned on Briefs October 4, 2022

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Shelby County No. 13-05989 J Robert Carter, Jr., Judge

The Petitioner, Christopher Brown, was convicted of one count of first degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault by a Shelby County jury. The Petitioner later filed a petition for post-conviction relief alleging that he was denied the effective assistance of counsel when trial counsel failed to disclose discovery materials and failed to call particular witnesses. The post-conviction court denied the petition after an evidentiary hearing. On appeal, we affirm the judgment of the post-conviction court.

Tenn Rule App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgment of the Criminal Court Affirmed

Shae Atkinson, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Christopher Brown.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Hannah-Catherine Lackey, Assistant Attorney General; Amy P. Weirich, District Attorney General; and Leslie Byrd, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

TOM GREENHOLTZ, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY, JR., and J. ROSS DYER, JJ., joined.

OPINION

TOM GREENHOLTZ, JUDGE

FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Following a jury trial, the Petitioner was found guilty of first degree murder and three counts of aggravated assault, and he received a total effective sentence of life imprisonment plus ten years. State v. Brown, No W2015-00990-CCA-R3-CD, 2016 WL 1446221, at *1 (Tenn. Crim. App. Apr. 12, 2016), perm. app. denied (Tenn. Sept. 22, 2016). On the Petitioner's direct appeal, this Court summarized the proof introduced at his trial:

At trial, Carolyn Pratcher testified that the [Petitioner] was the father of her thirteen-year-old son. She acknowledged that her relationship with the [Petitioner] had been a difficult one. She stated that she lived with the [Petitioner] until 2013, when he kicked her out of their house on Hanley Street. Carolyn recalled that, before moving to Hanley Street, she and the [Petitioner] had lived at Kingsgate Apartments in 2011. In October of that year, she and the [Petitioner] had a disagreement that turned physical. Carolyn explained that there had been an apartment on fire next door and, when she told the [Petitioner] about it, he said, "B* * * *, I told you to stay out of other people's business." The [Petitioner] started pulling her hair and dragging her upstairs. Although she got away from the [Petitioner] and ran out the door, she did not want to leave her children there and went back for them. Her sixteen-year-old son eventually called the police, and the [Petitioner] was arrested and later convicted in connection with the assault.

Carolyn recalled that sometime after this incident, she moved to Hanley Street with the [Petitioner]. However, in June 2013, the [Petitioner] "put [her] out," and she moved in with Mr. Fips, who lived four or five houses down from the [Petitioner]. Carolyn testified that the [Petitioner] began "sending text messages, threatening messages." She also recalled that, on one occasion after she moved in with Mr. Fips, the [Petitioner] came into Mr Fips's house unexpectedly. Mr. Fips told the [Petitioner] to walk outside so they could talk. Once outside, the two men "had words," but they did not have a physical confrontation. Carolyn also stated that, around June 7, 2013, Mr. Fips's tires were slashed. The [Petitioner] later admitted to Carolyn that he slashed Mr. Fips's tires.

Carolyn stated that she had additional problems with the [Petitioner] on June 17, 2013. She explained that the [Petitioner] called her and said that he was going to give her some money for their son's birthday. However, when she went to the [Petitioner]'s house to get the money, the [Petitioner] grabbed her around the neck and tried to drag her into the house. The [Petitioner] told her, "I'm going to get [your] a* *[.]" Carolyn recalled that the [Petitioner] only let her go when their son ran across the street. She stated that she had no physical injuries from this incident.

Carolyn testified that, on June 22, 2013, she went to the dog track with Mr. Fips; her aunt, Ida Pratcher; and another man, Michael Douglas. The group left the dog track between 9:00 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. Upon returning to Memphis, they stopped at Church's Chicken and a convenience store. Carolyn recalled that Mr. Fips was driving his SUV when they turned onto Hanley Street and she was sitting in the front passenger seat. As Mr. Fips drove past the [Petitioner]'s residence, Carolyn saw the [Petitioner] sitting on his front porch. She recalled that Mr. Fips was driving past the [Petitioner] "slowly" but that they did not say anything to the [Petitioner]. The [Petitioner] got off the porch and walked towards Mr. Fips's vehicle, shining a light from his cell phone towards them. Carolyn stated that, when Mr. Fips saw the light, he put the vehicle in reverse and backed up. Mr. Fips rolled the driver's side window down and told the [Petitioner] that he wanted to speak with him "man to man" about the text messages that the [Petitioner] sent him. Carolyn testified, "[T]hat's when all the shooting just started." She explained that the [Petitioner] stood about ten to fifteen feet away when he began shooting and that he shot into the vehicle approximately five times. Carolyn stated that neither she nor anyone else in Mr. Fips's vehicle had a weapon. Moreover, Mr. Fips did not own a gun and was not known to carry a gun.

Carolyn recalled that, when she heard the shots, she felt her arm "hurting and burning real bad" and that she tried to get out of the vehicle but that the door would not open. Carolyn said that Mr. Fips attempted to "drive off" but that he did not "make it in time enough." When she got her car door open after the third or fourth try, Carolyn got out of the SUV and stood beside it. She wanted to reach in for Mr. Fips, who was not moving, but she was afraid that the [Petitioner] would shoot her again, so she ran behind an abandoned house. Carolyn recalled that the [Petitioner] chased her around the abandoned house several times. She had been shot twice, was losing a lot of blood, and felt like she was going to pass out, so she stopped running. At that time, the [Petitioner] caught up to her and grabbed her "around [the] neck." He had something in his hand, but she could not tell if it was a knife or a gun. Carolyn testified that there were people outside, and some were calling 911. The [Petitioner] let her go and ran from the scene before police arrived. Carolyn spoke briefly to police and was then taken to the hospital.

According to Carolyn, the [Petitioner] called her from California a couple of weeks after the shooting. During the call, the [Petitioner] stated that he used a .22 to shoot her and Mr. Fips. The [Petitioner] called Carolyn a second time after he was arrested and placed in jail. During the phone call, the [Petitioner] encouraged her to change her story and tell police that Mr. Fips had a gun and that "it was self[-]defense."

On cross-examination, Carolyn acknowledged that there were other ways to get to Mr. Fips's house that did not involve driving past the [Petitioner]'s residence. She stated that, although Mr. Fips drove slowly down Hanley Street, he was not looking for the [Petitioner]. She agreed that Mr. Fips was upset with the [Petitioner] about the text messages that the [Petitioner] had sent. She stated that Mr. Fips put his SUV in reverse and then in park and rolled his window down "the rest of the way" before he asked the [Petitioner] if they could talk.

Carolyn's aunt, Ida Pratcher, testified that on the day of the shooting she went to a casino in Arkansas with Carolyn, Mr. Fips, and Michael Douglas. Ida recalled that the group stayed at the casino for about an hour and a half and then returned to Memphis around 10:00 p.m. On the way home, Mr. Fips stopped at a store and at Church's Chicken. Ida recalled that, as Mr. Fips drove down Hanley Street, she saw the [Petitioner] sitting on the porch of his house. When Mr. Fips saw the [Petitioner], he said, "[d]amn," stopped the vehicle, and starting backing up. Mr. Fips said that the [Petitioner] wanted to talk to him, and when Mr. Fips stopped, the [Petitioner] came off the porch towards them. Mr. Fips asked the [Petitioner] why the [Petitioner] was following him and texting his phone. Ida stated that Mr. Fips was "fixing to open the door," and she thought that the [Petitioner] came to the truck and "pushed, shut the door back up." According to Ida, the [Petitioner] told Mr. Fips, "I told you mother f* * * * * when I see you . . . mother f* * * * * when I texted you I told you mother f* * * * * when I see you again, I'm going to kill you." Then, the [Petitioner] "started shooting." Ida testified that she was in the back seat behind Mr. Fips and Mr. Douglas was in the back seat behind Carolyn. When the [Petitioner] began shooting into the truck, Ida "duck[ed]" down and yelled at Mr. Douglas to get out of the car. Ida heard Mr. Fips saying "ouch, ouch" and then saw him fall over. Ida testified that, as she followed Mr. Douglas out of the vehicle, she fell and hurt her knee and that the vehicle ran over the side of her foot. The vehicle then coasted down the street and ran into a curb before stopping. Ida stated that no one inside Mr. Fips's vehicle had a gun, that no gunshots came from inside the vehicle, and that she was in fear when the [Petitioner] started shooting.

Following the shooting, Ida was transported to the hospital and treated for a fractured ankle. She also identified the [Petitioner] in a photo lineup

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