State v. Wyatt, W2000-01672-CCA-R3-CD
| Decision Date | 19 March 2001 |
| Docket Number | W2000-01672-CCA-R3-CD |
| Parties | STATE OF TENNESSEE v. LAWRENCE WYATTIN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT JACKSON Assigned on Briefs |
| Court | Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals |
Appeal from the Circuit Court for Madison County No. 99-172 Roger A. Page, Judge
The defendant appeals from his convictions for conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery and facilitation of aggravated robbery. He contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions and that his sentences are excessive. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.
Tenn. R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Circuit Court Affirmed
Joseph M. Tipton, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which Jerry L. Smith, and Joe G. Riley, JJ., joined.
Pamela J. Drewery (on appeal) and Ramsdale O'DeNeal (at trial), Jackson, Tennessee, for the appellant, Lawrence Wyatt.
Paul G. Summers, Attorney General and Reporter; Laura E. McMullen, Assistant Attorney General; James G. Woodall, District Attorney General; and James W. Thompson, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.
The defendant, Lawrence Wyatt, appeals as of right from his convictions by a Madison County Circuit Court jury for conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery and facilitation of aggravated robbery, Class C felonies. The trial court sentenced the defendant to five years on the conspiracy count and four years on the facilitation count and ordered the sentences to run concurrently. The defendant argues that (1) the evidence is insufficient to support his convictions because the accomplices' testimony was not corroborated and (2) his sentences are excessive because the trial court erred in its application of enhancement and mitigating factors and in its denial of alternative sentencing.
At trial, Ronald James testified as follows: On November 20, 1998, he was working as a clerk at the Econo Lodge on the Highway 45 Bypass in Madison County. The motel's doors were locked, but a window with a tray enabled the clerks to wait on customers who were outside. He was ending his shift just before midnight when a black male and black female approached the motel's window. The male was around six feet tall, slim, and wearing a stocking over his head. The female, who also had something over her head, said, and they placed a small pistol on the window's tray. He left the window and told Jerry Replogle, a co-worker, about the robbers. They walked into another office and told the owner about the robbers, and the owner then called the police. The robbers did not take anything from the Econo Lodge and were gone before the police arrived.
Jerry Replogle testified as follows: On November 20 and 21, 1998, he was working at the Econo Lodge on the Highway 45 Bypass. He was relieving Ronald James from his shift around midnight when a black female and black male, who were wearing hoods, approached the motel's window. Mr. James went to the window, and the female said, At first, he thought the people at the window were playing a prank, but then Mr. James left the window area and told him that the people had a gun. He then saw that the man was pointing a small .22 or .25 caliber automatic gun at the security camera. He and Mr. James went into a back room and told the manager about the robbers, and the manager called the police. The robbers did not take anything and left before the police arrived.
Mr. Replogle identified the defendant as the perpetrator by the defendant's eyes, but he admitted that the defendant looked smaller than the man who had attempted to rob the motel. He stated that during the attempted robbery, he only saw the defendant for three or four seconds, that the defendant had on a heavy coat, and that he was not able to determine the defendant's build at that time.
Marquay Williamson testified as follows: On November 21, 1998, she was working as a cashier at Jerry's Oil Citgo on Hollywood Avenue. Around 1:00 a.m., when a co-worker was outside and nobody was in the store, a black female and black male came into the store. The female was short, and the male was "really big and had a lot of hair." The man pointed a small, black .22 or .25 caliber gun at her, and the woman demanded the money from the cash register. She gave the woman the cash register's drawer, which contained over five hundred dollars. The robbers left in a maroon, four-door car that had "rails." She could see that there were other people in the car but could not see them well enough to describe them.
Ms. Williamson testified that she knew Carmella Poole, a co-defendant, and that Ms. Poole came into the store around 11:00 p.m. that evening. She stated that Ms. Poole bought a beer and then left and that she did not see Ms. Poole again that night.
Officer Edward McMullen of the Jackson Police Department testified as follows: On November 21, 1998, at 12:05 a.m., he was dispatched to the Econo Lodge. Two clerks gave him a vague description of the robbers but a good description of the car the robbers used. He then placed a be-on-the-lookout (BOLO) call. About one hour later, a BOLO call from Jerry's Oil Citgo described the same car, a maroon Grand Am with a luggage rack on the trunk. About five minutes later, he spotted a car that matched the description. He followed the car until backup arrived and then stopped the car. Four people were in the car a black female in the driver's seat, a black male in the front passenger seat, a black female in the driver-side backseat, and a black male in the passenger-side backseat.
Officer McMullen identified the defendant as the male in the backseat and said that a cash drawer was on the rear floorboard between the defendant's feet. About five hundred forty dollars and a wig were recovered from the drawer. Also, a small, grayish .25 caliber gun was recovered from underneath the drawer. A stocking cap was recovered from Sharon Chism, the female driver, and a stocking was recovered at booking from the defendant.
On cross-examination, Officer McMullen admitted that the clerks from Econo Lodge were unable to give a good physical description of the robbers. He also stated that the male in the front seat of the car was large framed and that one of the males had on a heavy coat, but he could not remember which one. He admitted that he touched the gun and the cash drawer with his bare hands and that fingerprint analysis was not ordered on either piece of evidence.
Sergeant Belinda Coleman of the Jackson Police Department testified as follows: On November 21, 1998, she was dispatched as the crime scene technician for the defendant's case. A cash register drawer, which contained about five hundred dollars and a wig, was recovered from the passenger-side rear floorboard of the burgundy, Pontiac Grand AM, and a .25 caliber automatic pistol was found underneath the drawer. On cross-examination, she testified that she did not remember what the suspects were wearing that night.
Sharon Chism testified as follows: She pled guilty to the November 21, 1998 attempted aggravated robbery of the Econo Lodge and the aggravated robbery of Jerry's Oil and was serving an eight-year sentence, which the state had recommended in return for her cooperation and truthful testimony. On the night in question, she was with Xavier Chism, who was her brother, Carmella Poole, and the defendant. Earlier in the evening, she and the defendant discussed robbing some stores, and the defendant said that he was willing. She drove the defendant's burgundy Grand AM to the Econo Lodge, where she and the defendant, wearing stocking caps, approached the motel's window. The defendant had a small .25 automatic pistol, which she had given to him earlier in the evening, and he demanded money from the clerks. The clerks ran to a back room, at which point, they left, fearing the police would be there soon. Ms. Poole and Mr. Chism stayed in the car and did not know what she and the defendant were doing.
Ms. Chism testified that she then drove to Jerry's Oil on Hollywood to determine whether they could rob it. Ms. Poole knew that they were going to rob the store but did not agree to participate, except to go into the store to see if anybody was inside. When Ms. Poole returned to the car, another customer arrived, resulting in their leaving. They drove to another Jerry's Oil to see if they could rob it but determined that the employees were watching them too closely. They then returned to the Jerry's Oil on Hollywood, and she and the defendant went into the store wearing stockings over their heads. While she demanded the money, the defendant pointed the .25 automatic pistol at the cashier. The cashier gave her the drawer, and they left. When they were in the car, she gave the drawer to the defendant, who was in the passenger-side backseat, and told him to count the money. Shortly thereafter, the police stopped them and arrested them.
On cross-examination, Ms. Chism stated that her brother was about six feet, two inches tall. She denied that her brother, not the defendant, went with her to rob the Econo Lodge and Jerry's Oil.
Carmella Poole, who was a co-defendant at the beginning of the trial but pled guilty before her testimony, testified as follows: She pled guilty to facilitating aggravated robbery and was sentenced to seven years on intensive probation. She had agreed to cooperate with the state and testify truthfully. On November 21, 1998, she went to the Econo Lodge with Sharon Chism, Xavier Chism, and the defendant. Ms. Chism and the defendant went into the motel, and she and Mr. Chism stayed in the car. Ms. Chism wore a stocking over her face and had a small handgun, although she admitted that in a prior statement, she had said that Ms. Chism gave the gun to the defendant. One to two minutes later, Ms. Chism and the defendant returned. They drove to Jerry's Oil, where she went inside and bought a beer. They left...
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