State of Tennessee v. Jeffery Carl Shields

01/30/2018

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT NASHVILLE

Assigned on Briefs December 13, 2017

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JEFFERY CARL SHIELDS

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Bedford County

No. 18461 Franklin L. Russell, Judge

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No. M2017-00870-CCA-R3-CD

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Defendant, Jeffrey Carl Shields, pled guilty to one count of burglary and thirteen counts

of forgery in exchange for a total effective sentence of twelve years as a Range II,

multiple offender. After a sentencing hearing, the trial court denied alternative

sentencing and ordered Defendant to serve his sentence in incarceration. This appeal

followed. After a review, we determine that the trial court did not abuse its discretion in

denying an alternative sentence where Defendant was facing additional charges at the

time of sentence and previous attempts at alternative sentencing had failed.

Consequently, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed.

Tenn. R. App. P. 2 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Circuit Court Affirmed

TIMOTHY L. EASTER, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which NORMA MCGEE

OGLE and CAMILLE R. MCMULLEN, JJ., joined.

Donna Orr Hargrove, District Public Defender, and Michael J. Collins (on appeal) and

Jackson A. Dearing, III (at trial), Assistant District Public Defenders, for the appellant,

Jeffery Carl Shields.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; M. Todd Ridley, Assistant

Attorney General; Robert J. Carter, District Attorney General; and Michael D. Randles,

Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

In January of 2017, Defendant was indicted for one count of burglary, one count

of theft of property valued under $500, and twenty-six counts of forgery. At the guilty

plea hearing, the State recounted the factual basis for the pleas as follows:

[B]ack in April of last year, a Mr. James Williams, who I think is a,

on the board or in the leadership of the Church of the Redeemer here in

Bedford County reported that he had been made aware that a number of

checks had been written on their church bank account that they did not

authorize, and they’d all been cashed at Advance Financial.

An investigation was launched and it was determined that

[Defendant] had been allowed to stay in the sanctuary. He was homeless,

and they were allowing him to stay in the sanctuary. They also gave him a

key that gave access to another portion of the church, so he could go to the

restroom. [B]ut apparently he had gotten into a portion of the church he did

not have permission to enter into and found the checkbook. And he took

the checkbook or took checks from the checkbook and began cashing them

at Advance Financial. I believe there’s a total of 13 checks, that [ac]counts

for the even number counts of the indictment.

[A]ll the checks were made payable to him. Of course, the church

says they did not authorize those checks to be cashed. The police

department investigated the matter, they interviewed [Defendant] and he

admitted to taking the checks, filling them out, you know, making them

payable to himself and cashing them at Advance Financial.

Pursuant to a negotiated plea agreement, Defendant agreed to plead guilty to one count of

burglary and thirteen counts of forgery in exchange for a sentence of eight years on the

burglary conviction and a sentence of four years on each of the forgery convictions. The

forgery sentences were ordered to be served concurrently with each other but

consecutively to the burglary sentence, for a total effective sentence of twelve years at

thirty-five percent. The trial court was to determine the manner of service of the sentence

at a sentencing hearing.

At the sentencing hearing, the State introduced the presentence report, detailing

Defendant’s criminal history, which started in the early 1990s. Defendant had

convictions for theft of property, possession of prohibited weapons, accessory after the

fact, driving with a suspended license, evading arrest, casual exchange, violation of the

driver’s license law, as well as a pending charge for possession of marijuana. Defendant

admitted that he had received probation on two prior occasions and violated his

probation. Defendant expressed remorse for having committed the crimes at issue and

apologized to the trial court. At first, Defendant claimed that he stole the money from the

church to support his family but ultimately admitted that he committed the crimes as a

result of his addiction to drugs and alcohol. Defendant maintained that he was not a “bad

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person” and that he had “learned his lesson.” Defendant expressed his desire to enroll in

a rehabilitation facility but informed the trial court that the local facility was full.

At the conclusion of the hearing, the trial court commented that there was “zero

possibility” that Defendant could be “rehabilitated without incarceration.” The trial court

pointed to the numerous “breaks” Defendant had been given in the past despite his

continued life of crime spanning a “very, very long period of time.” The trial court also

noted Defendant’s probation revocations on his record and pending charges for the sale

of marijuana at the time of the sentencing hearing. The trial court agreed that Defendant

was not a “bad person” but suffered from addiction, and a sentence of incarceration was

“absolutely essential” to get Defendant “on the right road.” As a result, the trial court

denied alternative sentencing, ordering Defendant to serve his twelve-year sentence in

incarceration.

Defendant appeals the denial of alternative sentencing.

Analysis

On appeal, Defendant argues that he is a favorable candidate for alternative

sentence despite his relapse on drugs and alcohol and that the trial court should have

sentenced him to Community Corrections. Specifically, he argues that the crimes he

committed “were not of a violent nature, and he is in need of rehabilitation.” The State

counters that nothing in the record indicates that the trial court abused its discretion.

When the record establishes that the trial court imposed a sentence within the

appropriate range that reflects a “proper application of the purposes and principles of our

Sentencing Act,” this Court reviews the trial court’s sentencing decision under an abuse

of discretion standard with a presumption of reasonableness. State v. Bise, 380 S.W.3d

682, 707 (Tenn. 2012). The same standard of review applies to a trial court’s decision

regarding “probation or any other alternative sentence.” State v. Caudle, 388 S.W.3d

273, 278-79 (Tenn. 2012); see also State v. King, 432 S.W.3d 316, 325 (Tenn. 2014)

(applying the same standard to judicial diversion). This Court will uphold the trial

court’s sentencing decision “so long as it is within the appropriate range and the record

demonstrates that the sentence is otherwise in compliance with the purposes and

principles listed by statute.” Bise, 380 S.W.3d at 709-10. Moreover, under those

circumstances, we may not disturb the sentence even if we had preferred a different

result. See State v. Carter, 254 S.W.3d 335, 346 (Tenn. 2008). The party appealing the

sentence has the burden of demonstrating its impropriety. T.C.A. § 40-35-401, Sent’g

Comm’n Cmts.; see also State v. Ashby, 823 S.W.2d 166, 169 (Tenn. 1991).

Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-102(3)(C) provides that “[p]unishment

shall be imposed to prevent crime and promote respect for the law by . . . [e]ncouraging

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effective rehabilitation of those defendants, where reasonably feasible, by promoting the

use of alternative sentencing and correctional programs that elicit voluntary cooperation

of defendants[.]” Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-104(c)(9) authorizes a

“sentence to a community based alternative to incarceration . . . .” Additionally, “[t]he

potential or lack of potential for the rehabilitation or treatment of the defendant should be

considered in determining the sentence alternative or length of a term to be imposed,”

and “[t]he length of a term of probation may reflect the length of a treatment or

rehabilitation program in which participation is a condition of the sentence[.]” T.C.A. §

40-35-103(5). On the other hand, sentences involving confinement should be based on

the following considerations:

(A) Confinement is necessary to protect society by restraining a

defendant who has a long history of criminal conduct;

(B) Confinement is necessary to avoid depreciating the seriousness

of the offense or confinement is particularly suited to provide an effective

deterrence to others likely to commit similar offenses; or

(C) Measures less restrictive than confinement have frequently or

recently been applied unsuccessfully to the defendant[.]

T.C.A.§ 40-35-103(1). Moreover, the sentence imposed “should be no greater than that

deserved for the offense committed” and also “should be the least severe measure

necessary to achieve the purposes for which the sentence is imposed.” T.C.A. § 40-35-

103(2), (4).

A defendant is eligible for probation if the sentence imposed is ten years or less.

T.C.A. § 40-35-303(a). Although “probation shall be automatically considered by the

court as a sentencing alternative for eligible defendants,” the defendant bears the burden

of “establishing suitability” for probation. T.C.A. § 40-35-303(b). “This burden includes

demonstrating that probation will ‘subserve the ends of justice and the best interest of

both the public and the defendant.’” Carter, 254 S.W.3d at 347 (quoting State v.

Housewright, 982 S.W.2d 354, 357 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1997)). A defendant who is

sentenced as an especially mitigated or standard offender and who has committed a Class

C, D, or E felony should be “considered as a favorable candidate for alternative

sentencing options” if certain conditions are met. T.C.A. § 40-35-102(5), (6)(A). The

guidelines regarding favorable candidates are advisory. T.C.A. § 40-35-102(6)(D).

Defendants who meet certain “minimum criteria” but would otherwise be subject

to incarceration may be eligible for Community Corrections. See T.C.A. § 40-36-106(a).

Even where a defendant does not meet the criteria under Tennessee Code Annotated

section 40-36-106(a), he may nevertheless “be considered eligible for punishment in the

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community under this chapter” if the defendant “would be usually considered unfit for

probation due to histories of chronic alcohol or drug abuse or mental health problems, but

whose special needs are treatable and could be served best in the community rather than

in a correctional institution.” T.C.A. § 40-36-106(c). In this case, Defendant was

convicted of one Class D felony and thirteen class E felonies, and was not convicted of

any of the offenses listed in the statute rendering him ineligible for an alternative

sentence. Defendant was considered a favorable candidate for alternative sentencing.

Defendant argues that the trial court improperly denied probation by failing to

consider all the factors contained in Tennessee Code Annotated section 40-35-103. In

our view, the trial court determined that incarceration was in the best interest of

Defendant due to Defendant’s lengthy criminal history and failure to abide by the terms

of probationary sentences. The record supports this decision. The trial court did not

abuse its discretion in utilizing and considering Defendant’s criminal history in denying

an alternative sentence. Moreover, while Defendant testified that he was addicted to

drugs and alcohol, there was no evidence presented that treatment of Defendant’s issues

“could be served best in the community rather than in a correctional institution.” T.C.A.

§ 40-36-106(c). The fact that Defendant had prior probationary sentences revoked alone

would support the imposition of a sentence of confinement. See T.C.A. § 40-35-

103(1)(C). Additionally, Defendant’s criminal record supports a sentence of

confinement. See id. § 40-35-103(1)(A). The trial court did not abuse its discretion in

ordering Defendant to serve his sentence of twelve years in confinement. Defendant has

failed to establish an abuse of discretion and is, therefore, not entitled to relief.

Conclusion

For the foregoing reasons, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed.

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TIMOTHY L. EASTER, JUDGE

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