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State of Tennessee v. Johnny Lorenzo Wade

TENNCRIMAPPJuly 13, 2018No. W2017-00933-CCA-R3-CD
Defendant WinJohnny Lorenzo Wade

Case Details

Judge(s)
Judge D. Kelly Thomas, Jr.
Status
Published
Procedural Posture
Appeal from trial court conviction and sentencing; appellate affirmation

Related Laws

No specific laws identified for this ruling.

Outcome

The appellate court affirmed the trial court's conviction and sentencing of Johnny Lorenzo Wade for multiple serious felonies including first degree premeditated murder, felony murder, aggravated robbery, attempted murder, and aggravated assault, rejecting all eight appellate arguments challenging sufficiency of evidence, evidentiary rulings, and sentencing.

Excerpt

The Defendant, Johnny Lorenzo Wade, was convicted by a jury of one count of first degree premeditated murder two counts of first degree felony murder two counts of especially aggravated robbery, a Class A felony one count of attempted first degree murder, a Class A felony and one count of aggravated assault, a Class C felony. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 39-12-101, -13-102, -13-202, -13-403. The trial court merged one of the first degree felony murder convictions into the first degree premeditated murder conviction and the aggravated assault conviction into the attempted first degree murder conviction. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed a total effective sentence of life imprisonment plus forty years. On appeal, the Defendant contends (1)that the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions (2) that the trial court erred in denying his suppression motion alleging that the seizure of his cell phone was illegal (3) that the trial court erred by admitting a video taken from his cell phone because it was not relevant and its probative value was substantially outweighed by the danger of unfair prejudice (4) that the trial court erred in admitting the statement of a co-defendant under the excited utterance exception to the hearsay rule (5) that the trial court erred by allowing a witness to identify an item of evidence without personal knowledge of the item (6) that the trial court erred in allowing an employee of the Defendant's cell phone provider to testify as an expert witness on the operation of the provider's cellular network (7) that the trial court erred in allowing a police investigator to testify as a lay witness about "the plotting and pinging of the Defendant's cellular telephone records" and (8) that the trial court abused its discretion by imposing partial consecutive sentences because such sentences "were excessive." Following our review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

What This Ruling Means

**Important Note: This case is not an employment law ruling.** This case involved Johnny Lorenzo Wade, who was convicted by a jury of serious violent crimes including first-degree murder, robbery, attempted murder, and assault. Wade appealed his convictions to a higher court, challenging the evidence used against him, how the trial was conducted, and his sentencing. The appeals court rejected all of Wade's arguments and upheld his original convictions and sentences. The court found that there was sufficient evidence to support the jury's verdict and that the trial court had followed proper legal procedures throughout the case. **This case does not affect workers' rights.** Despite being labeled as an employment law case in the provided information, this is actually a criminal case about violent crimes. The case does not involve workplace disputes, employee rights, discrimination, wages, or any other employment-related issues. Workers should not look to this ruling for guidance on their employment rights or workplace protections. If you're facing workplace issues, you should consult actual employment law cases or speak with an employment attorney who can provide guidance relevant to your specific workplace situation.

This summary was generated to explain the ruling in plain English and is not legal advice.

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