# FILED
December 23, 1997 Cecil Crowson, Jr. Appellate C ourt Clerk IN THE COURT OF CR IMINAL A PPEALS OF TENN ESSEE AT KNOXVILLE NOVEMBER 1997 SESSION

STATE OF TENN ESSEE, ) ) C.C.A. No. 03C01-9611-CR-00418 Appellee, ) ) Sullivan County V. ) ) Honorable Frank L. Slaughter, Jud ge ) JOY L. CHRISTIAN, ) (Aggravated Robbery) ) Appellant. )

FOR THE APPE LLANT: FOR THE APPELLEE: Keith A. Hopson John Knox Walkup Attorney at Law Attorney General & Reporter 410 Shelby Street Kingsport, TN 37660 Michael J. Fahey, II Assistant Attorney Gener al 450 James Robertson Parkwa y Nashville, TN 37243-0493 H. Greeley Wells, Jr. District Attorney General Teresa M. Smith Assistant District A

ttorney General P.O. Box 526 Blountville, TN 37617-0526

OPINION FILED: ___________________
AFFIRMED
PAUL G. SUMM ERS, Judge-2- O P I N I O N The appellant, Joy L. Chri stian, was convict ed by a jury of aggr

avated robbery. She was sentenced to eight years i ncarceration. On appeal, she alleges that the evidenc e is insufficient to sustain her conviction. Upon rev

iew, we affirm her judgment of convi ction.
FACTS
At approximately midnight on October 1, 1995, two armed female intruders entered the Day s Inn in Kingsport. The tw o intruders demanded money. T he desk cl erk took $ 537.00 i n cash ou t of the r egister. T he two intruders took the cash and fled. I
The appellant contends that the evi dence adduced at trial was insufficient
as a m at te r o f l aw to su st ai n h er

co nv ic ti on fo r a gg ra

va te d r ob be ry . We disagree.
Great weight is afforded a v erdict reached by a jur

y in a criminal tri al. A jury verdict appr

oved by the trial j udge accredits the state’ s witnesses and resolves all conflict

s in favor of the state. State v. Willia ms , 657 S.W.2d 405, 410 (Tenn. 1983). On appeal, the stat e is entitled to the strong est legitimate view of the evidence and all re asonabl e infere nces which may be dra wn therefrom. State v. Cabbage , 571 S.W.2d 832, 835 (Tenn. 1978). Moreover, a guilty verdic

t removes the presumption of innoc ence which the appellant enj oyed at trial and raises a pr

esumption of guilt on appeal. State v. Grace , 493 S.W.2d 474, 476 (Tenn. 1973). The appellant ha s the burden of overcoming this presumption of guilt. Id.-3- Where sufficiency of the evidence is chall enged, the relevant ques tion for this Court is whether, after viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the es sential elements of the crime or crimes bey ond a reasonable doubt. Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979); State v. Duncan , 698 S.W.2d 63, 67 (T enn. 1985); Tenn. R. App. P. 13(e). The weight and credibility of the witnesses’ testimony are matters entrusted exclusive ly to the jury as the triers of fact. State v. Sheffield , 676 S.W.2d 542, 547 (Tenn. 1984); Byrge v. State , 575 S.W.2d 292, 295 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1978).
The Days Inn desk clerk testified at the appellant’s tr ial. She stated that two females brandishing g uns took $537.00 in cash from the motel register. She also stated that the robbers t hreatened her life if she failed to co operate. According to her testimony, both of the women had their faces pai nted black. She, however, was able to made a positive ident ification of the appellant approximately forty-

five minutes after the robbery . She based her identification upon the appellant’s height, w eight, build, hair col or, mannerisms, walk, an d voice.
In addition to the positiv e in-court identification of the appellant, the state also presented circumstanti al evidence of her guilt . The appellant’s son testified that his mother’s roommate, Dal ia Montalvo, was at his house on the night of the robbery. He stated that s he had black mascara all ov er her face. He further testified that he witnessed an individual loan Montalvo a BB-gun which resembled a .45 caliber pis tol. Finally, a poli ce officer testified that he had recovered $272.50 in cash from the appellant’s house . He also recovered a roll of nickels and a roll of pennies similar to the rolls t aken from the motel.-4- The appellant did not testify at trial nor did she call any witnesses on her behalf. The jury chose to cr edit the testimony of the state’ s witnesses. A rational trier of fact could ha ve found, and indeed did find, that the ap pellant had committed aggravated r obbery. The appellant’s conv iction is affirmed.

__________________________ PAUL G. SUMMERS, Ju dge
CONCUR:

______________________________ JOSEPH B. JONES, Presiding Judge

______________________________ J. CURWOOD WITT, JR., Judge