08/10/2017

IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT KNOXVILLE

Assigned on Briefs December 20, 2016

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. FRANCISCO G. PARVIN

Appeal from the Criminal Court for Greene County

No. 15CR003 John F. Dugger, Jr., Judge

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No. E2016-01196-CCA-R3-CD

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Defendant, Francisco G. Parvin, was indicted by the Greene County Grand Jury for 

aggravated assault resulting in serious bodily injury in Count 1 and aggravated assault by 

the use of a deadly weapon in Count 2. Following a jury trial, Defendant was convicted 

in Count 2 of the lesser-included offense of assault and sentenced to 11 months and 29 

days, with 120 days to be served in jail and the remainder to be suspended on probation. 

The record does not contain a judgment form in Count 1, but the record indicates that 

only Count 2 was submitted for trial. Presumably, Count 1 was dismissed. The offenses 

in both counts were against the same victim. In this appeal as of right, Defendant 

contends that the evidence was insufficient to support his conviction in Count 2. After a 

careful review of the entire record and the parties’ briefs, we conclude that the evidence 

was sufficient to sustain Defendant’s conviction. Accordingly, we affirm the judgment of 

the trial court. 

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

THOMAS T. WOODALL, P.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JAMES 

CURWOOD WITT, JR. and JOHN EVERETT WILLIAMS, JJ., joined.

Francis X. Santore, Jr., Greeneville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Francisco G. Parvin.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; Courtney N. Orr, Assistant 

Attorney General; Dan E. Armstrong, District Attorney General; and J. Chalmers 

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

Facts

Defendant was charged with the stabbing of his mother’s boyfriend, Derrick 

Groff. Defendant’s mother, Trixie Lane, testified that Groff, Defendant, Ms. Lane’s 

sister, Leoma Gregg, her husband, Scott Gregg, and their daughter, Haley Gregg, were all 

living in Ms. Lane’s apartment. On November 21, 2014, Ms. Lane and Groff went to the 

grocery store. When they returned, Ms. Lane followed Groff into the bedroom, where 

Groff opened a bottle of pills, counted them, and claimed that six pills were missing. 

Groff said he “want[ed] to know which MF in there took [his] medicine.” Ms. Lane tried 

to calm Groff. She heard Groff go into the kitchen and ask, “[W]hich one of you MF’s 

took my pills, I know which one, I know somebody in here did it.” Ms. Lane listened 

from the bedroom, and “it sounded like . . . , [Groff] was going around the table accusing 

everybody and threatening people because he wanted to know who took his pills and he 

was so sure that somebody in that room or in there took his medicine.” She testified that 

Groff was “being irrational.” 

Ms. Lane heard Defendant tell Groff to leave, and she heard “a noise like a bump 

or something.” She went into the kitchen and saw Groff pull Defendant up by his shirt 

and “thr[o]w him against the wall.” Groff said, “[H]e took my medicine, I know he did.” 

Ms. Lane told Groff that she did not believe Defendant would take his medicine. She 

“was trying to make him stop.” Ms. Lane testified that Defendant’s “face turned like pale 

white, like he couldn’t breathe and he was gasping for air.” Groff is taller than 

Defendant, and Defendant was unable to push Groff away. Groff then chased Defendant 

around the kitchen and shoved him into the cabinets. Groff picked up a fan, threw it at 

Defendant and was “banging him in the head with it.” Ms. Lane told Groff to stop, and 

Groff grabbed her around the waist and pushed her. Ms. Lane testified that Defendant’s 

face was red, but she did not see any bleeding or bruises. She testified that Defendant 

looked scared. Groff began “beating [Defendant] with the fan again” and grabbed 

Defendant by the throat. Defendant then stabbed Groff in the shoulder with a knife. Ms. 

Lane testified that Defendant also stabbed Groff “around his head area.” Ms. Lane called 

the police. She gave the following statement to police:

Me and [Groff] was [sic] coming home from the store. I was 

putting groceries away, when [Groff] called me in the bedroom[.] [H]e 

thought someone got into his bottle of medication. 

He counted [them, and] six were missing. He got very upset [and 

went] into the kitchen [where] my brother[-]in[-]law and son, his friend 

were sitting, asked them if any of them took his pills. They denied it. 
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[Groff] was ac[c]using them of being th[ie]ves and calling them 

names. I was trying to tell everyone to stop yelling and calm down. 

They wouldn’t listen to me and wouldn’t stop[.] [M]y son [Defendant] 

told [Groff] to leave his home. [Groff] said he didn’t have to get out. 

. . . . [Defendant] shoved [Groff], then [Groff] pulled 

[Defendant’s] hair. They were both shoving, pushing, and I got in 

between the two of them. [Defendant] grabbed a knife, started 

stab[b]ing [Groff]. I thought it was around his eye area. [Defendant] 

was yelling[, “Y]ou leave my home, don’t threaten my family.[”] I was 

in shock. 

Ms. Lane testified that she “was scared of [Groff]’s anger because he does have a 

temper.” She testified that she “left some details out” of her statement because she “was 

in shock” at the time, and “everything happened so fast.” 

Derrick Groff testified that he was living with Ms. Lane at the time of the incident 

because his wife “had kicked [him] out” of their apartment. He testified that before they 

went to the grocery store, he counted his pills because he was suspicious that someone in 

the apartment was stealing from him. He then placed the pills back into the shoebox 

where he stored them and placed an old thermostat on top of the shoebox so he would 

know if it had been moved. When they returned, he saw the thermostat lying on the 

floor. He recounted the pills, and six were missing. He went into the kitchen and asked 

who had taken his medication, and everyone denied taking the pills. He accused 

Defendant of taking the pills, and Defendant “automatically got upset, jumped up, got in 

[his] face.” Both men were yelling at each other, and Defendant told Groff to leave the 

apartment. Groff refused to leave without his “stuff.” 

Groff testified that he pushed Defendant, and Defendant picked up a knife from 

the kitchen sink. Groff testified that he was “in shock.” Defendant was “kind of waving” 

the knife around, screaming at Groff to get out. Groff backed away and picked up a box 

fan. He held the fan by the handle and “was punching it at him.” Groff wanted to “at 

least stun [Defendant] enough to where [he] could get the knife away from him and keep 

distance of course, you know.” He testified that he swung the fan at Defendant “about 

four or five times,” and the people in the apartment were screaming at him. He denied 

“bashing” Defendant with the fan. 

Groff testified that he put the box fan down while Defendant still had the knife. 

Defendant turned his head, and Groff “jumped on him and [Groff] got him in a chokehold 

and [he] grabbed his arm and [he] took [Defendant] down.” Groff “was just trying to get 
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the knife away from him.” He testified that “[e]verybody” pulled him off of Defendant, 

and he and Ms. Lane went into the bedroom. Defendant followed Groff into the bedroom 

and said, “you ain’t going to talk to my family like that.” Defendant ran at Groff and 

struck him. Groff did not realize he had been stabbed. He thought Defendant was 

punching him. He felt blood running down his neck. He testified that Defendant stabbed 

him twice and attempted to stab him a third time, but Groff grabbed Ms. Lane, because 

he “figured [Defendant] wouldn’t stab [him] if his mom was there.” He testified that 

“[n]obody seemed to care” that Defendant was stabbing him. He testified, “everybody 

was still yelling at me, threatening to call the cops.” Groff testified that he called 9-1-1. 

He had stab wounds to his left shoulder and the back of his head. 

Groff testified that Defendant was standing about ten feet away from him when he 

grabbed the knife. He testified that Defendant did not advance toward him, and he 

acknowledged that he moved closer to Defendant to get the box fan. Groff then began 

“jabbing” the box fan at Defendant. He testified that he was afraid of Defendant, but he 

“wasn’t going to leave without [his] stuff.” 

Eddie Key, of the Greeneville Police Department, responded to an assault at 

Crestview Apartments. When he arrived, he knocked on the apartment door, and 

Defendant answered. Officer Key observed a knife with blood on it on the kitchen table. 

He also observed that Groff had an injury to his neck. Officer Key took a statement from 

Trixie Lane. Officer Key testified that Defendant appeared “relatively calm.” 

Officer John Bishop also responded to the scene. He testified that when he 

arrived, Defendant answered the door and told police that Groff was in the bedroom. 

Groff walked out of the bedroom “covered in blood.” Defendant admitted that he 

stabbed Groff, saying “‘[Y]eah, I done it.’” Officer Bishop testified that Defendant and 

Groff began to argue. Officer Bishop and Captain Rednour handcuffed Defendant and 

led him out of the apartment. Officer Bishop testified that Defendant stated that he and 

Groff were arguing and pushing each other. Defendant claimed that he got a knife and 

told Groff to leave, that “he wasn’t going to talk to his family that way.” Officer Bishop 

testified that Defendant “was sporadic the way he was answering, he wasn’t answering in 

sentences[. H]e was just blurting out stuff.” Officer Bishop transported Defendant to the 

police station. Officer Bishop testified, “The whole time, he’s muttering, you know, he’s 

muttering ‘he shouldn’t have been there, he should have left, that was his family, you 

wasn’t going to talk to his family that way, it was his right to bear arms.’” When they 

arrived at the police station, Defendant declined to give a statement. Officer Bishop did 

not observe any cuts, bleeding, or bruising on Defendant. He testified, “The only wound 

that I saw on him at the time looked like a thumbprint on his neck, what could be a 

thumbprint.” 
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Captain Terry Rednour, of the Greeneville Police Department, testified that 

Defendant stepped out of the apartment when officers arrived and “made the statement, ‘I 

stabbed him, he should have left, we tried to get him to leave.’” 

Defendant testified that he was sitting at the kitchen table with his uncle, Scott 

Gregg, and his friend Chris McMahn, when his mother and Groff returned from the 

grocery store. He heard Groff in the bedroom “talking about somebody stole his pills.” 

When Groff came out of the bedroom, he “was real aggravated, you can tell he was 

mad.” Groff began pacing back and forth in the kitchen, saying “I want to know what 

MF’er took my medicine.” Defendant testified that Groff “got right in [McMahn’s] 

face.” Groff then came over to Defendant and “started going off on [him].” Defendant 

told Groff, “[Y]ou are not going to stay here and treat my family like that, you are going 

to leave, you have to leave, you need to go.” Groff refused to leave. Groff then grabbed 

Defendant around his throat, and they were “wrestling.” Defendant testified that Groff

was choking him. Groff then “slung” Defendant against a cabinet. Defendant grabbed a 

knife. He testified, “I wasn’t trying to threaten him, like I wasn’t trying to make him feel 

like I was going to hurt him, but I was letting him know that, you know, I am going to 

defend myself if I have to.”

Defendant testified that Groff grabbed him and “turned the knife” on him, “trying 

to make [Defendant] stab [him]self.” Defendant testified that someone pulled Groff off 

of him, and when Defendant stood up, Groff hit him with the fan several times. Groff

was “whacking” him with it. Defendant testified, “I had to act, I had to stop him. He 

was going to hurt me bad.” Defendant testified that he stabbed Groff once, and Groff

threatened to “kill all you MF’ers” and called Defendant’s aunt “the B word.” Groff

“noticed he was bleeding and it just made him even worse.” Groff “came after” 

Defendant again, Defendant’s aunt stepped between them, and Defendant reached around 

his aunt and stabbed Groff again. Defendant’s aunt called the police. 

Scott Gregg, Defendant’s uncle, testified that Groff’s demeanor was “fine” when 

he left with Ms. Lane to go to the store, and after they returned, Groff looked “demonic.” 

Mr. Gregg testified that Groff “had this look in his eyes like he was, I don’t know, like he 

was possessed or something.” Groff was cursing and accusing everyone of stealing his 

medicine. Mr. Gregg testified that Groff and Ms. Lane were gone to the store for about 

20 minutes. Mr. Gregg told Groff that none of them had moved from the kitchen table 

while they were gone. He testified that Defendant was smiling while playing a game on 

his phone, and Groff said, “‘[Y]ou think this is funny, mother F’er” and accused 

Defendant of stealing his pills. Groff then grabbed Defendant “by the arm or the throat 

or the sides of the head” and lifted him out of his chair and threw him against the kitchen 

sink. Defendant stood up, grabbed a knife, and held it against his chest with the blade 

pointed down. Groff asked Defendant if he planned to kill him and then lunged at 
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Defendant and knocked him to the ground. Mr. Gregg testified that it looked like Groff

was trying to make Defendant stab himself with the knife. Ms. Lane pulled Groff off of 

Defendant, and Groff grabbed a fan and “full speed [ran] toward [Defendant] and just 

start[ed] waylaying him in the face.” Defendant stabbed Groff. Leoma Gregg saw Groff 

“beating [Defendant] down.” Ms. Gregg said, “[Y]ou don’t do my family like that.” 

Groff yelled, “I’ll kill every mother F’er in here.” Mr. Gregg testified that Groff “was 

coming at [him and Ms. Gregg] with the fan still in his hand,” and Defendant stabbed 

Groff a second time. 

Analysis

Defendant argues that the trial court erred by denying his motions for a judgment 

of acquittal because he acted in self-defense. Defendant made a motion for judgment of 

acquittal at the close of the State’s case-in-chief and again at the close of trial. “The 

standard by which the trial court determines a motion for judgment of acquittal at the end 

of all the proof is, in essence, the same standard which applies on appeal in determining 

the sufficiency of the evidence after a conviction.” State v. Thompson, 88 S.W.3d 611, 

614-15 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000). Therefore, we will address Defendant’s complaint as a 

challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence. 

On appeal, a jury conviction removes the presumption of innocence and replaces it 

with one of guilt, so that the defendant carries the burden of demonstrating to this court 

why the evidence will not support the jury’s findings. See State v. Tuggle, 639 S.W.2d 

913, 914 (Tenn. 1982). The defendant must establish that no reasonable trier of fact 

could have found the essential elements of the offense beyond a reasonable doubt. See 

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307, 319 (1979); Tenn. R. App. P. 13(e). 

Accordingly, on appeal, the State is entitled to the strongest legitimate view of the 

evidence and all reasonable inferences which may be drawn therefrom. See State v. 

Williams, 657 S.W.2d 405, 410 (Tenn. 1983). Questions concerning the credibility of 

witnesses and the weight and value to be given the evidence, as well as all factual issues 

raised by the evidence, are resolved by the trier of fact, and not the appellate courts. See 

State v. Pruett, 788 S.W.2d 559, 561 (Tenn. 1990). 

The guilt of a defendant, including any fact required to be proven, may be 

predicated upon direct evidence, circumstantial evidence, or a combination of both direct 

and circumstantial evidence. See State v. Pendergrass, 13 S.W.3d 389, 392-93 (Tenn. 

Crim. App. 1999). Even though convictions may be established by different forms of 

evidence, the standard of review for the sufficiency of that evidence is the same whether 

the conviction is based upon direct or circumstantial evidence. See State v. Dorantes, 

331 S.W.3d 370, 379 (Tenn. 2011). 
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Assault, as is relevant to this case, occurs when one “[i]ntentionally, knowingly or 

recklessly causes bodily injury to another.” T.C.A. § 39-13-101(a)(1). Bodily injury 

“includes a cut, abrasion, bruise, burn or disfigurement, and physical pain or temporary 

illness or impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ, or mental faculty.” Id. § 

39-11-106(a)(2). 

Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-11-611(b)(1) provides that:

[A] person who is not engaged in unlawful activity and is in a place 

where the person has a right to be has no duty to retreat before 

threatening or using force against another person when and to the degree 

the person reasonably believes the force is immediately necessary to 

protect against the other’s use or attempted use of unlawful force. 

When a defendant relies upon a theory of self-defense, it is the State’s burden to 

show that the defendant did not act in self-defense. State v. Sims, 45 S.W.3d 1, 10 (Tenn.

2001). Whether the defendant acted in self-defense is a question of fact for the jury. 

State v. Clifton, 880 S.W.2d 737, 743 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1994); State v. Ivy, 868 S.W.2d 

724, 727 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1993). If the jury finds that the defendant acted in selfdefense, it is a complete defense to crimes of violence. Id. 

Viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, we conclude that a 

reasonable jury could have found Defendant guilty of assault beyond a reasonable doubt. 

This is a case of two competing narratives. Groff testified that Defendant threatened and 

stabbed him with a knife, and he defended himself with a fan. Defendant testified that 

Groff became violent, shoved and choked him, and beat him with a fan, and he used the 

knife to fend off Groff’s attacks. Defendant argues in his brief that the testimony of all 

the witnesses except the victim was that Defendant acted in self-defense. However, the 

jury was free to reject this testimony. Juries are tasked with assessing the credibility of 

trial witnesses and are generally free to reject, in whole or in part, the testimony of any 

witnesses. It is the province of the jury to assess the credibility of the witnesses, weigh 

the evidence, and resolve disputed issues of fact. State v. Leach, 148 S.W.3d 42, 53 

(Tenn. 2004). The evidence is sufficient to support Defendant’s conviction for assault. 

CONCLUSION

Based on the foregoing, the judgment of the trial court is affirmed. 

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THOMAS T. WOODALL, PRESIDING JUDGE