# FILED
April 15, 1999 Cecil Crowson, Jr. Appellate C ourt Clerk IN THE COURT OF CRIMI NAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT JACKSON MARCH 1999 SE SSION

STATE OF TENNESSEE, ) ) Appellee, ) No. 02C01-9808-CC-00233

) ) Madison County v. ) ) Honorable W hit LaFon, Judge ) ANTONIO WARD, ) (Probation Revocation) ) Appellant. )
For the Appellant : For the Appellee : George Morton Goo ge John Knox Walkup District Public Defender Attorney General of Tennessee and and Stephen P. Spracher Georgia Blythe Felner Assistant Public Defender Assistant Attorney Gener al of Tennessee 227 West Baltimore Street 450 James Robertson Parkwa y Jackson, TN 38301 Nashville, TN 37243-0493 (AT TRIAL) James G. (Jerry) Woodall George Morton Goo ge District Attorney General District Public Defender and 227 West Baltimore Street James W. Thompson Jackson, TN 38301 Assistant District A ttorney General (ON APPEAL) 225 Marti n Luther King Drive P.O. Box 2825 Clifford K. McGown, Jr. Jackson, TN 38302-2825 113 N. Court Square P.O. Box 26 Waverly, TN 37185 (ON APPEAL)

OPINION FILED:____________________
AFFIRMED Joseph M. Tipton Judge2 O P I N I O N
The defendant, Antonio Ward, appeals as of right from the rev ocation of his proba tion by the Madison Co unty Circu it Court. He asserts that he sh ould have been sentenced to community corr ections instead of to the Department of Correction. We disagree. The defendant was sentenced in 1992 to six years for agg ravated assault. He was to ser ve six months in the w

orkhouse and the remaining fiv e years and six months on probation. H e was transferred to the M adison County community corrections program. In 1993, the defendant sought permissi on to move to Illinois. Finding th at the defendant had been succ

essful in the

community c

orrections

program, the trial court transferr

ed the defendant to the Department of Correc tion’s probation program to facilitate his move.

In February 1996, a probati on violation report w as filed based upon the defendant’s failure to report to hi s probation officer. This war rant was dismissed and the defendant was returned to super vision in Illinois . In January 1998, a second probation violation repo rt was filed based upon the defendant’s failure to report to the probation officer.

The defendant admitted tha t he failed to report to the probation off ice in Illinois. He admitted that he was drinking and would go on binges and not report. The trial court stated that it had given the defendant his c hances, and it revoked pro bation.
The defendant contends that given hi s previous good serv ice in the community corrections pr ogram, the trial court s hould have placed him into that program as opposed to the Depar tment of Correction. The decisi on to revoke probation is within the discr

etion of the trial court. State v. Grear , 568 S.W.2d 285, 286 (Tenn. 1978). Upon revoking probation, the trial court has the discretion to order the original3

sentence to be served. See T.C.A. §§ 40-35-310 and -311(d) . An abuse of discretion may be found only if the record contains no substantial ev idence to support the conclusion of the trial cour t. See State v. Harkins , 811 S.W.2d 79, 82 (T enn. 1991).
In the present case, the recor d reflects that the defendant was g iven a second chance to complete his probation aft er he originally failed to report to the Illinois Probation Department. How ever, he continued to fail to report. With this evidence and the defendant’s admission of a serious drinking proble m, the trial court was justified in requiring the defendant to s erve his sentence in the custody of the Department of Correction. The judgment of the t rial court is affirmed.

____________________________ Joseph M. Tipton, Judge CONCUR:

__________________________ Gary R. Wade, Presiding Judge

__________________________ Thomas T. Woodall, Judge