### IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL AP PEALS OF TENNES SEE ATJAC KSON A ssi gne d onBrie fs May

4, 201 0 STA TE OFTEN NES SEE v. RIC KY FRITH
D irec t A p p ea l f

ro m th e C ircu itC o u rt fo r T ipto n C o u n ty N o. 6116 Jos eph H . W al ker, I I I , Judge

N o. W 2009- 02034- C C A
- R 3- C D - F i l ed M ay 17, 2010

T h e d efe n d an t, R icky F ri th, w as c o n v ict ed b y a T ipton C o u n ty C ir cu it C o u rtjury o f bu rglary o f a v e h icle , a C las s E fe lo n y , a n d w a s se n ten c e d b y th e trial c o u rt a s a c a re e r o ffe n d e r to six y e a rs in th e D e p a rtm e n t o f C o rre c tio n . T h e s o le is su e th e d e fe n d a n t ra ise s o n a p p e a l is wh e t h e rt h e e v i d e n c e wa s s u f f i c i e n tt o s u s t a i n h i s c o n v i c t i o n . F o l l o wi n g o u rr e v i e w, we a ffir m th e ju d g m e n t o f t h e tr ia l c o u rt
. T enn. R . A pp. P . 3 A ppeal as of R i ght ; Judgm ent of

t he C i rcui t C ourt A f

f i rm ed
A L AN E. G L ENN , J

. , d e l i v e r e d th e o p i n i o n o f th e Co u r t , i n wh i c h J

. C. M C L IN a n d D. K E LLY T HO MAS , J R ., J J

. , j oi ned.
G a ryF . A n trica n , D istr ic t P u b lic D e f e n d e r (o n a p p e a l) a n d Je f f L e e , A ss ista n t P u b lic D efe nder( attr i al ) , forthe appe l l ant , R i ckyFr i th.
R obertE

. C ooper , J r . , A t t orneyG ener al and R eport er ; D es hea D ul any F au g hn, A s s i s t ant A t t orneyG ener al ; D

. M i chae l D unavan t , D i s tr i ctA t t orneyG ener al ; and J ames W al t er Fr eel and, Jr. and P. N eal O l dham, A s s i s t antD i s tr i ctA t t orney s G ener al , forthe appe l l ee, St at e of Tennes s ee. OP I NI ON FACTS
A tappr oxi m at el y 10: 00 p. m . on D ece m ber16, 2007, the vi ct i m , G ar y M adi s on, w as i ns i de hi s T i pt on C ount y hom e w i t h his 1 9 9 3 C hevr ol etSi l ver ado pi ckup tr uck parked out s i de w hen hi s gi r l f

r i end al er t ed hi m t hats om eone w as tr yi ng t o s t eal t he vehi cl e. U pon i nves t i gat i on, t he vi ct i m d isco v ere d the def endanti ns i de the tr uck, appr ehende d hi m , and hel d hi m at gunpoi nt for appr oxi m at el y t hi r t y t o for t y- f i ve m i nut es w hi l e he w ai t ed forthe-2-

pol i ce. T he def

endanteventual l y r an of f befor e the pol i ce a r r i ved, but bot h t he vi ct i m and hi s gi r l f r i end l at eri dent i f

i ed hi m f r om phot ogr aphi c l i neups they w er e s epar at el y s how n by t he pol i ce. A s a re s ul t , t he def endantw as s ubs equent l y i ndi ct ed by the Ti pt on C ount y G r and J u ry fo r t h e b u rg la ry o f t h e v ic tim ’s v e h ic le

. T h e S tat e ’s firstw itn ess a t th e d efe n d an t’ s M ay 7 , 2 0 0 9 , tr ial w as th e v ict im ’s gi r l f r i end, T resha J ones , w ho t es t i f i ed thats he and the vi ct i m w er e i n thei rhom e at appr oxi m at el y 10: 00 p. m . on D ece m ber16, 2007, w hen s he hea r d herdogs barki ng, l ooked o u t th e w in d o w , an d sa w th a t th e h e a d lig h ts o f th e v ictim ’s p ick u p tru c k w e re o n . S h e to ld t he vi ct i m t hats om eone w as tr yi ng t o s t eal hi s tr uck, and he r eac t ed by get t i ng hi s gun and r unni ng out s i de. A f

t ercal l i ng 911, s he w entout s i de as w el l , w her e s he enc ount er ed the v ic tim w a lk in g th e d e fe n d a n t to w a rd th e d ri v e w a y . J ones t es t i f

i ed thats he and the vi ct i m s t ood out s i de w i t h t he def endantfor appr oxi m at el y t hi r t y t o for t y- f i ve m i nut es w hi l e t hey w ai t ed fort he pol i ce t o arr i ve. T he defe n d a n t was wi t h i n t h r e e o r fo u r fe e t o f h e r d u r i n g t h a t t i m e a n d , fo r t h e m o s t par t , w as sta n d in g o r w a lk in g in fro n t o f th e tru c k ill u m in a ted b y its h e a d lig h ts. S h e re p e a ted ly to ld hi m t o geton t he gr ound, buthe r ef us ed t o com pl y and eventual l y r an of f befor e t he pol i ce a rriv e d . T h e d e fe n d a n t w a s d re ss e d in a b lac k “ In tim id a to r” jac k e t an d jea n s, w a s p o ss ib ly w e a ri n g a h a t, a n d a t o n e p o in t h e ld a s c re w d ri v e r t h a t h e p u lle d fr o m h is p o c k e t. J ones t es t i f

i ed thatdur i ng t he t i m e s he and t he vi ct i m w er e hol di ng the def endantat g u n p o in t, a n o th e r m a n d re ss e d in jea n s a n d a c a m o u fla g e jac k e t w a lk e d d o w n th e stre e t, c o m in g w ith in tw e n ty to tw e n ty -fiv e fe e t o f h e r lo c a tio n . S h e sa id sh e c a lled o u t to a sk h im w ho he w as and t o acc us e hi m of bei ng i nvol ved, buthe deni ed any i nvol vem entand kept w al ki ng. J ones m ade a pos i t i ve cour tr oom i dent i f i cati on of

t he def endantas t he m an s he and t he vi ct i m had hel d at gunpoi nt and i dent i f i ed f r om a phot ogr aph the m an w ho had w al ked p ast i n the c am o u fl ag e jac k et as Jim m y L ee A rno ld, Jr

. J ones acknow l edged on c r os s - exam i nat i on t hats he di d not pr ovi de a des cr i pt i on of t he s us pect ’ s faci al featur es i n hers t at em ent to p o li ce on t he ni ghtof t he i nci dent

. She ex p lai n ed , h o w ev er, tha t sh e tho u g h t a d esc ri p ti o n o f th e su sp ec t’ s cloth ing w o u ld b e o f m o re benef i tundert he ci r cum s t ance s , w i t h t he of f i cer s s ear chi ng fora s us pecton a dark r oad at ni ght

. She f

ur t hert es t i f

i ed thats he i dent i f

i ed the def

endanti n a phot ogr aphi c l i neup s he w as s how n by t he pol i ce a ppr oxi m at el y one w eek a f t ert he i nci dent

. W hen as ked, s he s ai d that th e d e fe n d a n t lo o k e d slig h tly d iffe re n t o n D e c e m b e r 1 6 th a n in th e p h o to g ra p h , in th a t h is h a irw a s s h o rt e r a n d s h e d id n o t r e c a ll h is h a v in g a s m u c h fa c ia l h a ir

. O n r edi r ectexam i nat i on, J ones t es t i f i ed thats h e and the vi ct i m w er e s how n the p h o to g ra p h ic lin e u p s s e p a ra tely a n d d id n o t c o m m u n ica te w ith e a c h o th e r a b o u t th e ir r es pecti ve i dent i f

i cati ons . She al s o expr es s ed hercer t ai nt y abouther ide nt i f i cati on of

the-3-

d e fe n d a n t a s th e p e rp e tr a to r. T h e v ict im test if

ied th at w h en h is girl fri en d told h im that h is truc k ’s he ad li g h ts w ere on, he puton hi s s hoes , gothi s gun, and i m m edi at el y w entout s i de t o hi s truck, w her e he found f r os t on t he w i nds hi el d and t he engi ne r unni ng. H e s ai d he r an t o the dr i ver ’ s s i de of t he vehi cl e and r apped s ever al t i m es o n t he w i ndow , t el l i ng t he def endantt o getout
. T he def endanti ns t ead tr i ed t o t ake of f i n the tr uck, butt he di es el engi ne “ ch o k ed dow n, ” and a fte r th re e o r fo u r m in u tes th e d e fe n d a n t g o t o u t o f th e v e h ic le

. A t th a t p o in t, th e v ictim w al ked the def

endantt o t he f

r ontof t he vehi cl e, w her e he he l d hi m atgunpoi ntfor a p p ro x im a te ly th ir ty -fiv e to fo rt y -fiv e m in u te s w h ile h e w a ite d fo r o ffic e rs to a rr iv e . T he vi ct i m t es t i f

i ed thatt he def

endantw as w el l

- l i tby the tr uck’ s headl i ght s and w as att i m es as near as three or fou r f eetfr om him

. T he d efendan tw as dresse d in black pan t s, a b lac k jac k e t w ith a “ D a le E a rn h a rd t” lo g o o n th e b a c k , an d a b lac k c a p a n d k e p t p u tti n g h is hand on a scr ew dr i ver he had i n hi s j acke tpocket

. T he vi ct i m s ai d thatthe def endantas ked hi m w hy he “w as doi ng hi m [ t hat ] w ay, ” of fer ed t o “f

i x” hi s tr uck, and kept s t at i ng, as i f he w e re a law y e r, th a t th e v ictim c o u ld n o t sh o o t h im . T h e d e fe n d a n t re fu se d to c o m p ly w ith the v ict im ’s i n stru cti o n s to li e o n the g rou n d , w o u ld n o t st an d sti ll , an d ev en tually ran o ff b e fo re th e p o lic e re s p o n d e d to th e s c e n e . T h e v ictim f

u r th e r tes tified th a t at a p p ro x im a tely 1 0 :3 0 p .m ., w h ile h e a n d h is gi r l f r i end w er e s t i l l hol di ng t he def endantatgunpoi nt , anotherm an dr es s ed i n a ca m ouf l age j acke tand ca p w al ked pas tt hem dow n t he s tr eet
. A ccor di ng t o t he vi ct i m , the ar ea w as rem ote and “n ob od y justw al ks do w n the streetatt hat hour of th e n i gh t
. ” O n crossexam i nat i on, he ac know l edged thathe di d notpr ovi de a de s cr i pt i on of t he def endant ’ s faci al featur es i n hi s s t at em entt o pol i ce. H e f ur t heracknow l edged that h e w as angr y and ups et dur i ng hi s encount erw i t h t he def endant

. H e i ns i s t ed , h o w ever , thathe gota good l ook at hi m f r om al l angl es . O n r edi r ectexam i nat i on, he m ade a pos i t i ve cour tr oom i dent i f i cati on o f t h e d e fe n d a n t a s th e p e rp e tr a to r, e x p re s s in g a b s o lu te c e rt a in ty in h is id e n tif ic a tio n . T r avi s B ur for d, t he vi ct i m ’ s nei ghbor , t es t i f i ed t h at o n the ni ghtof D ece m ber16, 2007, he and hi s w i fe w er e re t ur ni ng hom e fr om chur ch som et i m e bet w een 10: 00 and 10: 30 p .m . w h e n th e y sa w tw o C a u c a sia n m e n th e y d id n o t re c o g n ize w a lk in g d o w n th e stre e t in fr o n t o f t h e v ic tim ’s h o m e . D et ecti ve Scot t i e D eLashm i tof th e Ti p t on C ount y Sher i f f ’ s O f f i ce, w ho w as as s i gned to inv esti g ate the ca se, t esti fi ed that b y th e tim e h e a rri v ed at th e sc en e sh o rt ly b efo re m i dni ghton D ece m ber16, 2007, patr ol of f i cer s had al r eady t aken i nt o cus t ody a per s on of in ter e st in th e c a se , Jim m y L e e A rn o ld , Jr. W h e n h e in ter v iew e d h im th e n e x t d a y , A rn o ld g a v e th e fo llo w in g sta tem e n t, w h ich w a s a d m itt e d in to e v id e n c e a n d re a d to th e ju ry a t trial:-4- Sunday ni ghtI l ef

tm y hous e w al ki ng w i t h [ t he def endant ]

. W e w ent w a lk in g d o w n th e ro a d . H e e n ter e d a y a rd w ith a b u n c h o f stu ff lik e c a rs, b ig tr uck and j unk. H e w ent up ther e and tr i ed t o geti nt o a tr uck. H e t ol d m e he w a s g o in g to g e t h im a rid e . I to ld h im th a t I a in ’t g o t n o th in g to d o w ith th a t, you’ r e on yourow n. I w oul d advi s e aga i ns ti t , butdo yourt hi ng. I kept w al ki ng and neve r got of f t he r oad. I w ent dow n t he r oad and hea r d noi s es and y e lli n g. I t urned ar ou nd and w al ked back

. I saw [the defendan t ] being h e ld atgunpoi nt
. A l a d y a s k e d m e who I was a n d t h e n I a s k e d h e r who was s he. She as ked i f I w as w i t h hi m , I t ol d herno. I keptw al ki ng. I s t ayed on the r oad and t he co ps picked m e up . If I w a s g uil t y I w ou l d h ave g on e i n the w oo ds. Y ou can l ook on m y r ecor d and s ee I ai n’ t no t hei f [ s i c] , I gots om e agg [ s i c] a s s a u lts a n d 1 ro b b e ry w h e n . . . I w a s y o u n g . B a se d o n A rn o ld ’s in fo rm a tio n , D e tec tiv e D e L a sh m it p re p a re d p h o to g ra p h ic s pr eads heet s f

r om w hi ch the vi ct i m and J ones eac h pos i t i vel y i dent i f i ed t he def

endantas the perpetr at oron D ece m ber21, 2007. T he i dent i f i cati ons t ook pl ace s epar at el y, and D et ecti ve D eL ash m item p loy ed the “ scra m b le featu re” o f his co m p u ter t o en su re tha t th e d efe n d an t’ s phot ogr aph occ upi ed a di f fer entpos i t i on on t he s pr eads heet vi ew ed by the vi ct i m f r om the pos i t i on i toccupi ed on t he s pr eads heet vi ew ed by J ones . D et ecti ve D eLashm i tt es t i f i ed that t he di s t ance f

r om t he vi ct i m ’ s hom e t o t he hom e of the def endant ’s m o ther , w her e the d e fe n d a n t r e p o rt e d h e w a s liv in g o n F e b ru a ry 2 0 , 2 0 0 7 , w a s a p p ro x im a te ly 1 .6 m ile s . O n cr os s - exam i nat i on, D et ecti ve D eLashm i tt es t i f i ed thatA r nol d, w ho w as b eing d e tain e d o n a n in v e stig a tiv e h o ld , w a s re lea se d f r o m c u sto d y th e d a y a fte r h e g a v e h is s ta te m e n t. T h e d efe n d an t el ec ted n o t t o test if y b u t prese n ted tw o w itn esse s in h is be h alf: Step h an ie Li ght , w ho w as hi s gi r l f r i end and the m otherof hi s daught er , and J i m m y L ee A rn o ld , Jr. L ig h t tes tified th a t th e d e fe n d a n t, w h o liv e d w ith h e r a t h e r B a rtlett a p a rtm e n t, w a s h o m e w ith h e r a n d h e r so n o n D e c e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 0 7 . S h e w a s a b le to re c a ll th e d a te beca us e s he w or ked s i x days a w eek dur i ng t he C hr i s t m as s eas on, w hi ch m eantthats he and t he def endant us ed S undays , her onl y day off, as thei r“fam i l y day. ” Li ghts ai d t hats he w as tw o m o n ths p reg n an t atthat ti m e a n d that they “p retty m u ch stay ed at h o m e” o n h er d ay o ff dur i n g t h e f

i r s ttr i m e s t e ro f

h e rp r e g n a n c y . Sh e a l s o s t a t e d th a t , t o h e rk n o wl e d g e , t he def endantdi d nothave a bl ack hat , bl ack “ I nt i m i dat or ” or“D al e Ear nhar dt ” j acke t , orbl ack je a n s .

J i m m y L ee A r nol d, J r . t es t i f i ed thatthe m an he s aw bei ng hel d atgunpoi ntatthe v ictim ’s r e sid e n c e o n D e c e m b e r 1 6 , 2 0 0 7 , w a s n o t th e d e fe n d a n t. H e sa id h e s ig n e d h is stat em en t bec au se th e d etec ti v es to ld h im they “k n ew [th e p erp etrator] w as [the d efe n d an t] ”-5-

and thatt hey w oul d r el eas e A r nol d i f he coope r at ed. A r nol d s t at ed t hat he had l i ved w i th the def endant ’ s fam i l y, knew t he def endant , and w oul d have r ecogni zed him h ad h e b een the m an he ha d s een. H e s ai d t hathi s tr i al t es t i m ony w as t he tr uth and t hat hi s s t at em entt o the pol i ce w as “a t ot al l i e. ” O n cr os s - exam i nat i on, he t es t i f i ed thathe w as curr ent l y s er vi ng a s even- years ent ence forat t em pt ed aggr avat ed r obber y. A N A L Y S IS
T h e d e fe n d a n t co n ten d s o n a p p e a l th a t th e e v id e n c e w a s in su ffic ien t to su sta in h is co n v i c ti on. Speci f

i cal l y, he cha l l enges the evi dence of hi s i dent i t y as the perpetr at or , ar gui ng t hatt he i dent i f

i cati ons by G ar y M adi s on and T r es ha Jones w er e w eak w hi l e t he t es t i m ony o f h is a lib i w itn e s s , S te p h a n ie L ig h t, w a s v e ry c re d ib le . In s u p p o rt , h e p o in ts , in tera lia , to L igh t’ s testi m o n y that h e d id n o t ow n the v ariou s it em s o f clothin g w o rn b y the p erp etrator, th e fa c t th a t M a d iso n d id n o t p ro v id e a n y d e sc rip tio n o f th e p e rp e tra to r’s fa c e in h is s t at em ent t o pol i ce, and the di f fer ence s bet w een J ones ’ s des cr i pt i on of the perpetr at orand the a p p ea ran ce the d efe n d an t prese n ted a t tri al. T h e S tat e a rgu es th at the ev iden ce w as m o re th a n s u ffic ie n t to e s ta b lis h th e d e fe n d a n t’ s id e n tity a s th e p e rp e tr a to r o f t h e o ffe n s e . W e a g re e w ith th e S ta te
. W hen the suf

f i ci ency of t he convi ct i ng evi dence i s chal l enged on a ppeal , t he r el evant qu est i on fort he revi e w in g c ou rti s “w hether , aft er vi ew i ng t he ev i den ce i n the l i gh tm ost fa v o ra b le to th e p ro s e c u tio n , any ra tio n a l trie r o f fa c t co u ld h a v e fo u n d th e e ss e n tial e lem e n ts of t he cr i m e beyond a r eas onabl e doubt

. ” J acks on v. V i r gi ni a, 443 U

. S. 307, 319 ( 1979) ; s ee also T en n . R

. A p p . P

. 1 3 (e) (“F ind ing s o f g u il t in crim inal ac ti o n s w h ethe r by the tri al co u rt orj ur y s hal l be s etas i de i f t he evi dence i s i ns uf

f i ci entt o s uppor t the fi ndi ngs by t he t r i erof factof gui l tbeyond a r eason ab le d o u b t
. ” St at e v. E vans , 838 S. W

. 2d 185, 190- 92 ( T enn. 1 9 9 2 ); S tat e v . A n d erso n , 8 3 5 S

. W

. 2 d 6 0 0 , 6 0 4 (T en n . C ri m . A p p . 1 9 9 2 ).
A l l ques t i ons i nvol vi ng t he cr edi bi l i t y of w i t nes s es , t he w ei ght and val ue t o be gi ven t he evi dence , and al l factual i s s ues ar e r es ol ved by the tr i erof fact
. See St at e v. Pappas , 754 S. W

. 2d 620, 623 ( T enn. C r i m . A pp. 1987)

. “A gui l t y ver di ct by t he j ur y, appr oved by the trial ju d g e , a c c re d its th e tes tim o n y o f th e w itn e ss e s fo r th e S tate a n d re so lv e s all c o n flicts in favor of t he t heor y of t he St at e. ” St at e v. G r ace , 493 S. W

. 2d 474, 476 ( T enn. 197 3 ). O ur s upr em e cour ts t at ed the r at i onal e forthi s r ul e:

T hi s w el l

- s et t l ed r ul e r es t s on a s ound foundat i on. T he tr i al j udge and th e ju ry se e th e w itn e ss e s fa c e to fa c e , h e a r th e ir tes tim o n y a n d o b se rv e th e ir d em ea n o r on the s ta n d

. T h u s the tr ial jud g e a n d jury are the p ri m ary i ns tr um ent al i t y of

j us t i ce t o det er m i ne the w ei ghtand cr edi bi l i t y t o be gi ven t o t he t es t i m ony of

w i t nes s es . I n the tr i al for um al one i s t her e hum an at m os pher e and t he t ot al i t y of t he evi dence cannot be r epr oduced w i t h a-6-

w ri tte n re c o rd in th is C o u rt
. B ol i n v. St at e, 219 T enn. 4, 11, 405 S.W

. 2 d 7 6 8 , 7 7 1 ( 1966) ( ci t i ng C arr ol l v. St at e, 212 T en n . 4 6 4 , 3 7 0 S

. W

. 2 d 5 2 3 (19 6 3 )).

“ A ju ry c o n v ictio n re m o v e s th e p re su m p tio n o f in n o c e n c e w ith w h ich a d e fe n d a n t is i ni t i al l y cl oaked a nd r epl ace s i t w i t h one of gui l t , s o t hat on appea l a convi ct ed def endanthas t he bur den of

dem ons tr at i ng t hatt he evi d en ce i s i ns uf f i ci ent
. ” See St at e v. T uggl e, 639 S

. W

. 2 d 9 1 3 , 9 1 4 (T en n . 1 9 8 2 ).
W e c o n clud e tha t th e e v iden ce w as m o re tha n su ffi cien t t o estab li sh the d efe n d an t’ s i dent i t y i n t hi s cas e. T he vi ct i m and hi s gi r l f r i end had a m pl e oppo rtuni t y t o vi ew the d e fe n d a n t at c lo se ra n g e d u rin g th e fa irly len g th y p e rio d o f tim e th e y h e ld h im a t g u n p o in t, a n d b o th id e n tified h im a s the p e rp e tra to r fro m th e p h o to g ra p h ic a rra y s th e y w e re se p a ra tely s how n by t he pol i ce. I n addi t i on, eac h w as unequi v o ca l in hi s orhercour tr oom i den t i fi cat i on s. A vict i m ’s i den t i fi cat i on of a defendan tas the p erpetrat or of an offense i s, a l o n e , s u f

f i c i e n t t o e s t a b l i s h i d e n t i t y . S e e S t a t e v . Hi l l , 9 8 7 S

. W

. 2 d 8 6 7 , 8 7 0 ( T e n n . C r i m. A p p . 1 9 9 8 ); S tate v . S trick lan d , 8 8 5 S .W .2 d 8 5 , 8 7 (T e n n . C rim

. A p p . 1 9 9 3 ). B y its v e rd ict, t he j ur y obvi ous l y di s agr eed w i t h t he def endant ’ s cont ent i on t hatthe i den ti f i cati on t es t i m ony o f th e victi m an d h is g ir lf ri en d w as “w ea k , ” o r th at th e d efe n d an t’ s ali b i w itn ess w as m o re cr edi bl e than the St at e’ s w i t nes s es . W e conc l ude, t her efor e, t hatt he evi dence w as s uf f i ci ent t o s us t ai n t he def

endant ’ s convi ct i on.

CO NC L US I ON
B a se d o n o u r re v iew , w e c o n c lu d e th a t th e e v id e n c e w a s m o re th a n su ffic ien t to s us t ai n t he de fendant ’ s convi ct i on forbur gl ary of a vehi cl e. A ccor di ngl y, w e af f i r m the ju d g m e n t o f t h e tr ia l c o u rt
.

_________________________________ AL AN E

. GL E NN, J UDGE