# FILED
July 8, 1999 Cecil Crowson, Jr. Appellate Cou rt Clerk IN THE COURT OF CRIMI NAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT JACKSON APRIL 1999 SESSION

STATE OF TENNESSEE, ) ) Appellee, ) No. 02C01-9801-CC-00025

) ) Madison County v. ) ) Honorable Franklin Mur chison, Judge ) CHARLES EDWARD HOBSON, ) (Aggravated assault--two counts and criminal ) ) trespass) Appellant. )
For the Appellant : For the Appellee : Ramsdale O’De’Neal, Jr. Paul G. Summers 118 East Baltimore Street Attorney General of Tennessee Jackson, TN 38301 and and Georgia Blythe Felner George Morton Goo ge Assistant Attorney Gener al of Tennessee District Public Defender 450 James Robertson Parkwa y and Nashville, TN 37243-0493 Daniel J. Taylor Assistant Public Defender James G. (Jerry) Woodall 227 W. Baltimore District Attorney General Jackson, TN 38301 and (AT TRIAL) Donald Allen Assistant District A

ttorney General Cliffor d K. McGown 225 Martin Luther King Dr. Attorney At Law P.O. Box 2825 113 N. Court Square Jackson, TN 38302-2825 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, Charles Edward Hobson, appea ls as of right from his convictions by a j ury in the Madison Count y Circuit Court for

two counts of aggrav

ated assault, a Class C felony , and one count of criminal tresp ass, a Class C misdemeanor. He was sentenced as a Range II, multiple offender, to ten year s for each aggravated assault to be served in the Department of Correction and to thirty days in the county jail for the criminal trespass c onviction. All three sentences are to run concurr ently. The defendant contends that the evidence i s insufficient to support his c onvictions for aggravated assault. We affirm the judgments of conviction.

Officer Gregory Slack of the Jackson Police Department testified that around 9:30 p.m. on November 16, 1997, he and Officer Jeff Whitworth were patroll ing Parkview Courts, a high crime area, in an unmarked brown Crown Victoria. He said that Officer Whitworth was driv ing and that he was in the passenger seat. He sai d that although it was unmarked, their car was generally recognized as a police car because they often patrolled that area i n that type of car. He said that as they passed buildi ng 112, they saw three bla ck males standing in the br eezeway between bu ildings 112 and 114. He said that no one else w as in the area aside from those thr ee and that it was cold that night.

Officer Slack testified that the thr ee individuals wer

e about twenty feet from the police car and that he made eye contact with them an d continued to watch them as Officer Whitworth drove slow ly past them. He said that he saw their faces clearly because they were under a street light. He said that one of the three wore all dark clothing and one w ore a gray shirt w

ith pants of a different color. He s tated that he could not remember what the thi rd individual wor e. He identified the defendant as the3

one wearing all dark

clothing and stated that he thought that the defendant was the tallest of the three. He said that he and Officer Whitworth agreed to dri ve back around the circle and to question the men if they were still standing there when the officers returned.

Officer Slack testified that he turned to f ace the road, and he immediately heard four very loud g unshots in rapid successi on. He said that the shots soun ded as though they came from a larg e caliber weapon, and it seemed as though they went directly over hi s ear. He said that the poli ce car was forty to fifty feet away from the three men when he heard the shots . He said that the bullets did not hit the police car and that he did not know w here they went. He s

aid that he feared for his life.

Officer Slack testified that he duck ed down, got out of the car, an d ran crouching low w

ith his gun drawn to the place where the three men had been standing. He said that he could see and smel l gun smoke at that spot. He said that as he checked around the corners of bui lding 112, he heard a door sl am twice. He said that he did not see anyone when he looked around the corner. He said that he canvassed the area but did not locate the three men. He said that he identified himself as a police officer and knocked on the first door on the back of building 112, but no one answered. He stated that other officers arrived and kept apartmen t 112D under surveillance. He stated that about two hours later, the defendan t and Datrick Cole came out the back door of 112D and that he recogniz ed them as two of the three people he saw in the breezeway.
On cross-examination, Officer Slack testified that “no loitering” signs are posted in Parkview Courts and that he often checks identification to m ake sure bystanders live there. He said that he did not know whether the three men standing in the breezeway had a reason to be at Parkview Courts but that he intended to check4

them bec ause the y were in a high crime are a. He adm itted tha t the sho ts could h ave been fired into the air, but he thought that the shot s were coming toward him because they were so loud. He said that he found no evidence of bullets in the nearb y area. He said that he did not know w hich of the three men standing in the breezeway fired the shots.
Officer Jeff Whitworth of the Jackson Police Depar tment testified that at 9:30 p.m. on November 16, 1995, he and Officer Slack were patrol ling the Parkview Courts Housing Projec

t in an unmarked brown Cr own Victoria. He sai d that he saw three black men standing in the breezeway betw een buildings 112 and 114 and that the men were watching the police car very closely. He said that the area was well lit and that no one els e was outside. He sa id that one of the three men wore all black clothing, one wore a Texas swe atshirt, and one wore a br own jacket and dark pants.He said he told Officer Slack that if the three men were still standing there when they drove back around the circle, he and Officer Slack would stop and find out if the men lived in Parkview Courts

.

Officer Whitworth testified that once he and Officer Slack turned to look back at the road, he heard four g unshots. He said that the poli ce car was fifteen to twenty yards from the

three men when he heard the shot s and that the shots came from the direction of the breezew ay. He said that he cri nged and hoped that he and Officer Slack would not be hit. He said that he saw the thr ee men run behind building 112, and he and Officer Slack went to find them. He said that Officer Slack told him that he had heard a door slam from building 112 and that the police set up a per imeter around 112. He said that he was still there when two of the men came out of the building. He identified the defendant as one of the men who had been standing in the breez eway and who later came out of 112D. H e said that Datrick Col e came out of 112D with the5

defendant. He said that the police later found Jonathan Harrison hi ding in the attic of 112D, an d he recog nized Harri son as the third man from the breezeway.

On cross-examination, O fficer Whitworth testified that he saw the three men in th e breezewa y for a very sh ort time. He said tha t Mr. Cole wa s wearing a b rown jacket and dark pants. He said that Mr. Harrison was the tallest of the three people in the breezeway. H e admitted that he did not know where the shots were aimed. On redirect examination, he said that after the shots wer e fired, he saw gun smoke i n the breezeway where the th ree men had be en standing.

Officer George Pruitt of the Jackson Police Department testi fied that on November 16, 1995, at 11:45 or 11 :50 p.m., he was dispatched to the perimeter around apartment 112D

in Parkvi ew Courts . He said th at at about 12: 45 p.m., two men came out the back door and were later identified as the defen dant and Datrick Cole. He said that after they obtained a searc h warrant, the police s

earched the apartment and arrested a third indiv

idual inside. He said tha t he helped search the apartment and found a Charter Arms Bulldog .44 Special revolver in a kitchen cabinet. He s aid the gun was a six- shot revol ver with a bla ck finish and a wood en handl e. He said that two of the six chambers contained live rounds and that the other f our were empty. He said that this type of gun is a large caliber weap on, that the casings remain in the cylinder after f iring, and that the casings mu st be remo ved manu ally.

On cross-examination, O fficer Pruitt testified that alth ough he is a certified crime scene technician, he w as not able to determine upon sig ht whether the gun had been fired recently. He s aid that to his knowledg e, no fingerprints wer e taken from the gun. He sai d that he wore gloves t hat night , but he d id not kno w whether th e other two officers collecting evidence wore gloves.6 Officer Abe Jones of the Jackson Poli ce Department testified that at 3:50 a.m. on November 17, he began to gather evidence in apar tment 112D of Parkview Courts. He said that a C olt .38 revolver w

as found in the pocket of a jacket hang ing in a closet. He said that a Smith and Wesson. 38 Special was found in a shoe in the closet in the back upstairs bedroom. He said that in that bedroom, th ey also found a semiautomatic .22 caliber Strong Ruger; a folder containing gang literature; and a cassette tape case containing shotgun shells, a pager, some marijuana, and so me crack cocaine. He said that a fourth gun, a Charter Arms Bulldog .45 revolver, was found in the kitchen.
On cross-examination, O fficer Jones said that he did not thi nk that testing the guns for fingerprints w as important in this case and that he did not wear gl oves while collecting

evidence. He said he di d not seek any testing t o determine whether the guns had b een fire d recentl y.

Datrick Cole testified that he knew the defendant by the nicknam e “Crock” but that they were not fri ends. He said that he was also charged in this c

ase with attempted second degree murder, aggravated assault and criminal trespa ss. He said that if he testified truthfully in the defen dant’s trial, the state had agreed to ask the court to dismiss the attempted second deg ree murder and aggrav ated assault charges against him and to allow him to plead guilty to

criminal trespass. H e said that he was convicted of misdemeanor theft of p roperty under five hundred dollars in February 1993.

Mr. Cole testified that betw een 9:00 and 9:30 p.m. on November 16, 1995, he saw the defendant and another man s tanding in the breezew ay between buildings 112 and 114 of Parkv iew Courts, and he approac hed them. He said that neither he nor the defendant liv ed in Parkview Cou rts. He said that the defendant w as1 Mr. Cole refer red to thi s indivi dual as Jonathan Harris and Jonat han Harrison at various point s in his testim ony. 7 wearing a black lea

ther jacket. He said that the other man was weari ng a white sweater and that he thought the other man’s name was Jonatha n Harris, 1 but he had not met him before that night. He state d that no one else was standi ng outside.

Mr. Cole testified that the defendant asked him if he wanted to “double up,” which means buy c rack cocaine, but he told the defendant that he did not have any money. He said that an unmarke d police car then drove around the circle. He tes tified that the defendant said he was “tired of these whores coming throu gh the projects all the time” and that the defendant was referring to the police. He said the defendant fumbled in his jacket, pulled out a handgun, and f ired three or four shots at the police car. He said the defendant’s gun was black and appeared to be a revolver. He said the police car stopped, and the three of them ran in the back door of Kim Rainey’s apartment. He admitted that he had no bu siness entering the apartment without permission, but he said that he ran because he was afraid that he would be shot if he continued to stand in the breez eway. He said he di d not have a gun.

Mr. Cole testified that once they were inside, the defendant turned the lights off and told them not to answ er the door. He said he hear d someone knock on the door, and again the defendant told them not to answer. He sai d that they looked out an upstairs window and saw that the police were blocking off the projects. He said he briefly saw the defendant hol d out his gun again, but he did not know what the defendant did with the gun. H e said that he and the defendant lay d own on the bed to wait for the police to leave. He said the defendant’s friend lef t the room, and Mr. Cole did not know where he w ent. He said that he and the defendant ev entually decided to leave through the back door. He said the defendant told the poli ce that there was no one else in the apartment.8 On cross-examination, M r. Cole testified that he g ave a statement to the police in which he sai d that he believed that tw o of the shots hit the corner of buil ding 112. He admitted that he did not hav e to run when the others di d, but he said that he panicked. He said that no one forc ed him to stay inside the apa rtment.
Investigator Donna Turner testified that she worked in the Violent Crimes Unit of the Jackson Police Department. She said that she took photographs of the defendant and Datrick Cole after officer s brought them from the scene to book ing. The photographs were admitted into evidence and show the defenda nt wearing a black leather jacket, a black t- shirt, and black pants and M r. Cole wearing a medium blue Georgetown jersey

and black pants. She said that on November 17, 1995, she talk ed with the defendant and then with Mr. Cole, and they eac h gave a statement.
Investigator Turner te

stified that the defendant told her that on November 16, he went to Kim Rainey ’s apartment at Parkview Courts, that he knew Ki m, and that he had visited her before that night. She said that he rel ated that he watched movies with Ms. Rainey and her friend, Dodd. Investigator Turner said that the defendan t told her that Ms. Rainey l eft with another friend at about 5: 30 p.m. and that he finished watching movies at 9:10 p.m. She said that he told her that Dodd and another friend left to return the movies and that Dodd asked him to stay and watch the apartment. Investigator Turner s

aid the defendant told her that he, Mr. Cole, and two unnamed individuals remained i n the apartment and that he had fallen asl eep on the couch when he was awake ned by guns hots. She said that he relate d that Mr. Cole and t he two others were in the room when he looked out the window and saw some people he did not know scattering. She said that he told her that no one ran into the apartment. She stated that he said that he we nt back to sleep on the couch, l ater woke up, and started out the back door with M r. Cole behind him when th e police told him to get dow n. She said that he told her that he di d not remember anyone knocking on the door, and he9

told the police that no one else was in the apartment. She s aid the defendant said that he did not own or carry a gun and that he did not shoot any one at Parkview Cour

ts.
Investigator Turner te

stified that she took photographs of the scene after interviewing the officers involved and the suspects. On cross-ex amination, she estimated that based upon what the officers told her, the three men w ere standing about thirty feet from the police car when the shots w

ere fired. She admitted that her investigation of the scene could not reveal the dir ection in which the bull ets traveled.
Lee Netherly testified that he was the Director of Housing Management for the Jackson Housing Authority. He said that in November 1995, the defend ant and Mr. Cole did not live in a ny unit of Parkview Courts. He said that the Jackson Housing Authority had never g iven the defendant or Mr. Col e permission to be in Parkv iew Courts or in apartment 112D.He said that “no loiter ing” signs wer

e posted in Parkview Courts.

Jonathan Harrison testified that between 9:00 and 10:00 p.m. on November 16, 1995, he was waiting outside Kim R ainey’s apartment for someone to pick him u p. He said that he sa w two police office rs approa ching in an unmarke d brown car. He said that he star ted walking back tow

ard Ms. Rainey’s por

ch because he knew he was not supposed to be in Pa rkview Courts.He said that he was st anding on the porch waiting for the police to pass when he heard four or five loud gunshots. He said that he had noticed four or five peo ple in the breezeway where the shots came from but that he did no

t know any

of them.

Mr. Harrison testified

that the officers jumped out of their ca r and that one pointed his gun in Harr ison’s direction. He s

aid that he ran into the apartment and that the defendant was inside. He s aid that he hid in the attic bec ause he was not10

supposed to be in the apartment and becau se he did not want the police to accuse him of anyth ing. He said that he was arrested and take n to the p olice sta tion where he gave a statement.
On cross-examination, M r. Harrison testified tha t he went to Parkview Courts that night to see M s. Rainey, whom he had j ust met. He said that when he got to her apartment, the front door w as opened but the screen door w as closed, and he could see the defendant lying on the couch. He said he knocked an d asked for Ms. Rainey, and the defendant told him that she was not there. He said that he did not know the defendant before that night and that the defendant introduced himself as “Crock.” He said tha

t he was standing in the front yard of apartment 112D y elling to some girls across the street when he saw the police car. He said that he heard a door slam and that he heard scuffling beneath him while he was i n the attic. He admitted that he was a member of the Gangster Disciples gang at that time, but he said he d id not know if apart ment 112D was a ha ngout for the ga ng.

Investigator Turner w

as recalled as a witn ess. She testified that whi le she was taking Mr. Harrison’s statement, he told her that he had gone to Ms. Rainey’s apartment a week before the inci dent. She said that Mr. Har rison told her that he had seen the defendant, whom he referred to as “Crock,” leavi ng the apartment when he got there.

SUFFICIENCY OF THE EVIDENCE

The defendant contests the sufficiency of the e vidence, contending that the only evidence to support his convictions for aggravated assault comes from Datrick Cole, who received a plea bargain in excha nge for his testimony. The defendant argues that Mr. Cole’ s testimony was contr adicted by Mr. Harr

ison, who testified that four or five unknown people w ere in the breezeway

when the shots were fir ed. The11

defendant also states that the prosecution failed to present scienti fic proof of any gun being fired recently or

of fingerprint evidence c onnecting him to the guns. We hold that the evidence is sufficient to convict the defendant of the aggr avated assault.
Essentially, the defendant is asking us to reweigh the evidence. However, our standard of review when the sufficiency of the evidence is questioned on app eal is "whether, after view

ing the evidence in the light most favorable to th e prosecution, any rational trier of fact could ha ve found the essential elements of the crime beyond a reasonable doubt." Jackson v. Virginia , 443 U.S. 307, 319, 99 S. Ct. 2781,2789 (1979). This means that we do not reweigh the ev

idence, but presume that the jury has resolved all conflicts

in the testimony and draw n all reasonable inferences from the evidence in favor of the stat e. See State v. Sheffield , 676 S.W.2d 542, 547 (Tenn. 1984); State v. Cabbage , 571 S.W.2d 832, 835 (Tenn. 1978).

The jury was apprised of the plea bargain Mr. Cole received for his testimony, was aware of the contradictions between the testimony of Mr. Cole and Mr. Harrison, and knew that the state presented no scientific evidence. Nevertheless, the jury was ent itled to a ccredit Mr . Cole’s te stimony.

Moreover, in the light most favorable to the state, the police officers’ testimony corroborates M r. Cole’s testimony. Mr. Cole testified that the defendant expressed his objection to the police patrolling in the projects, pulled out a gun, and fired four shots at the police car. The officers testified that they saw three men, one of whom was the defendant, standing in the breezeway.Immediately after they st opped watching these men, the officers heard four very loud gun shots. They saw gun smoke in the spot where the three men had been standing. Both officers testified that the shots caused them to fear injury. Based upon the evidence, the jury could reasonably12

find beyond a reasonable doubt that the def endant was guilty of aggravated assault with respect to each of the officers.

In consideration of the foregoing and the record as a whole , we affirm the judgments of conviction enter ed by the trial court.

____________________________ Joseph M. Tipton, Judge
CONCUR:

____________________________ David G. Hayes, Judge

____________________________ L.T. Lafferty, Senior Judge