IN THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE

AT NASHVILLE

Assigned on Briefs on July 14, 2015

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ATHANASIOS DIAKOS EDMONSTON

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Williamson County

No. II-CR017016 Timothy L. Easter, Judge

No. M2014-02345-CCA-R3-CD – Filed September 17, 2015

The defendant, Athanasios Diakos Edmonston, appeals his Williamson County Circuit

Court jury convictions of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, 

aggravated assault, and assault, contending that the trial court erred by refusing to 

suppress the statements he made to law enforcement officers and that the evidence 

adduced at trial was insufficient to support his convictions. Discerning no error, we 

affirm.

Tenn. R. App. P. 3; Judgments of the Circuit Court Affirmed

JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR., J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which NORMA 

MCGEE OGLE and ALAN E. GLENN, JJ., joined.

Benjamin C. Signer, Franklin, Tennessee, for the appellant, Athanasios Diakos 

Edmonston.

Herbert H. Slatery III, Attorney General and Reporter; M. Todd Ridley, Assistant 

Attorney General; Kim R. Helper, District Attorney General; and Jessica Borne, Assistant 

District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

OPINION

In January 2013, the Williamson County Circuit Court grand jury charged

the defendant with one count of especially aggravated kidnapping, one count of 

aggravated burglary, and two counts of aggravated assault. The trial court conducted a 

jury trial in July 2014.

The State‟s proof at trial showed that the victim and the defendant dated 

sporadically from 2008 until early November of 2012. In mid-November 2012, the 

victim began dating someone else. On or around November 18, the victim changed her 
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cellular telephone number because the defendant “would not stop calling and texting” 

her. On November 19, the victim contacted the Franklin Police Department (“FPD”) to 

report that the defendant had called the Walgreen‟s where she was employed between 13 

and 15 times that day. The defendant resumed calling the victim at the Walgreen‟s on 

November 21, prompting her to once again contact the police. FPD Officer Joe LeCates

went to the Walgreen‟s and called the defendant. Before leaving the store, Officer 

LeCates instructed the victim to call the police if the defendant contacted her again.

Approximately 15 minutes later, the defendant called the victim, telling her that she was 

“a b****” and informing her that if she “thought the officer was going to scare him, then 

[she] was wrong.” The victim tried unsucessfully to reach Officer LeCates to report the 

call, and when she arrived at home that evening, she sent the following electronic mail 

message to Officer LeCates:

I talked with you today at my work at Walgreens in Cool 

Springs. My ex called me at least five more times after you 

told him not to contact me. I wish to pursue the right legal 

actions. He has threatened my well being twice today. Thank 

you for your help, . . . .

The victim did not hear back from Officer LeCates. Because of the Thanksgiving 

holiday, she was not scheduled to return to work until Tuesday, November 27.

On November 25, the victim‟s new boyfriend went to her house to decorate 

the family Christmas tree and watch a movie with the victim and her parents. Later that 

evening, the victim‟s parents retired to their bedroom on the second floor of the house, 

and the victim‟s boyfriend left shortly after midnight. The victim then retreated to her 

own bedroom on the third floor of the residence and went to sleep. At approximately

2:00 a.m. on November 26, the victim was awakened by the sound of her bedroom door 

closing. Initially, the victim could only see “a dark figure standing there.” The dark 

figure then turned on the bathroom light, and the victim realized that the person was the 

defendant. The victim saw that the defendant was wearing gloves and that he had a gun 

holstered on one hip and a knife sheathed on the other hip.

The victim immediately felt “threatened that he was in there,” but the “gun 

and the knife just added the double amount of fear.” She asked why he was there, and the 

defendant responded that he “just wanted to talk.” The defendant told the victim that if 

she “made a sound when [they] were leaving to wake up [her] parents, that he would kill 

them.” The defendant took the handgun out of its holster and showed the gun to her. 

While the defendant was talking to the victim, he said something that caused her to slap 

him across the face. The defendant responded by punching the victim in the mouth, 

paritally knocking out one of her teeth and causing her to black out.
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When the victim regained consciousness, the defendant led her through the 

basement and into his mother‟s vehicle, which was parked outside. The victim was 

wearing only shorts and a t-shirt; she had neither shoes nor a jacket. The defendant 

continued to insist that he “wanted to talk” to the victim, but he never told her where they 

were going. The defendant eventually drove onto Interstate 40 heading west, and the 

victim fell asleep.

When she awoke around dawn, the victim realized that they were near 

Greenfield, Tennessee, which is where the victim had attended her senior year of high

school. The defendant drove the victim to his family‟s house in Sharon, Tennessee, and, 

once inside the residence, he instructed the victim to lie down on the sofa. A few minutes 

later, the defendant‟s mother walked into the living room. The defendant told his mother 

that the victim was there willingly, so the defendant‟s mother returned to her bedroom. 

The defendant then punched the victim in the side of her face, causing the victim to 

scream. The defendant‟s mother then reentered the living room, but the defendant told 

her that the victim was “upset about something” and asked his mother to return to her 

bedroom. The defendant then punched the victim in the face again, prompting the 

defendant‟s mother to return to the living room. At that point, the victim told the 

defendant‟s mother what had happened. The defendant demanded that the victim log into 

her Facebook account and break up with her boyfriend, but the victim refused, causing 

the defendant to punch her in the side of the head. Throughout the victim‟s time in the 

defendant‟s house, the defendant delivered multiple blows to her head, causing her to 

black out repeatedly.

At some point, the defendant‟s sister, Pannayiotta Edmonston, arrived at 

the house. She immediately checked on the victim‟s well-being and sat with her on the 

sofa. The defendant‟s father arrived a short time later. None of the defendant‟s relatives 

called 9-1-1, but, according to the victim, “everybody was trying to figure out how to get 

[her] out of the house, but the defendant would not let [her] leave.” Eventually, Ms. 

Edmonston and her father restrained the defendant to give the victim time to run to Ms. 

Edmonston‟s vehicle outside. The victim got inside the front passenger seat of the 

vehicle and locked the doors. The defendant came outside and used a tire iron to break 

the window by the victim‟s seat. He repeatedly punched the victim in the head, breaking 

her nose. An ambulance arrived a short time later and transported the victim to the 

hospital.

Jerry Wilson, Chief of Police of the City of Sharon, was the first to arrive 

on the scene. Chief Wilson asked the defendant what had happened, and the defendant 

responded that he had hit the victim. Chief Wilson then arrested the defendant. Both 
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Chief Wilson and fellow Officer John Groban provided the defendant with Miranda1

warnings. Officers later recovered both the defendant‟s handgun and military-style knife.

Detective James Colvin with the Brentwood Police Department spoke with 

the victim at her family‟s home in the early morning hours of November 27. Detective 

Colvin discovered “tool marks or pry marks” on the strike plate and locking mechanism 

of a “pedestrian door” located next to the residence‟s garage doors and determined that to 

be the defendant‟s point of entry into the family‟s home. On November 28, Detective 

Colvin traveled to the Weakley County jail where the defendant was housed and 

interviewed the defendant. An audio recording of the interview was admitted into 

evidence and played for the jury.

After Detective Colvin provided the defendant with Miranda warnings, the 

defendant agreed to speak with the detective. The defendant admitted to breaking into 

the victim‟s house, to taking his gun into the victim‟s bedroom, and to hitting the victim, 

but he denied that the victim accompanied him to Sharon against her will.

With this evidence, the State rested. Following the trial court‟s denial of 

the defendant‟s motion for judgment of acquittal and a Momon colloquy, the defendant 

chose to testify and present proof.

Ms. Edmonston testified that she is the defendant‟s older sister. She stated 

that she arrived at her family‟s residence on the afternoon of November 26 and 

encountered the victim asleep on the living room sofa. Ms. Edmonston denied that the 

victim asked for help or complained of pain or any injuries. Ms. Edmonston left the 

house to purchase some food, and when she returned, the defendant and the victim were 

arguing. Ms. Edmonston offered to take the victim home. After the victim got into the 

passenger seat of Ms. Edmonston‟s car, the defendant broke the passenger side window 

and began punching the victim.

The defendant testified that he “showed up” at the victim‟s residence on 

November 26 because he “wanted to talk” to the victim. The defendant stated that after 

they talked “for a little bit” they “came to a mutual decision” to leave. The defendant 

convinced the victim to return to west Tennessee with him for the night. When they 

arrived at his mother‟s residence, they “[t]ook a nap,” “[w]oke up,” and “[g]ot in an 

argument.” The defendant denied kidnapping the victim or displaying a weapon. The 

defendant testified that his trial testimony differed from the statement he gave Detective 

Colvin because he was “scared and kind of nervous” and because the officers had 

“threatened [him] if [he didn‟t] cooperate.”

 

1Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436 (1966).
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Based on this evidence, the jury convicted the defendant as charged of 

especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated burglary, and aggravated assault. In 

addition, the jury convicted the defendant of assault. Following a sentencing hearing, the 

trial court sentenced the defendant as a standard offender to a term of 24 years‟

incarceration to be served at 100 percent by operation of law for the especially 

aggravated kidnapping conviction and 5 years‟ and 3 years‟ incarceration to be served at 

30 percent for the respective convictions of aggravated burglary and aggravated assault. 

With respect to the simple assault conviction, the trial court imposed a sentence of 11 

months and 29 days. The court ordered all sentences to be served concurrently for a total 

effective sentence of 24 years.

Following the denial of his timely motion for new trial, the defendant filed 

a timely notice of appeal. In this appeal, the defendant contends that the trial court erred 

by refusing to suppress the incriminating statements he made to law enforcement officers

and that the evidence adduced at trial was insufficient to support his convictions of 

especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault. We will consider each claim in 

turn.

I. Motion to Suppress

The defendant first contends that the trial court erred by denying his motion 

to suppress the inculpatory statements he provided to law enforcement officers, claiming 

that the statements were obtained in violation of his constitutional rights. Specifically, 

the defendant claims that his confession was coerced and therefore should have been 

suppressed. The State asserts that the trial court did not err by denying the motion and 

admitting the statements as evidence at trial.

At the hearing on the defendant‟s motion to suppress his pretrial statement, 

Detective Colvin testified that he advised the defendant of his Miranda warnings and that 

the defendant signed a waiver of his rights. Detective Colvin recalled that the defendant 

had received his general educational development (“GED”) diploma and that he had 

previously been a member of the Army National Guard. Detective Colvin estimated that 

the interview lasted approximately two hours, and he denied threatening or making any 

promises to the defendant in exchange for his admission of guilt. Detective Colvin 

acknowledged that the defendant evinced some reluctance to speak with him, but he 

confirmed that the defendant never asked to speak with an attorney and never indicated 

that he wished to stop speaking with Detective Colvin.

The trial court denied the defendant‟s motion to suppress, finding that the 

defendant unquestionably “signed a waiver of his [Miranda] rights and agreed to speak 
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with Detective Colvin,” that nothing indicated “that the waiver was invalid or that the 

defendant was forced to sign the waiver,” and that “[t]he waiver was signed by the 

defendant voluntarily and was not a product of coercion or threats.” The trial court 

remarked further:

Statements made by the defendant to Detective Colvin 

were not coerced. There is nothing in the record to indicate 

that the statements made by the defendant are untrustworthy. 

The statements made by the defendant to Detective Colvin 

were made freely and voluntarily. The statements were not 

extracted by threats, violence or by direct or implied 

promises. The Court considered the following factors to 

determine the voluntariness to the defendant[‟]s statements: 

defendant was 22 years of age when the statements were 

given; defendant had previously been arrested and read his 

[Miranda] rights; defendant has a GED and was a member of 

the United States Army; defendant[‟]s statement was taken 

without undue delay; defendant was not injured, intoxicated 

or deprived of food or sleep; defendant appeared to be in 

good health; defendant[‟]s statements were not given as a 

result of threats and/or physical abuse. This [c]ourt . . . does 

not find any evidence to support the notion that the 

defendant‟s will was so overborne by deceptive, illegal or 

improper tactics by Detective Colvin so as to render the 

defendant‟s statements involuntary. This [c]ourt finds no 

evidence that the tactics by Detective Colvin violated any law 

in any manner.

A trial court‟s factual findings on a motion to suppress are conclusive on 

appeal unless the evidence preponderates against them. State v. Binette, 33 S.W.3d 215, 

217 (Tenn. 2000); State v. Odom, 928 S.W.2d 18, 23 (Tenn. 1996). Thus, questions of 

credibility, the weight and value of the evidence, and the resolution of conflicting 

evidence are matters entrusted to the trial judge, and this court must uphold a trial court‟s 

findings of fact unless the evidence in the record preponderates against them. Odom, 928 

S.W.2d at 23; see also Tenn. R. App. P. 13(d). The application of the law to the facts, 

however, is reviewed de novo on appeal. State v. Keith, 978 S.W.2d 861, 864 (Tenn. 

1998).

The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution provides that “no 

person . . . shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself.” U.S. 

Const. amend. V; see also Malloy v. Hogan, 378 U.S. 1, 6 (1964) (holding “the Fifth 
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Amendment‟s exception from compulsory self-incrimination” applicable to the states 

through the Fourteenth Amendment). This means that, to pass federal constitutional 

muster and be admissible at trial, a confession must be free and voluntary and not 

“„extracted by any sort of threats or violence, nor obtained by any direct or implied 

promises, . . . nor by the exertion of any improper influence‟” or police overreaching. 

Bram v. United States, 168 U.S. 532, 542-43 (1897) (citation omitted). The rule is 

equally applicable to confessions given during custodial interrogations following 

appropriate provision of Miranda warnings, see State v. Kelly, 603 S.W.2d 726, 728 

(Tenn. 1980), and those provided before the defendant has been placed in custody, see 

Arizona v. Fulminante, 499 U.S. 279, 286-88 (1991). To determine voluntariness, the 

reviewing court must examine the totality of the circumstances surrounding the 

confession to determine “whether the behavior of the State‟s law enforcement officials 

was such as to overbear [the defendant‟s] will to resist and bring about confessions not 

freely self-determined – a question to be answered with complete disregard of whether or 

not [the defendant] in fact spoke the truth.” Rogers v. Richmond, 365 U.S. 534, 544 

(1961).

Article I, section 9 of the Tennessee Constitution provides that “in all 

criminal prosecutions, the accused . . . shall not be compelled to give evidence against 

himself.” Tenn. Const. art. I, § 9. “The test of voluntariness for confessions under 

Article I, § 9 of the Tennessee Constitution is broader and more protective of individual 

rights than the test of voluntariness under the Fifth Amendment.” State v. Smith, 933 

S.W.2d 450, 455 (Tenn. 1996) (citing State v. Stephenson, 878 S.W.2d 530, 545 (Tenn.

1994)); see also State v. Thacker, 164 S.W.3d 208, 248 (Tenn. 2005). “The critical 

question is „whether the behavior of the state‟s law enforcement officials was such as to 

overbear [the defendant‟s] will to resist and bring about confessions not freely selfdetermined.‟” Smith, 933 S.W.2d at 455-56 (quoting Kelly, 603 S.W.2d at 728 (internal 

citation and quotation marks omitted)).2

Upon our review, we conclude that the record does not support the 

defendant‟s claim that his statement was involuntarily given or was the result of police 

coercion. The 22-year-old defendant, who possessed a GED diploma and had served in 

the United States military, was provided with Miranda warnings and signed a waiver of 

his rights. The defendant suffered from no injury, illness, or intoxication during his 

interview, and he was not abused or deprived of food or sleep during the interview. 

Although Detective Colvin repeatedly encouraged the defendant to talk to him, he 

 

2

This test is exactly the same as that promulgated in Rogers v. Richmond, 365 U.S. 534, 544 

(1961), so it is not entirely clear that it actually effectuates the stated goal of providing more protection to 

the criminally accused.
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explicitly told the defendant, “I haven‟t made you any promises, and I‟m not going to 

make you any promises. I don‟t know how this is going to play out for you in court.” 

Nothing indicates that any of the detective‟s statements could be considered coercive or 

promises of leniency.

The trial court did not err by denying the defendant‟s motion to suppress 

his statements.

II. Sufficiency

The defendant contends that the evidence is insufficient to support his 

convictions of especially aggravated kidnapping and aggravated assault. We disagree.

We review the defendant‟s claim of insufficient evidence mindful that our 

standard of review is whether, after considering the evidence in the light most favorable 

to the prosecution, any rational trier of fact could have found the essential elements of the 

crime beyond a reasonable doubt. Tenn. R. App. P. 13(e); Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 

307, 319 (1979); State v. Winters, 137 S.W.3d 641, 654 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2003). This 

standard applies to findings of guilt based upon direct evidence, circumstantial evidence, 

or a combination of direct and circumstantial evidence. State v. Dorantes, 331 S.W.3d 

370, 379 (Tenn. 2011).

When examining the sufficiency of the evidence, this court should neither 

re-weigh the evidence nor substitute its inferences for those drawn by the trier of fact. Id. 

Questions concerning the credibility of the witnesses, the weight and value of the 

evidence, as well as all factual issues raised by the evidence are resolved by the trier of 

fact. State v. Cabbage, 571 S.W.2d 832, 835 (Tenn. 1978). Significantly, this court must 

afford the State the strongest legitimate view of the evidence contained in the record as 

well as all reasonable and legitimate inferences which may be drawn from the evidence. 

Id.

As charged in this case, “[e]specially aggravated kidnapping is false 

imprisonment, as defined in § 39-13-302: . . . [a]ccomplished with a deadly weapon or by 

display of any article used or fashioned to lead the victim to reasonably believe it to be a 

deadly weapon.” Id. § 39-13-305(a)(1). Aggravated assault, as charged in the 

indictment, is an intentional or knowing “assault as defined in § 39-13-101(a)(1)” that is 

committed via the use or display of a deadly weapon. T.C.A. § 39-13-102(a)(1)(B). 

Assault, as is relevant to this case, occurs when one “[i]ntentionally or knowingly causes 

another to reasonably fear imminent bodily injury.” Id. § 39-13-101(a)(2).

In the instant case, the proof at trial established that the defendant, after 
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breaking into the victim‟s home, entered the victim‟s bedroom in the middle of the night 

armed with a handgun and a knife. The defendant removed the gun from its holster and 

showed it to the victim. The defendant then punched the victim in the mouth, fracturing 

her tooth and causing her to black out. After threatening to kill her parents if she made 

any noise, the victim left the house with the armed defendant, clad only in shorts and a tshirt in late November. The defendant then drove the victim a few hours away to Sharon, 

Tennessee. Without question, the evidence sufficiently established that the defendant 

committed both the offense of especially aggravated kidnapping and the offense of 

aggravated assault by the display of a handgun, a deadly weapon. Although not raised by 

the defendant on appeal, we hold the evidence likewise supports the defendant‟s 

convictions of aggravated burglary and assault.

Conclusion

The trial court properly denied the defendant‟s motion to suppress his 

statement to law enforcement officers, and the evidence is sufficient to support the 

defendant‟s convictions. Accordingly, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

 _________________________________ 

 JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR., JUDGE