### IN THE CO URT OF CR IMINAL APPEALS OF T ENN ESSEE

AT NASHVILL E

Ass ig ne d o n B rie fs Octo be r 8, 2 01 3

STATE OF TENNESS EE v . RENITRA HARL EN

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t h a t : ( 1 ) t h e t r i a l c o u r t e r r e d w h e n i t a l l o w e d t h e S t a t e t o i n t r o d u c e a h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t o f

s t o l e n i t e m s p r e p a r e d b y s t o r e e m p l o y e e s i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r t h e s h o p l i f

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d i s c o v e r y ; ( 3 ) t h e t r i a l c o u r t e r r e d b y f a i l i n g t o m e r g e t h e t w o t h e f t c o n v i c t i o n s ; a n d ( 4 ) t h e

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A W i l l i a m s o n C o u n t y g r a n d j u r y i n d i c t e d t h e D e f e n d a n t

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t o f p r o p e r t y v a l u e d a t m o r e t h a n $ 1

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f r o m a K o h l ’ s s t o r e i n F r a n k l i n

, T e n n e s s e e

. T h e c a s e s w e r e s e v e r e d ; M a s s e y p l e d g u i l t y t o

h e r c h a r g e s

, a n d R u s s e l l w a s t r i e d s e p a r a t e l y

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A t t h e D e f

e n d a n t ’ s t r i a l

, t h e p a r t i e s p r e s e n t e d t h e f o l l o w i n g e v i d e n c e : N i c o l e

T h o m p s o n

, a l o s s p r e v e n t i o n s u p e r v i s o r f o r K o h l ’ s D e p a r t m e n t S t o r e

, t e s t i f i e d t h a t h e r j o b

e n t a i l e d c o n d u c t i n g i n t e r n a l a n d e x t e r n a l i n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f i n c i d e n t s t h a t w o u l d c a u s e o r

r e s u l t i n a l o s s t o t h e c o m p a n y

. M s

. T h o m p s o n r e c a l l e d t h a t

, o n A p r i l 2 2

, 2 0 0 9

, s h e

, a l o n g

w i t h t w o o t h e r l o s s p r e v e n t i o n e m p l o y e e s

, a p p r e h e n d e d t h e D e f e n d a n t a n d M a s s e y f

o r

s h o p l i f t i n g

. R u s s e l l w a s a p p r e h e n d e d b y p o l i c e

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f

i e d t h a t s h e f

i r s t o b s e r v e d t h e D e f

e n d a n t a n d M a s s e y t h r o u g h

c l o s e d c i r c u i t t e l e v i s i o n w h i l e t h e y w e r e i n t h e s t o r e ’ s j e w e l r y d e p a r t m e n t

. T h e t w o

w o m e n w e r e s e l e c t i n g v a r i o u s p i e c e s o f m e r c h a n d i s e w i t h n o r e g a r d t o t h e p r i c e o f t h e

i t e m s

. W h e n t h e w o m e n l e f t t h e j e w e l r y d e p a r t m e n t a n d w a l k e d t o w a r d a n o t h e r

d e p a r t m e n t

, M s

. T h o m p s o n l e f t t h e l o s s p r e v e n t i o n o f

f i c e a n d w e n t t o t h i s a r e a o f t h e s t o r e

t o f o l l o w t h e w o m e n

. M s

. T h o m p s o n

, w h o w a s b e h i n d t h e D e f e n d a n t

, o b s e r v e d h e r

s e l e c t i n g a n i t e m o f c l o t h i n g a n d t h e n c o n c e a l i n g t h e j e w e l r y i n h e r h a n d u n d e r n e a t h t h e

p i e c e o f c l o t h i n g

. M s

. T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t t h i s b e h a v i o r “ i s n o t u n l i k e w h a t s h o p l i f t e r s

t e n d t o d o

. ” S h e e x p l a i n e d t h a t g e n e r a l l y s h o p p e r s l o o k a t t h e t a g f o r a p r i c e o r s i z e w h e n

s h o p p i n g

. T h e D e f

e n d a n t w a l k e d t o w a r d a r a c k

, g r a b b e d a n i t e m w i t h o u t l o o k i n g a t t h e

t a g

, a n d t h r e w i t o v e r h e r a r m

. M s

. T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t t h i s i s “ n o t a n i n t e n t i o n a l

p r o c e d u r e i n s h o p p i n g ” a n d i s b e h a v i o r t h a t l o s s p r e v e n t i o n s u p e r v i s o r s l o o k f o r w h e n

o b s e r v i n g s h o p p e r s i n t h e s t o r e

. T h e D e f e n d a n t t h e n w a l k e d d i r e c t l y t o t h e f i t t i n g r o o m

a r e a

. M a s s e y h a d a l r e a d y e n t e r e d o n e o f t h e f i t t i n g r o o m s t a l l s

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f

i e d t h a t s h e e n t e r e d a f i t t i n g r o o m n e x t t o M a s s e y

. M s

.

T h o m p s o n r e c a l l e d w h a t s h e h e a r d a n d o b s e r v e d w h i l e i n t h e f i t t i n g r o o m a s f

o l l o w s :

M a s s e y h a d c a r r i e d i n a c o u p l e o f G P S ’ s

. A n d a G P S s y s t e m

, t h e

n a v i g a t i o n a l s y s t e m s

, a r e e n c l o s e d i n h a r d p l a s t i c

, a n d y o u c o u l d h e a r t h a t

s h e w a s c u t t i n g i n t o t h a t h a r d p l a s t i c i n s i d e t h a t s t a l l

.

A f e w s e c o n d l a t e r [ t h e D e f e n d a n t ] c r o s s e d i n f

r o n t o f m y f

i t t i n g

Massey was a dditionally

indicted for e vading arr est and re sisting ar rest. 1

2r o o m s t a l l d o o r s a n d w e n t i n t o t h e h a n d i c a p p e d s t a l l

, a n d t h e n M a s s e y c a m e

o u t o f h e r s t a l l

, l e a v i n g t h e h a r d p l a s t i c i n t h a t s t a l l

, a n d w e n t i n a n d j o i n e d

[ t h e D e f e n d a n t ] i n t h e h a n d i c a p p e d s t a l l

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n c o n f

i r m e d t h a t s h e o b s e r v e d M a s s e y c a r r y i n g t h e G P S s y s t e m i n t o t h e

f i t t i n g r o o m

. S h e s a i d t h a t t h e h a r d p l a s t i c c a s i n g f o r t h e s y s t e m m a k e s a “ v e r y d i s t i n c t i v e

s o u n d ” w h e n b e i n g c u t o r b r o k e n

. W h e n M a s s e y e x i t e d t h e f i t t i n g r o o m s t a l l a n d j o i n e d

t h e D e f e n d a n t i n t h e h a n d i c a p f i t t i n g r o o m

, M s

. T h o m p s o n s t e p p e d i n t o t h e f i t t i n g r o o m

s t a l l w h e r e M a s s e y h a d b e e n a n d s a w t h e h a r d p l a s t i c c a s i n g f r o m t h e G P S s y s t e m l e f t

b e h i n d

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f

i e d t h a t w h i l e t h e t w o w o m e n w e r e i n t h e h a n d i c a p f i t t i n g

r o o m s t a l l

, s h e h e a r d “ a l o t o f c o n v e r s a t i o n ” a n d “ s h u f f l i n g a r o u n d

. ” W h e n t h e t w o

w o m e n e x i t e d t h e f

i t t i n g r o o m s t a l l

, n e i t h e r w o m a n h a d a n y m e r c h a n d i s e

. M s

. T h o m p s o n

s t e p p e d i n s i d e t h e h a n d i c a p f i t t i n g r o o m s t a l l a n d f

o u n d t h e r e w e r e n o i t e m s l e f t b e h i n d

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t s h e f o l l o w e d t h e t w o w o m e n o u t i n t o t h e p a r k i n g l o t w h e r e t h e

D e f e n d a n t w a s s t a n d i n g n e a r t h e s i d e w a l k a n d M a s s e y w a s s t a n d i n g b y a v e h i c l e

. M s

.

T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t s h e a p p r o a c h e d t h e D e f e n d a n t a n d i n t r o d u c e d h e r s e l f a s a l o s s

p r e v e n t i o n s u p e r v i s o r

. T h e D e f e n d a n t i m m e d i a t e l y r e s p o n d e d “ I d o n ’ t h a v e a n y t h i n g

, I

d o n ’ t h a v e a n y o t h e r t h i n g

, ” a n d c u r s e d

, a c c u s i n g M s

. T h o m p s o n o f s t o p p i n g h e r “ f o r n o

r e a s o n

. ” M s

. T h o m p s o n s t a t e d t h a t s h e d i d n o t t e l l t h e D e f e n d a n t t h e r e a s o n s h e

a p p r o a c h e d t h e D e f

e n d a n t

. T h e D e f

e n d a n t a p p e a r e d “ a n g r y

, ” f l a i l i n g h e r a r m s a b o u t a n d

y e l l e d a t M s

. T h o m p s o n t o “ s e a r c h m y p u r s e

, s e a r c h m y p u r s e

. ”

M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f

i e d t h a t a n o t h e r l o s s p r e v e n t i o n s u p e r v i s o r

, N i c k J o h n s o n

, j o i n e d h e r o u t s i d e a n d s t a y e d w i t h t h e D e f e n d a n t w h i l e M s

. T h o m p s o n a p p r o a c h e d t h e

v e h i c l e w h e r e s h e h a d s e e n M a s s e y s t a n d i n g

. S h e f o u n d M a s s e y l y i n g d o w n i n t h e b a c k

s e a t o f t h e v e h i c l e

. M s

. T h o m p s o n k n o c k e d o n t h e c a r w i n d o w a n d a s k e d M a s s e y t o e x i t

t h e v e h i c l e

. M a s s e y “ r e l u c t a n t l y ” e x i t e d t h e v e h i c l e

. M s

. T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t s h e a s k e d

M a s s e y f

o r t h e i t e m s t a k e n f

r o m t h e s t o r e a n d t h a t M a s s e y r e m o v e d a G P S s y s t e m f r o m

h e r “ p a n t s a r e a ” a n d g a v e i t t o M s

. T h o m p s o n

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f

i e d t h a t J o h n s o n a n d t h e D e f e n d a n t c a m e o v e r t o t h e v e h i c l e

a n d t h e D e f

e n d a n t g o t i n s i d e t h e c a r a n d t h e n g o t b a c k o u t

. M s

. T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t s h e

“ a s s u m e [ d ] ” t h i s w a s b e c a u s e t h e D e f e n d a n t a n d M a s s e y d i d n o t h a v e t h e k e y s t o t h e

v e h i c l e

. T h e t w o w o m e n t h e n “ a i m l e s s l y w a l k e d a r o u n d t h e p a r k i n g l o t ” a n d r e f u s e d t o

r e

- e n t e r t h e s t o r e w i t h t h e l o s s p r e v e n t i o n s u p e r v i s o r s

. M r

. J o h n s o n c a l l e d t h e p o l i c e w h i l e

M s

. T h o m p s o n f

o l l o w e d t h e t w o w o m e n a r o u n d t h e p a r k i n g l o t

. M s

. T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t

b o t h w o m e n c u r s e d a t h e r a s s h e f o l l o w e d t h e m

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f

i e d t h a t t h e w o m e n f

i n a l l y a g r e e d t o g o i n s i d e t h e K o h l ’ s s t o r e

.

3I n s i d e t h e s t o r e

, t h e w o m e n w a i t e d b y t h e c a s h r e g i s t e r s

. W h e n a p o l i c e o f f i c e r w a l k e d i n

,

M a s s e y r a n o u t s i d e w h i l e M s

. T h o m p s o n r e m a i n e d w i t h t h e D e f e n d a n t

. P o l i c e s u b d u e d

M a s s e y a n d p l a c e d h e r i n a p o l i c e c a r

. A t t h i s p o i n t p o l i c e b r o u g h t a t h i r d s u s p e c t

,

R u s s e l l

, i n s i d e t h e s t o r e

, a n d t h e D e f e n d a n t a n d R u s s e l l w e r e t a k e n t o t h e l o s s p r e v e n t i o n

o f f i c e

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f i e d a b o u t t h e t h i r d s u s p e c t

, R u s s e l l

, w h o w a s a p p r e h e n d e d b y

p o l i c e

. M s

. T h o m p s o n e x p l a i n e d t h a t o r i g i n a l l y s h e h a d b e e n o b s e r v i n g R u s s e l l

. D u e t o

h i s b e h a v i o r

, M s

. T h o m p s o n w e n t t o t h e l o s s p r e v e n t i o n o f f i c e t o a d v i s e a c o l l e a g u e

, N i c k

J o h n s o n

, t o w a t c h R u s s e l l t h r o u g h t h e s u r v e i l l a n c e c a m e r a s

. W h e n s h e a r r i v e d i n t h e

o f f i c e

, J o h n s o n w a s a l r e a d y w a t c h i n g t h e D e f e n d a n t a n d M a s s e y

. M s

. T h o m p s o n j o i n e d

M r

. J o h n s o n a n d w a t c h e d t h e t w o f e m a l e s t a l k i n g i n t h e j e w e l r y s e c t i o n w h e n R u s s e l l

j o i n e d t h e m a n d w a s s p e a k i n g m o s t l y w i t h t h e D e f e n d a n t

. O n c e p o l i c e h a d a r r i v e d

,

M a s s e y p o i n t e d o u t R u s s e l l t o p o l i c e

. P o l i c e a p p r e h e n d e d R u s s e l l o u t s i d e t h e s t o r e a n d

b r o u g h t h i m i n s i d e

. M s

. T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t s h e n o t i c e d t h a t R u s s e l l h a d c h a n g e d h i s

s h o e s a n d w a s n o w w e a r i n g a N i k e h a t

. M s

. T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t R u s s e l l w a s n o t w e a r i n g

t h e s e i t e m s w h e n h e e n t e r e d t h e s t o r e o r w h e n s h e f i r s t o b s e r v e d h i m

. S h e s a i d t h a t b o t h

t h e s h o e s a n d t h e N i k e h a t w e r e K o h l ’ s m e r c h a n d i s e

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f

i e d t h a t a f

t e r a l l t h r e e s u b

j e c t s w e r e i n s i d e t h e s t o r e

, p o l i c e

o f f i c e r s w e n t o u t t o t h e v e h i c l e a n d r e t u r n e d w i t h a l a r g e b a g o f K o h l ’ s s t o r e m e r c h a n d i s e

t h a t w a s f

o u n d i n s i d e t h e v e h i c l e

. M s

. T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t s h e i n v e n t o r i e d t h e i t e m s

, i d e n t i f y i n g t h e i t e m s b y U P C n u m b e r s a s K o h l ’ s m e r c h a n d i s e

. S h e s a i d t h a t b o t h t h e

D e f e n d a n t a n d R u s s e l l c o n f i r m e d w h i c h o f t h e i t e m s w e r e t a k e n f r o m t h e s t o r e

. M s

.

T h o m p s o n e x p l a i n e d t h a t

, i n o r d e r t o c o o p e r a t e w i t h p o l i c e a s e f f i c i e n t l y a s p o s s i b l e

, l o s s

p r e v e n t i o n e m p l o y e e s o f t e n w r i t e d o w n t h e i t e m

, t h e U P C

, a n d t h e p r i c e o f t h e i t e m i n

o r d e r t o g i v e t h e p o l i c e a d o l l a r a m o u n t f o r t h e c r i m i n a l c h a r g e

. S h e s a i d t h a t i n i t i a l l y i t i s

h a n d w r i t t e n a n d l a t e r e n t e r e d i n t o t h e c o m p u t e r s y s t e m

. S h e c o n f i r m e d t h a t t h i s w a s t h e

p r o c e s s u s e d i n t h i s c a s e a n d i d e n t i f i e d t h e h a n d w r i t t e n d o c u m e n t l i s t i n g t h e s t o l e n i t e m s

.

T h e t r i a l c o u r t e n t e r e d t h e l i s t i n t o e v i d e n c e w i t h n o o b j e c t i o n f r o m d e f e n s e c o u n s e l

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n i d e n t i f

i e d h e r h a n d w r i t i n g o n t h e l i s t

, n o t i n g t h a t “ a f e w i t e m s ”

w e r e n o t i n h e r h a n d w r i t i n g

. M s

. T h o m p s o n e x p l a i n e d t h a t s h e w r o t e o u t t h e i t e m

, U P C

f o r t h e i t e m

, t h e v a l u e o f t h e i t e m

, a n d t h e n u m b e r o f e a c h i t e m

. S h e i d e n t i f i e d o n e l i n e

t h a t s h o w e d t h a t n i n e V a n i t y F a i r w o m e n ’ s p a n t i e s w e r e f o u n d a m o n g t h e s t o l e n i t e m s

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n a s k e d t h e D e f e n d a n t i f s h e t o o k t h e w o m e n ’ s p a n t i e s

, a n d

, a f t e r i n i t i a l l y

c l a i m i n g R u s s e l l t o o k t h e p a n t i e s

, t h e D e f e n d a n t a d m i t t e d s h e h a d t a k e n t h e p a n t i e s

. M s

.

T h o m p s o n t h e n w e n t t h r o u g h t h e l i s t i d e n t i f y i n g w h i c h i t e m s w e r e w o m e n ’ s i t e m s a n d

w h i c h w e r e m e n ’ s i t e m s

. M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f i e d r e g a r d i n g t h e p r i c e a t t r i b u t e d t o e a c h o f

t h e i t e m s

. S h e e x p l a i n e d t h a t e v e r y i t e m i n K o h l ’ s h a d “ e m b e d d e d ” U P C n u m b e r s

. I f a n

i t e m d i d n o t h a v e a t a g

, t h e “ e m b e d d e d ” U P C n u m b e r c a n b e u s e d t o f i n d t h e e x a c t p r i c e

4o f t h e i t e m

. M s

. T h o m p s o n s a i d t h a t s h e u s e d e i t h e r t h e p r i c e o n t h e t a g o f t h e i t e m o r

, i f

t h e r e w a s n o t a t a g

, t h e “ e m b e d d e d ” U P C n u m b e r f r o m t h e i t e m w h e n s h e c r e a t e d t h e l i s t

o f s t o l e n i t e m s a n d t h e v a l u e f o r p o l i c e

. M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f i e d t h a t t h e i t e m s t o t a l e d

$ 1

, 6 4 9

. 4 5 a n d t h a t n o n e o f t h e d e f e n d a n t s p r o v i d e d a r e c e i p t f o r t h e m e r c h a n d i s e

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n i d e n t i f

i e d a p h o t o g r a p h s h e t o o k o f t h e D e f e n d a n t a n d a t r e s p a s s

n o t i f i c a t i o n t h a t t h e D e f

e n d a n t r e f

u s e d t o s i g n

. M s

. T h o m p s o n e x p l a i n e d t h a t l o s s

p r e v e n t i o n r o u t i n e l y h a s s h o p l i f t e r s s i g n a t r e s p a s s a d m o n i t i o n b e f o r e l e a v i n g t h e s t o r e o n

t h e i r o w n o r w i t h a p o l i c e o f f i c e r

. M s

. T h o m p s o n a l s o i d e n t i f i e d t h e v i d e o r e c o r d i n g o f

t h e t h r e e d e f

e n d a n t s i n t h e s t o r e i n A p r i l

. T h e S t a t e p l a y e d t h e v i d e o r e c o r d i n g f o r t h e

j u r y

. T h e v i d e o r e c o r d i n g d e p i c t e d t h e e v e n t s o f t h i s i n c i d e n t c o n s i s t e n t w i t h M s

.

T h o m p s o n ’ s t e s t i m o n y

.

O n c r o s s

- e x a m i n a t i o n

, M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f i e d t h a t M a s s e y t o o k o n e G P S s y s t e m

i n t o t h e f

i t t i n g r o o m s t a l l

. O n c e i n t h e p a r k i n g l o t

, M a s s e y h a n d e d o v e r o n e G P S s y s t e m

t h a t s h e r e t r i e v e d f

r o m h e r p a n t s

. A s e c o n d G P S s y s t e m w a s l a t e r f o u n d i n s i d e t h e v e h i c l e

i n t h e p a r k i n g l o t

.

J e n n i f e r M a s s e y

, a c o

- d e f

e n d a n t

, t e s t i f

i e d s h e h a d b e e n a d r u g a d d i c t s i n c e t h e a g e

o f t h i r t e e n a n d “ i n a n d o u t o f j a i l ” h e r w h o l e l i f e

. S h e s t a t e d t h a t s h e h a d b e e n “ c l e a n ”

s i n c e t h i s s h o p l i f

t i n g i n c i d e n t a t K o h l ’ s s t o r e

. M a s s e y a d m i t t e d t h a t h e r c r i m i n a l h i s t o r y

i n c l u d e d c o n v i c t i o n s f

o r t h e f t o f p r o p e r t y

, p o s s e s s i o n o f s t o l e n p r o p e r t y

, a n d f o r g e r y

. S h e

s t a t e d t h a t s h e p l e d g u i l t y f o r h e r r o l e i n t h e s e c r i m e s a n d r e c e i v e d a s e n t e n c e i n v o l v i n g

s p l i t c o n f

i n e m e n t

, e i g h t m o n t h s i n j a i l f o l l o w e d b y e i g h t y e a r s p r o b a t i o n

.

M a s s e y t e s t i f

i e d t h a t s h e h a d k n o w n t h e D e f e n d a n t h e r “ w h o l e l i f

e ” a n d t h a t t h e

t w o h a d a t t e n d e d s c h o o l t o g e t h e r

. S h e e x p l a i n e d t h e n a t u r e o f t h e i r r e l a t i o n s h i p a t t h e t i m e

o f t h e s e e v e n t s a s f

o l l o w s

, “ W e w o u l d g o s h o p p i n g t o g e t h e r

, I w o u l d s t e a l i t e m s a n d s h e

w o u l d p a y m e f

o r t h e m

. ” M a s s e y s a i d t h a t t h e D e f e n d a n t a n d R u s s e l l w e r e d a t i n g a t t h e

t i m e o f t h e s e e v e n t s

.

M a s s e y t e s t i f

i e d t h a t s h e a n d t h e D e f e n d a n t s p o k e o n t h e t e l e p h o n e t h e n i g h t b e f o r e

a n d a r r a n g e d f

o r M a s s e y t o s t e a l i t e m s t h e D e f e n d a n t w a n t e d a n d t h e n t h e D e f e n d a n t

w o u l d l a t e r p a y M a s s e y f o r t h e i t e m s

. T h e f

o l l o w i n g m o r n i n g

, A p r i l 2 2

, 2 0 0 9

, t h e

D e f e n d a n t a n d R u s s e l l d r o v e t o M a s s e y ’ s h o u s e i n t h e D e f e n d a n t ’ s c a r

, a n I m p a l a

.

R u s s e l l d r o v e t h e t h r e e d e f e n d a n t s t o t h e K o h l ’ s s t o r e i n F r a n k l i n

, T e n n e s s e e

. W h i l e s t i l l

i n t h e c a r

, M a s s e y i n s t r u c t e d t h e D e f e n d a n t t o p i c k o u t t h e i t e m s s h e w a n t e d a n d t h e n m e e t

h e r i n t h e f

i t t i n g r o o m a r e a

. M a s s e y s a i d t h a t s h e a l s o t o l d t h e D e f e n d a n t “ t o p i c k u p a

n a v i g a t i o n s y s t e m f

o r [ h e r ]

, b e c a u s e [ s h e ] h a d s o m e b o d y w h o w o u l d b u y t h a t

. ”

M a s s e y s a i d t h a t w h e n s h e e n t e r e d t h e s t o r e s h e p i c k e d u p a n a v i g a t i o n s y s t e m a n d

5t o o k i t o u t t o t h e D e f e n d a n t ’ s c a r

. W h e n s h e c a m e b a c k i n t h e s t o r e

, s h e f o u n d t h e

D e f e n d a n t i n t h e j e w e l r y s e c t i o n w i t h “ s o m e i t e m s i n h e r h a n d

. ” M a s s e y t o l d t h e

D e f e n d a n t s h e w o u l d m e e t h e r i n t h e f i t t i n g r o o m a r e a

. M a s s e y e x p l a i n e d t h e e x c h a n g e

w i t h a n a v i g a t i o n s y s t e m i n t h e f i t t i n g r o o m a s f

o l l o w s :

I c u t i t o u t o f t h e b o x i n t h e d r e s s i n g r o o m

, c o n c e a l e d i t

. I h a d g o t i t f r o m

[ t h e D e f e n d a n t ] i n s i d e t h e d r e s s i n g r o o m

, w e n t t o a n o t h e r d r e s s i n g r o o m

,

c u t i t o u t o f t h e b o x

, c o n c e a l e d i t i n m y b r a

, a n d t h e n w e n t t o t h e d r e s s i n g

r o o m t h a t [ t h e D e f

e n d a n t ] w a s i n

.

M a s s e y s a i d t h a t s h e c u t t h e n a v i g a t i o n s y s t e m o u t o f t h e b o x w i t h a r a z o r b l a d e

. S h e

i d e n t i f i e d a j e w e l r y c r i m p i n g t o o l a n d a w i r e c u t t e r s h e u s e d t o r e m o v e s e c u r i t y t a g s f r o m

c l o t h i n g i n s t o r e s

. S h e e x p l a i n e d t h a t s h e h a d c a r r i e d t h e s e i t e m s i n t o t h e s t o r e i n h e r

p o c k e t

.

M a s s e y t e s t i f

i e d t h a t u p o n e n t e r i n g t h e f i t t i n g r o o m s t a l l w h e r e t h e D e f e n d a n t w a s

,

t h e t w o w o m e n u n p a c k a g e d s o m e o f t h e i t e m s

, a n d M a s s e y c o n c e a l e d t h o s e i t e m s

,

p e r f u m e a n d j e w e l r y

, i n h e r b r a

. T h e t w o w o m e n t h e n l e f t t h e s t o r e

. M a s s e y s a i d t h a t

, a s

t h e y e x i t e d t h e s t o r e

, s h e w a s i n f r o n t o f t h e D e f

e n d a n t a n d w a l k e d d i r e c t l y t o t h e I m p a l a

i n t h e p a r k i n g l o t

. W h e n s h e l o o k e d b a c k

, s h e s a w t h a t a s t o r e e m p l o y e e h a d s t o p p e d t h e

D e f e n d a n t s o s h e g o t i n s i d e t h e c a r

. S h e w a t c h e d a s t o r e e m p l o y e e f o l l o w t h e D e f

e n d a n t

t o t h e c a r a n d s l i d d o w n i n h e r s e a t i n a n a t t e m p t t o h i d e

. T h e D e f e n d a n t p r o c e e d e d t o t h e

c a r

, o p e n e d t h e p a s s e n g e r s i d e d o o r

, a n d s a t d o w n i n s i d e t h e c a r

. M a s s e y s a i d t h a t s h e

e x i t e d t h e c a r a n d h a n d e d t h e s t o l e n i t e m s t o t h e s t o r e e m p l o y e e

.

M a s s e y t e s t i f

i e d t h a t s h e t o o k a n e c k l a c e

, e a r r i n g s

, p e r f u m e

, b l a c k p a n t s

, a w h i t e

t o p

, a n d n i n e o r t e n p a i r s o f u n d e r w e a r f o r t h e D e f

e n d a n t

. S h e e x p l a i n e d t h a t s h e

c o n c e a l e d t h e w o m e n ’ s u n d e r w e a r i n t h e w a i s t b a n d o f h e r j e a n s

. M a s s e y s a i d t h a t s h e

“ a s s u m e d ” t h e m e n ’ s i t e m s f o u n d i n t h e c a r w e r e t a k e n b y R u s s e l l

, b u t t h a t s h e d i d n o t s e e

R u s s e l l t a k e t h e i t e m s t o t h e c a r

. M a s s e y s t a t e d t h a t t h e “ p l a n ” w h e n t h e t h r e e w e n t t o t h e

K o h l ’ s s t o r e w a s “ t o s t e a l m e r c h a n d i s e

. ”

O n c r o s s

- e x a m i n a t i o n

, M a s s e y t e s t i f i e d t h a t t h e D e f

e n d a n t w e n t i n s i d e a h a n d i c a p

f i t t i n g r o o m s t a l l w h i l e t h e t w o w e r e i n t h e f i t t i n g r o o m a r e a

. S h e s a i d t h a t s h e l e f t t h e

c a s i n g f r o m t h e G P S s y s t e m i n t h e f i t t i n g r o o m s t a l l

. M a s s e y s a i d t h a t w h e n t h e

D e f e n d a n t m e t h e r i n t h e d r e s s i n g r o o m

, s h e h a d j e w e l r y a n d p e r f u m e i n h e r h a n d a n d

c l o t h i n g f

o l d e d o v e r h e r a r m

.

K e l l y B a r g e r t e s t i f

i e d t h a t a t t h e t i m e o f t h e s e e v e n t s s h e w o r k e d a s a l o s s

p r e v e n t i o n s u p e r v i s o r a t a K o h l ’ s s t o r e

. M s

. B a r g e r r e c a l l e d t h a t

, o n A p r i l 2 2

, 2 0 0 9

, a

p o l i c e o f f i c e r b r o u g h t t h e D e f

e n d a n t i n t o t h e l o s s p r e v e n t i o n o f f i c e a n d a s k e d M s

. B a r g e r

6t o “ w a t c h h e r

. ” L a t e r

, R u s s e l l w a s a l s o b r o u g h t i n t o t h e o f f i c e

. W h e n h e e n t e r e d

, M s

.

B a r g e r n o t i c e d t h a t h e w a s w e a r i n g t e n n i s s h o e s t h a t b e l o n g e d t o t h e s t o r e

. S h e e x p l a i n e d

t h a t e a r l i e r o n e o f t h e s t o r e m a n a g e r s h a d b r o u g h t a n e m p t y s h o e b o x t o t h e l o s s p r e v e n t i o n

o f f i c e

. T h e e m p t y b o x m a t c h e d t h e p a i r o f t e n n i s s h o e s t h a t R u s s e l l w a s w e a r i n g w h e n

a p p r e h e n d e d

.

M s

. B a r g e r t e s t i f

i e d t h a t s h e i n i t i a l l y h e l p e d c o m p i l e t h e h a n d w r i t t e n i n v e n t o r y l i s t

o f s t o l e n i t e m s

. S h e e x p l a i n e d t h a t t h e n o r m a l p r o c e d u r e w a s t o w r i t e d o w n a d e s c r i p t i o n

o f t h e i t e m

, t h e U P C n u m b e r

, t h e p r i c e o f t h e i t e m

, a n d t h e q u a n t i t y o f t h e i t e m

. S h e s a i d

t h a t s h e w r o t e d o w n t w o o r t h r e e i t e m s o n t h e i n v e n t o r y l i s t a n d t h e n M s

. T h o m p s o n

e n t e r e d a n d c o m p l e t e d t h e l i s t

. M s

. B a r g e r i d e n t i f i e d t h e i n v e n t o r y l i s t o f s t o l e n i t e m s a n d

t w o i t e m s

, “ N i k e A i r G e n e r a t e ” a n d “ H a i n e s t

- s h i r t

, ” t h a t w e r e w r i t t e n i n h e r h a n d w r i t i n g

.

M s

. B a r g e r a l s o i d e n t i f

i e d h e r h a n d w r i t i n g o n t h e t r e s p a s s a d m o n i s h m e n t

.

B r e n t R o s e

, a C i t y o f F r a n k l i n p o l i c e o f f i c e r

, t e s t i f

i e d t h a t h e r e s p o n d e d t o a c a l l

f r o m a K o h l ’ s s t o r e a b o u t a s u s p e c t r e s i s t i n g a n o f f i c e r

. U p o n a r r i v a l

, h e f i r s t a s s i s t e d

a n o t h e r o f

f i c e r d e t a i n M a s s e y b e f o r e p r o c e e d i n g i n s i d e t h e s t o r e w h e r e h e l e a r n e d o f a

t h i r d s u s p e c t w h o w a s s e a t e d i n a n I m p a l a i n t h e s t o r e p a r k i n g l o t

. O f f i c e r R o s e w e n t b a c k

o u t t o t h e p a r k i n g l o t a n d a p p r o a c h e d t h e v e h i c l e w h e r e h e f o u n d R u s s e l l

. R u s s e l l i n i t i a l l y

d e n i e d i n v o l v e m e n t i n t h e s h o p l i f t i n g u n t i l a s t o r e e m p l o y e e p o i n t e d o u t t h a t t h e s h o e s

R u s s e l l w a s w e a r i n g w e r e K o h l ’ s p r o p e r t y

. O f f i c e r R o s e t o o k R u s s e l l i n s i d e t h e s t o r e a n d

r e t r i e v e d t h e k e y s t o t h e v e h i c l e f r o m t h e D e f

e n d a n t

. I n s i d e t h e c a r

, O f f i c e r R o s e f

o u n d

s e v e r a l b o x c u t t e r s a n d s t o r e m e r c h a n d i s e

.

J a n e T e e p l e s

, a C i t y o f F r a n k l i n p o l i c e o f f i c e r

, t e s t i f

i e d t h a t o n A p r i l 2 2

, 2 0 0 9

, s h e

w a s d i s p a t c h e d t o a K o h l ’ s s t o r e

. W h e n s h e a r r i v e d

, s t o r e e m p l o y e e s d i r e c t e d h e r t o t w o

w o m e n s t a n d i n g n e a r t h e c a s h r e g i s t e r s

. A s s h e a p p r o a c h e d

, M a s s e y r a n t o w a r d h e r a n d

o u t t h e f r o n t d o o r

. O f

f i c e r T e e p l e s p u r s u e d M a s s e y a n d t o o k h e r i n t o c u s t o d y

. U p o n a

s e a r c h o f M a s s e y

, O f

f i c e r T e e p l e s f

o u n d a t t a c h m e n t s f

o r a G P S u n i t

, e a r r i n g s

, a n d a

n e c k l a c e

. S h e a l s o f

o u n d w i r e c u t t e r s i n M a s s e y ’ s p o c k e t

. O f f i c e r T e e p l e s s a i d t h a t

s h o p l i f t e r s o f t e n u s e w i r e c u t t e r s t o d e t a c h s e c u r i t y d e v i c e s i n s t o r e s

. O f f i c e r T e e p l e s s a i d

t h a t s h e c o n f

i r m e d t h a t t h e D e f

e n d a n t w a s t h e o w n e r o f t h e I m p a l a w h e r e t h e s t o r e

m e r c h a n d i s e w a s f

o u n d

.

B a s e d u p o n t h i s e v i d e n c e

, t h e j u r y c o n v i c t e d t h e D e f e n d a n t o f t w o c o u n t s o f t h e f t

o f p r o p e r t y v a l u e d a t m o r e t h a n $ 1 0 0 0

. 0 0

. T h e t r i a l c o u r t s e n t e n c e d t h e D e f e n d a n t a s a

R a n g e I

, s t a n d a r d o f

f e n d e r t o c o n c u r r e n t t e r m s o f t w o y e a r s o n p r o b a t i o n f o l l o w i n g t h e

s e r v i c e o f f

o u r t e e n d a y s i n c o n f

i n e m e n t

. I t i s f

r o m t h e s e j u d g m e n t s t h a t t h e D e f e n d a n t

n o w a p p e a l s

.

I I

. A n a l y s i s

7T h e D e f e n d a n t a s s e r t s t h a t : ( 1 ) t h e t r i a l c o u r t e r r e d w h e n i t a l l o w e d t h e S t a t e t o

i n t r o d u c e a h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t o f s t o l e n i t e m s p r e p a r e d b y s t o r e e m p l o y e e s i m m e d i a t e l y a f t e r

t h e s h o p l i f

t i n g i n c i d e n t o c c u r r e d ; ( 2 ) t h e S t a t e f a i l e d t o d i s c l o s e a v i c t i m q u e s t i o n n a i r e i n

v i o l a t i o n o f t h e r u l e s o f d i s c o v e r y ; ( 3 ) t h e t r i a l c o u r t e r r e d b y f a i l i n g t o m e r g e t h e t w o t h e f t

c o n v i c t i o n s ; a n d ( 4 ) t h e e v i d e n c e i s i n s u f f i c i e n t t o s u p p o r t h e r c o n v i c t i o n s

.

A

. A d m i s s i o n o f H a n d w r i t t e n L i s t o f S t o l e n I t e m s

T h e D e f e n d a n t a s s e r t s t h a t t h e t r i a l c o u r t e r r e d w h e n i t a d m i t t e d a l i s t o f t h e s t o l e n

i t e m s h a n d w r i t t e n b y Ms. T h o m p s o n

, a K o h l ’ s s t o r e l o s s p r e v e n t i o n s u p e r v i s o r

.

S p e c i f i c a l l y

, t h e D e f

e n d a n t c o n t e n d s t h a t t h e r e c o r d c o n s t i t u t e d i n a d m i s s i b l e h e a r s a y a n d

t h a t i t w a s i m p r o p e r l y i n t r o d u c e d a s a b u s i n e s s r e c o r d

. T h e S t a t e r e s p o n d s t h a t b e c a u s e

t h e r e c o r d w a s e n t e r e d w i t h n o o b j e c t i o n

, t h e D e f

e n d a n t h a s w a i v e d t h i s i s s u e

, a n d t h e

D e f e n d a n t h a s f

a i l e d t o e s t a b l i s h p l a i n e r r o r

.

T h e D e f e n d a n t f i l e d a m o t i o n i n l i m i n e a s k i n g t h e t r i a l c o u r t t o e x c l u d e a

h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t o f s t o l e n i t e m s p r e p a r e d b y Ms. T h o m p s o n o n t h e d a y o f t h e o f f e n s e

b e c a u s e t h e s t o r e ’ s c o m p l e t e i n v e n t o r y l i s t f r o m A p r i l 2 2

, 2 0 0 9

, w a s n o t p r e s e r v e d

.

W i t h o u t t h e s t o r e ’ s i n v e n t o r y l i s t

, t h e D e f e n d a n t c o u l d n o t c o m p a r e t h e i n v e n t o r y l i s t t o

t h e h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t o f s t o l e n i t e m s t o e n s u r e t h e i t e m s w e r e a c t u a l l y i n t h e s t o r e a t t h e t i m e

o f t h e o f f e n s e

. T h e S t a t e r e s p o n d e d t h a t

, s o l o n g a s a p r o p e r f o u n d a t i o n w a s l a i d

, t h e

h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t w a s a d m i s s i b l e a t t r i a l

, a n d d e f e n s e c o u n s e l w o u l d h a v e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y t o

c r o s s

- e x a m i n e t h e w i t n e s s e s r e g a r d i n g t h e l i s t

. T h e t r i a l c o u r t a l l o w e d t h e S t a t e t o

i n t r o d u c e t h e h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t

, r e a s o n i n g t h a t

, i f t h e w i t n e s s a u t h e n t i c a t e d t h e l i s t a n d

t e s t i f i e d t h a t i t w a s p r e p a r e d n e a r t h e t i m e o f t h e a l l e g e d i n c i d e n t

, t h e h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t w a s

a d m i s s i b l e

, a n d a n y d i s c r e p a n c i e s w o u l d b e s u b j e c t t o c r o s s

- e x a m i n a t i o n

.

D u r i n g t h e t r i a l

, t h e S t a t e

, t h r o u g h T h o m p s o n ’ s t e s t i m o n y

, i n t r o d u c e d t h e

h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t

. T h e t r i a l c o u r t s p e c i f i c a l l y a s k e d d e f

e n s e c o u n s e l i f t h e r e w a s a n

o b j e c t i o n

, t o w h i c h d e f e n s e c o u n s e l r e s p o n d e d t h a t s h e h a d n o o b j e c t i o n

. I n t h e

D e f e n d a n t ’ s m o t i o n f

o r n e w t r i a l

, t h e i s s u e o f t h e h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t w a s o n c e a g a i n r a i s e d

, b u t t h i s t i m e i t w a s c h a l l e n g e d a s i n a d m i s s i b l e h e a r s a y

. T h e t r i a l c o u r t f o u n d t h a t t h e S t a t e

h a d p r o p e r l y a u t h e n t i c a t e d t h e l i s t a n d i n t r o d u c e d i t a s a b u s i n e s s r e c o r d

.

T h e S t a t e c o r r e c t l y n o t e s t h a t a p p e l l a t e r e l i e f i s g e n e r a l l y n o t a v a i l a b l e w h e n a p a r t y

i s “ r e s p o n s i b l e f

o r a n e r r o r ” o r h a s “ f a i l e d t o t a k e w h a t e v e r a c t i o n w a s r e a s o n a b l y

a v a i l a b l e t o p r e v e n t o r n u l l i f y t h e h a r m f

u l e f f e c t o f a n y e r r o r

. ” T e n n

. R

. A p p

. P

. 3 6 ( a ) ; s e e

S t a t e v

. K i l l e b r e w

, 7 6 0 S

. W

. 2 d 2 2 8

, 2 3 5 ( T e n n

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 8 8 ) ( s t a t i n g t h a t w a i v e r

a p p l i e s w h e n t h e d e f

e n d a n t f a i l s t o m a k e a c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s o b j e c t i o n ) ; s e e a l

s o S t a t e v

.

J e n k i n s

, 7 3 3 S

. W

. 2 d 5 2 8

, 5 3 2 ( T e n n

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 8 7 ) ; S t a t e v

. R h o d e n

, 7 3 9 S

. W

. 2 d 6

,

1 1

– 1 2

, 1 8 ( T e n n

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 8 7 )

. T e n n e s s e e R u l e o f E v i d e n c e 1 0 3 ( a ) ( 1 ) a l s o p r o v i d e s

8t h a t “ [ e ] r r o r m a y n o t b e p r e d i c a t e d u p o n a r u l i n g w h i c h a d m i t s o r e x c l u d e s e v i d e n c e u n l e s s

. . . a t i m e l y o b

j e c t i o n o r m o t i o n t o s t r i k e a p p e a r s o f r e c o r d

, s t a t i n g t h e s p e c i f i c g r o u n d o f

o b j e c t i o n

. ”

T h i s C o u r t m a y

, h o w e v e r

, r e v i e w a n i s s u e w h i c h w o u l d o r d i n a r i l y b e c o n s i d e r e d

w a i v e d i f t h e C o u r t f

i n d s p l a i n e r r o r i n t h e r e c o r d

. S e e T e n n

. R

. A p p

. P

. 3 6 ( b )

. T h e

d o c t r i n e o f p l a i n e r r o r p r o v i d e s t h a t “ [ w ] h e n n e c e s s a r y t o d o s u b s t a n t i a l j u s t i c e

, a n

a p p e l l a t e c o u r t m a y c o n s i d e r a n e r r o r t h a t h a s a f f e c t e d t h e s u b s t a n t i a l r i g h t s o f a p a r t y a t

a n y t i m e

, e v e n t h o u g h t h e e r r o r w a s n o t r a i s e d i n t h e m o t i o n f o r a n e w t r i a l o r a s s i g n e d a s

e r r o r o n a p p e a l

. ” T e n n

. R

. A p p

. P

. 3 6 ( b )

. T h e D e f e n d a n t

, i n h e r b r i e f

, a s s e r t s t h a t s h e i s

e n t i t l e d t o p l a i n e r r o r r e l i e f i n t h i s c a s e b e c a u s e i n t r o d u c t i o n o f t h e h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t

v i o l a t e d h e r r i g h t t o a f

a i r t r i a l u n d e r t h e D u e P r o c e s s C l a u s e

.

T h i s C o u r t w i l l g r a n t p l a i n e r r o r r e v i e w o n l y w h e n : “ ( 1 ) t h e r e c o r d c l e a r l y

e s t a b l i s h e s w h a t o c c u r r e d i n t h e t r i a l c o u r t ; ( 2 ) t h e e r r o r b r e a c h e d a c l e a r a n d u n e q u i v o c a l

r u l e o f l a w ; ( 3 ) t h e e r r o r a d v e r s e l y a f f e c t e d a s u b s t a n t i a l r i g h t o f t h e c o m p l a i n i n g p a r t y ; ( 4 )

t h e e r r o r w a s n o t w a i v e d f o r t a c t i c a l p u r p o s e s ; a n d ( 5 ) s u b s t a n t i a l j u s t i c e i s a t s t a k e ; t h a t i s

,

t h e e r r o r w a s s o s i g n i f i c a n t t h a t i t ‘ p r o b a b l y c h a n g e d t h e o u t c o m e o f t h e t r i a l

. ’ ” S t a t e v

.

H a t c h e r

, 3 1 0 S

. W

. 3 d 7 8 8

, 8 0 8 ( c i t i n g S t a t e v

. S m i t h

, 2 4 S

. W

. 3 d 2 7 4

, 2 8 2

– 8 3 ( T e n n

. 2 0 0 0 )

( q u o t i n g S t a t e v

. A d k i s s o n

, 8 9 9 S

. W

. 2 d 6 2 6

, 6 4 2 ( T e n n

. C r i m

. A p p

. 1 9 9 4 ) )

. “ I f a n y o f

t h e s e f i v e c r i t e r i a a r e n o t m e t

, w e w i l l n o t g r a n t r e l i e f

, a n d c o m p l e t e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f a l l

f i v e f a c t o r s i s n o t n e c e s s a r y w h e n i t i s c l e a r f r o m t h e r e c o r d t h a t a t l e a s t o n e o f t h e f a c t o r s

c a n n o t b e e s t a b l i s h e d

. ” I d

. ( c i t a t i o n o m i t t e d )

. W e n e e d n o t c o n s i d e r a l l f i v e f a c t o r s w h e n

t h e r e c o r d c l e a r l y e s t a b l i s h e s t h a t a t l e a s t o n e o f t h e f a c t o r s i s n o t m e t

. H

a t c h e r

, 3 1 0

S

. W

. 3 d a t 8 0 8

. I t i s t h e d e f e n d a n t ’ s b u r d e n t o p e r s u a d e t h i s C o u r t t h a t p l a i n e r r o r e x i s t s

a n d t h a t t h e e r r o r “ w a s o f s u f f i c i e n t m a g n i t u d e t h a t i t p r o b a b l y c h a n g e d t h e o u t c o m e o f t h e

t r i a l

. ” S t a t e v

. He s t e r

, 3 2 4 S

. W

. 3 d 7 8 8

, 8 0 8 ( T e n n

. 2 0 1 0 )

.

H e a r s a y i s d e f

i n e d a s “ a s t a t e m e n t

, o t h e r t h a n o n e m a d e b y t h e d e c l a r a n t w h i l e

t e s t i f y i n g a t t h e t r i a l o r h e a r i n g

, o f f e r e d i n e v i d e n c e t o p r o v e t h e t r u t h o f t h e m a t t e r

a s s e r t e d

. ” T e n n

. R

. E v i d

. 8 0 1 ( c )

. I n g e n e r a l

, h e a r s a y s t a t e m e n t s a r e i n a d m i s s i b l e

. T e n n

.

R

. E v i d

. 8 0 2

. S o m e s t a t e m e n t s

, h o w e v e r m a y b e a d m i s s i b l e u n d e r o n e o f t h e e n u m e r a t e d

e x c e p t i o n s

. I n t h i s c a s e

, t h e t r i a l c o u r t f o u n d t h a t t h e h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t o f s t o l e n i t e m s w a s

a d m i s s i b l e a s a b u s i n e s s r e c o r d

. A s r e l e v a n t t o t h i s i s s u e

, T e n n e s s e e R u l e o f E v i d e n c e 8 0 3

p r o v i d e s :

A m e m o r a n d u m

, r e p o r t

, r e c o r d

, o r d a t a c o m p i l a t i o n

, i n a n y f o r m

, o f a c t s

,

e v e n t s

, c o n d i t i o n s

, o p i n i o n s

, o r d i a g n o s e s m a d e a t o r n e a r t h e t i m e b y o r

f r o m i n f o r m a t i o n t r a n s m i t t e d b y a p e r s o n w i t h k n o w l e d g e a n d a b u s i n e s s

d u t y t o r e c o r d o r t r a n s m i t i f k e p t i n t h e c o u r s e o f a r e g u l a r l y c o n d u c t e d

b u s i n e s s a c t i v i t y a n d i f i t w a s t h e r e g u l a r p r a c t i c e o f t h a t b u s i n e s s a c t i v i t y t o

9m a k e t h e m e m o r a n d u m

, r e p o r t

, r e c o r d o r d a t a c o m p i l a t i o n

, a l l a s s h o w n b y

t h e t e s t i m o n y o f t h e c u s t o d i a n o r o t h e r q u a l i f i e d w i t n e s s

. . . u n l e s s t h e

s o u r c e o f i n f

o r m a t i o n o r t h e m e t h o d o r c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f p r e p a r a t i o n

i n d i c a t e l a c k o f t r u s t w o r t h i n e s s

.

A s t h i s C o u r t h a s p r e v i o u s l y s t a t e d :

T h e t e r m “ q u a l i f

i e d w i t n e s s ” [ i n T e n n

. R

. E v i d

. 8 0 3 ( 6 ) ] s h o u l d b e g i v e n a

b r o a d i n t e r p r e t a t i o n

. T o b e c o n s i d e r e d q u a l i f i e d

, a w i t n e s s m u s t b e

p e r s o n a l l y f

a m i l i a r w i t h t h e b u s i n e s s ’ s r e c o r d

- k e e p i n g s y s t e m s a n d m u s t b e

a b l e t o e x p l a i n t h e r e c o r d

- k e e p i n g p r o c e d u r e s

. T h e w i t n e s s i s n o t r e q u i r e d

t o h a v e p e r s o n a l k n o w l e d g e o f t h e f a c t s r e c o r d e d

, t o h a v e b e e n i n v o l v e d

p e r s o n a l l y i n t h e p r e p a r a t i o n o f t h e r e c o r d s

, o r e v e n t o k n o w w h o a c t u a l l y

r e c o r d e d t h e i n f

o r m a t i o n

.

A l e x a n d e r v

. I

n m a n

, 9 0 3 S

. W

. 2 d 6 8 6

, 7 0 0 ( T e n n

. C t

. A p p

. 1 9 9 5 )

.

M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f

i e d t h a t

, a f

t e r a p p r e h e n s i o n o f t h e d e f e n d a n t s

, t h e D e f

e n d a n t

a n d R u s s e l l w e r e t a k e n t o t h e l o s s p r e v e n t i o n o f f i c e w i t h t h e i t e m s r e t r i e v e d f r o m t h e

D e f e n d a n t ’ s c a r

. M s

. T h o m p s o n

, a s i s t h e p r a c t i c e f o r K o h l ’ s l o s s p r e v e n t i o n e m p l o y e e s

,

w r o t e d o w n e a c h i t e m

, t h e U P C n u m b e r

, t h e p r i c e o f t h e i t e m

, a n d t h e q u a n t i t y

. S h e

e x p l a i n e d t h a t K o h l ’ s e m p l o y e d t h i s p r o c e s s b e c a u s e i t w a s t h e m o s t e f f i c i e n t w a y t o

p r o v i d e p o l i c e o f

f i c e r s a t t h e s c e n e w i t h t h e n e c e s s a r y i n f o r m a t i o n f

o r p r o s e c u t i o n

. M s

.

B a r g e r

, a l s o a l o s s p r e v e n t i o n s u p e r v i s o r a t t h e t i m e o f t h e s e e v e n t s

, c o n f i r m e d t h e p r o c e s s

o f d o c u m e n t i n g i t e m s f o l l o w i n g a s h o p l i f

t i n g i n c i d e n t

. S h e f u r t h e r i d e n t i f

i e d h e r

h a n d w r i t i n g o n t h e f

i r s t t w o l i n e s o f t h e h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t

, e x p l a i n i n g t h a t s h e b e g a n t h e l i s t

a n d t h e n M s

. T h o m p s o n c a m e i n t o t h e o f f i c e a n d a s s u m e d t h e t a s k o f d o c u m e n t i n g t h e

s t o l e n i t e m s

.

B a s e d o n t h i s e v i d e n c e

, w e c a n n o t c o n c l u d e t h a t t h e t r i a l c o u r t e r r e d b y a d m i t t i n g

t h e h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t i n t o e v i d e n c e a s a b u s i n e s s r e c o r d

. T h e l i s t o f s t o l e n i t e m s w a s

c o m p i l e d a t t h e t i m e o f t h e s h o p l i f t i n g i n c i d e n t a n d s u b s e q u e n t a p p r e h e n s i o n o f t h e

d e f e n d a n t s

. T h e l i s t w a s b e g u n b y M s

. B a r g e r

, a K o h l ’ s l o s s p r e v e n t i o n s u p e r v i s o r

, a n d

c o m p l e t e d b y M s

. T h o m p s o n

, a l s o a K o h l ’ s l o s s p r e v e n t i o n s u p e r v i s o r

. A s e m p l o y e e s a n d

s u p e r v i s o r s i n t h e a r e a o f l o s s p r e v e n t i o n

, b o t h w i t n e s s e s w e r e p e r s o n a l l y f a m i l i a r w i t h t h e

r e c o r d

- k e e p i n g s y s t e m f o r d o c u m e n t i n g s t o l e n i t e m s a n d e x p l a i n e d t h e p r o c e d u r e t o t h e

j u r y

. A s M s

. B a r g e r a n d M s

. T h o m p s o n t e s t i f i e d

, i t w a s r e g u l a r p r a c t i c e t o c r e a t e a

h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t o f t h e s t o l e n i t e m s i n o r d e r t o q u i c k l y p r o v i d e p o l i c e o f f i c e r s w i t h n e e d e d

i n f o r m a t i o n f

o r t h e p r o s e c u t i o n o f a n o f f e n s e

. N o t h i n g i n t h e t e s t i m o n y

, c i r c u m s t a n c e s

, o r

m e t h o d t h a t i n d i c a t e d a l a c k o f t r u s t w o r t h i n e s s

. T h u s

, t h e t r i a l c o u r t p r o p e r l y a d m i t t e d t h e

10h a n d w r i t t e n l i s t i n t o e v i d e n c e a s a b u s i n e s s d o c u m e n t

.

Acc ording ly

, the Def

endant has failed to establish that there wa s a brea ch of a clea r and

unequivoca l rule of law. There fore

, plain err or re lief is not war rante d, and we need not proce ed

with an ex am ination of the rema ining Adkisson fac tors. See Smith

, 24 S.W .3d at 283 (“[T]he

prese nce of all five fac tors must be established by the re cord befor e this Court will rec og nize the

exis tence of plai n err or.”) Acc ording ly

, we conclude that Def endant is not entitled to relief on

this iss ue.

B. Discovery V iolation

The Def endant arg ues that the State fa i l ed to disclose a victim questionnaire prior to trial,

violating her ri ght to a fair trial. The State responds that the trial court corr ectly found that the

document wa s not material to the def ense. We a g ree with the State.

At issue are documents containing differ ing values of the items stolen. At tr i al, a

handwr itten list indicating the to t al value of the stolen items as $1,649.45 was admitted into

evidenc e. Thi s l i s t was compiled on April 22, 2009, the day of the shoplifting incident.

There afte r, Nick J ohnson, a Ko h l ’s Store loss preve ntion supervisor, filled out a victim

questionnaire indicating restitution in the amount o f $1,053.97. This form was filled out on

Aug ust 20, 2009, and submitt ed at the Def endant’ s sentenc in g h earing with no objection from

defe nse counse l.

At the motion for new trial hear ing, the Def end an t arg ued that the State failed to comply

wi th discovery rules by failing to disclose the victim questionnaire to the Def endant prior to trial.

The Def endant h ad re q uested discovery and y et had never seen the victim questionnaire. The

S t at e responde d that it had made the State’s file available to the defe nse and had s h o wn t h e

questionnaire to defe nse co u n s el prior to trial. Fur thermore

, the State pointed out that the same

form wa s in Russell’s file, which defe nse counse l had re viewed.

The trial c ourt made the following finding s as to this iss ue:

The Court fi nds that this prejudicia l impact is slight. Whil e the Court acc epts that

there wer e some d i s crepanc ies in the amounts of restitution that was claimed, the

Court also acknow ledg es that [defense counsel] did n o t spend a lot of time crossexamining the witnesses as to that point. That’s n o t b ad l aw y ering

. Quite fra nkly

, [defense counsel] was in a bit of

. . . a t oug h spot. I f she cross-e x amined too

. . .

ag g ressively she could we l l open the door to these other

. . . alleg ed thefts which

the C ourt had previously exclude d

. I f s h e d i d n ’t cross-e x amine at all she ran the risk of giving up

an issue as to whether this was a class E felony or class D felony an d that’s a matter of tactics,

that’s a matter

of attorne y

strateg y

.

The trial court acknow ledg ed the victim questionnaire’ s prese nce in the prese ntence re p ort

demonstrated that this evidenc e was not “maliciously hidden” from t h e Def endant and that the

11State did not intend to hide the victim questionnaire.

I n Brady v. Maryland

, the Supreme Court held t h at “s uppression by the prosec ution of

evidenc e favorable to an accuse d upon req uest violates due process where the evidenc e is materia l

either to g uilt or to punishment, irrespe ctive of the g ood faith or bad faith of the prosec ution.”

373 U.S. 83, 87 (1963). I n order to establish a due proce ss violati o n u n der Brady

, four

prer equisites must be met:

1. The defe ndant must have reque s t ed t he information (unless the evidenc e is

obviously exculpatory , in which ca se t he S tate is bound to rele ase the information,

whether reque sted or not);

2. The State must have suppr essed the inf ormation;

3. The infor

mation must have bee n favor able to the a ccuse d; and

4. The infor

mation must have bee n materia l.

State v. Edgin , 902 S.W .2d 387, 389 (Tenn. 1995) . Favorable evidenc e has be en def ined as:

[E] vidence which provide s some signific ant aid to the defendant’s case, whether it

furnishes corr oboration o f the defe ndant’s story

, calls into question a materia l,

althoug h n o t indispensable, element of the prosec ution’s version of the events, or

challeng es the c redibility

of a ke y prosec ution witness.

Jo h n s o n v. State

, 38 S.W .3d 52, 56–57 (Tenn. 2001) (quoting Commonwealth v. Elliso n

, 3 7 9

N.E.2d 560, 571 (1978))

. Evidence is materia l when “‘the re i s a rea sonable probability that, had

the evidenc e been disclosed to the defe nse, the result of the proce eding would have been

differ en t

. ’” Id

. at 58 (citations omitted). The burden of proving a Brady violation rests with the

defe ndant, and the violation must be prove n by a pre pondera

nce of the evidenc e. Id

.

C o n ce rn i n g the first Brady fac tor, the Def endant filed a discovery motion reque sting t h e

information. As for the second fac tor, whether or not the State suppressed the inf o rm at i on is less

clea r. Def ense counsel claims that the victim questionnaire was n o t p ar t o f t h e rec ord, and the

State claims that it was in the S t at e’ s fi l e an d that the State specific ally showed it to defe nse

counsel. The fac t that the victim questi o nnaire is part of the prese ntence repor t submitt ed at the

sentenc ing hear ing supports the concl u s i on that the State did not suppress this information. We

also note that the prese ntence repor t al s o shows a restitution amount of $1,053.97. This evidenc e

does not sup p o rt a finding that the State suppressed the victim questionnaire. We acknow ledg e

defe nse counsel’s arg ument that the lower value indicated in the victim questi o n naire could assist

the Defenda

nt in neg otiating and/or ar gu i n g for an E felony conviction. Fur ther, the discrepa

ncies

betwee n the documents could have been used during the cross-e x amination of t h e Kohl’s

employ ees at trial. Howeve r, both amounts are more than $1,000.00, which i s co n s istent with the

12Def

endant’ s conviction for th ef t o f p roperty valued at more than $1,000.00. Acc ording ly

, the

Def endant ha s failed to prove by a pre pondera

nce of the evidenc e that a Brady violation occur red.

The De fenda

nt is not entit led to relief

.

C. Suf fi ciency of the Evidence

The Def endant as s er t s that the evidenc e is insufficient to sustain her convictions for theft

of proper ty valued at more than $1,000.00. The State counter s t h at sufficie nt evidenc e was

p re sented from which a rea sonable juror could conclude t hat t he Defenda nt committed eac h of t h e

crimes f or which she was c onvicted.

When an acc used challeng es the sufficie ncy of the evidenc e, this Cou rt ’s standard of

revie w is whether

, afte r considering the evidenc e in the light m o s t fa v o rable to the State, “any

rational trier of fa ct could have found the essential elements of the crime bey ond a rea sonable

doubt.” Jack

son v. Virginia

, 443 U.S. 3 0 7

, 3 1 9 (1 9 79); see Tenn. R. App. P. 13(e) ; State v.

Goodwin

, 143 S.W .3d 771, 775 (Tenn. 20 0 4 ) (c i ting State v. Reid

, 91 S.W .3d 247, 276 (Tenn.

2002)). This rule applies t o finding s of g uilt based upon direc t evidenc e, circ umstantial evidenc e,

or a combination of both direc t and circ umstantial evidenc e. State v. Pende rgrass

, 13 S.W .3d

3 8 9

, 3 9 2 -9 3 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999). I n deter mining the sufficie ncy of the evidenc e, this C o u rt

should not re- weig h or re- evalua te the evidenc e. State v. Ma t t h ew s

, 805 S.W .2d 776, 779 (Tenn.

C ri m

. App. 1990). Nor may this Court substitut e it s infere nces for t hose drawn by the t rier of fac t

from the evidenc e. State v. Buggs

, 995 S.W .2d 102, 105 (Tenn. 1999); Liakas v. State

, 286

S.W .2d 856, 859 (Tenn. 1956). “Que stions conce rnin g t h e credibility of t he witnesses, the weight

an d v al u e of the evidenc e, as well as all fac tual issues raised by the evidenc e are resolved b y t h e

t ri er o f fact.” State v. Bland

, 958 S.W .2d 651, 659 (Tenn. 1997); See also Liakas

, 286 S.W .2 d at

859. “A g uilty verdic t by the jury

, approve d by the trial j u d ge, acc redits the testimony of the

wi t n es ses for the State and resolves all conflicts in favor of the theory of the State.” St a t e v.

Cabbage

, 571 S.W .2d 832, 835 (Tenn. 19 7 8 ) (q uoting State v. Grace

, 493 S.W .2d 474, 476

(Tenn. 1973) ). The T ennesse e Supreme Court stated the ra tionale for this rule:

This well-settled rule rests on a soun d fo u n dation. The trial judge and the jury see

the witnesses fac e to fac e, hea r t h ei r t est imony and observe their demea nor on the

stand. Thus the trial judge and jury are the primary instrumentali t y o f j ustice to

deter mine the weig ht and cre dibilit y t o be g iven to the testimony of witnesses. I n

the trial forum alone is there h u m an at mosphere and the totality of the evidenc e

cannot be repr oduced w ith a written re cord in this Court.

Bolin v. State

, 405 S.W .2d 768, 771 (T enn. 1966) (citing Carroll v. State

, 370 S.W .2d 523 (Tenn.

1 9 63)). This Court must aff ord the State of Tenne ssee the strong est leg itimate v i ew o f t h e

evidenc e cont ai n ed i n t h e rec ord, as well as all rea sonable infere nces which may be draw n from

the evidenc e. Goodwin

, 143 S.W .3d at 775 (c i t i n g S tate v. Smith

, 24 S.W .3d 274, 279 (Tenn.

2000)). Be cause a verdic t o f gu i l t aga i n st a defe ndant remove s the presumption of innocenc e and

raises a presumption of g uilt, the convicted crimi n al d ef en d ant bear s the burden of showing that

the evidenc e was leg ally insufficient to sustain a g uilty verdic t. State v. Carruthers

, 35 S.W .3d

13516, 557-58 (Te nn. 2000).

The jury convicted the Def endant of theft of proper ty valued at m ore than $1,000.00

pursuant to Tenne ssee Code A nnotated § 39-14- 146. The statute de fines this crime a s:

[A] person commits theft of p ro p erty if the person, with the intent to deprive a

merc hant of the stated price of merc handise, knowi n gly commits any of the

following acts:

(1) Conce als the merc handise;

(2) Remove s, takes possession of, or c auses the r emoval of me rcha ndise;

(3) Alters, transfe rs or remove s an y p rice marking

, or any other marking

which aids in dete rmining va lue af fix ed to the mer chandise ;

(4) Tr ansfe rs the mer chandise from one ( 1) conta iner to anothe r; or

(5) Causes the cash reg ister o r other sales rec ording device to ref lect less

than the mer chant’ s stated price for the me rcha ndise.

T.C.A. § 39-14-146( a) (2010). The State proce eded to trial under two separ ate theories: (1) that

the Def endant conce aled the merc handise; and (2) that the Def endant remove d, took po s session

of, or c aused the remova l of the merc handise. Id.

The evidence, considere d in the light most favor able to the State, proves that the

Def endant, Massey

, and Russell drove, in the Def endant’ s car

, to a Kohl’s store in Fr an klin,

Tenne ssee. The Def

endant and Massey had an arr ang ement wher e th e De fe n d ant would selec t

items she wanted, g ive them to Massey

, an d Massey would conce al the items and remove them

from the store. The three can be seen on surveillance video talking in the jew el ry depar tment of

the store wher e the Def

endant selec t s j ewelry and car ries it into another section of the store. Ms.

Thompson observe d, and the survei l l an ce video shows, the Def endant enter ing the fitting room

are a wi th the items hidden under sever al g arme nts and, later, exit ing the fitting room are a with

nothing in her possession. Massey testified t hat s he and the Def endant a rra ng ed for the Defenda

nt

to take the items she wanted and meet Massey in the fit ting room are a whe re Ma ssey hid the items

14in her bra and waist band area. The two women had exit ed the store when they wer e approa ched

by Ms. Thompson. Mass ey re m oved a GPS navig ational sy stem from her person and g ave it to

Ms. Thompson. L ater

, in the loss preve ntion office

, the Def endant confirme d for M s

. T h ompson

the items she took from the store

.

The Defenda

nt specific ally contests t he value of t he st olen property

. S h e contends that the

proof showed that she was responsible for only a neckla ce

, ea r ring s, perf ume, a pair of black

pants, a white shirt, and nine pairs of panties, and that t h e v al u e o f these items is less than

$1,000.00. The State responds that, under the theory of criminal responsibility

, the j u ry p ro perly

found the Def

endant g uilty of knowing ly con ce al i ng and removing merc handise valued at more

than $1,000.00 from Kohl’ s.

Und er T en n es s ee law, a person may be char g ed with an offe nse if “he or she is criminally

responsible for the per p etration of the offe nse.” T.C.A. § 39-11-401, Sentencing Comm’n Cmts.

A person is criminally responsible for the conduct of another if, “ac ting with inten t t o p ro m o t e or

assist the commission of the offe nse, o r t o b en ef i t in the proce eds or results of the offe nse, the

person solicits, direc ts, aids, or attempts to aid another p er s on to commit the offe nse[.] ” T.C.A. §

39-11-402( 2). C ri m i n al responsibility is not a separ ate crime; rathe r, it is “solely a theory by

which the State may prove the defe ndant’s guilt of t he alleged o ff en s e

. . . based upon the conduct

of an o t h er person.” State v. Lemack s

, 996 S.W .2d 166, 170 (Tenn. 1999). Under a theory of

criminal responsibility

, an individual’s p re s ence and companionship with the perpe trator of a

felony befor e and af

t er the commission of an offe nse are circ umstances from which his or her

participa tion in the cr i m e m ay b e inferr ed. See State v. Ball

, 973 S.W .2d 288, 293 (Tenn. Crim.

App. 1998). No particula r act need be shown, and the defe ndant need not h av e t ak en a p h y sical

part in the crime in order to be h el d criminally responsible. See id. To be criminally responsible

for the acts of another

, the defe ndant must “‘in some way associate himself with the v enture

, act

with knowledg e that an offe nse is to be committed, and share i n t he criminal intent of the

principal in the first deg ree .’” S tate v. Maxe y

, 898 S.W .2d 756, 757 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1994)

(quoting Hembre e v. State , 546 S.W .2d 235, 239 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1976) ).

Ba sed on the evidenc e prese nted at t rial, we conclude that a jury could have found the

Def endant criminally responsible for the conceal m en t an d remova l of merc handise valued over

$1,000.00 from Kohl’s store. The Def endant associate d h er s el f with the venture by contac ting

Massey and arr ang ing to g o to Kohl’s the following day for t h e p urpose of stealing items, acte d

with knowledg e that the shoplifting wa s co m mitted, and share d in the intent with Massey and

Russell to st eal f

rom a Kohl’s store

.

Acc ording ly

, we co nclude that the evidenc e is sufficie nt to support the convictions for

15theft o f proper ty valued at more than $1,000.00 bey ond a rea sonable doubt. As such, the

Def endant is not entitled to relief on this iss ue.

D. Me rger

The Def endant contends, and the State conce des, that the Def endant’ s two convictions

s h o u l d h ave been merg ed. The State proce eded to trial on alterna te theories of the same offe n s e

and the jury convicted the Def endant of both counts. The trial court sentenc ed the Def endant to

co n cu rr ent terms of two y ear s on probation for eac h offe nse, following the service of fourt ee n

day s in confinement.

Whil e the evidenc e is sufficie nt to prove both convictions, both convictions may n o t s t and

in the fac e of double jeopar dy conce rns. See Sta t e v. Beard

, 818 S.W .2d 376, 379 (Tenn. Crim.

App. 1991); S t a t e v. B u r ris

, 40 S.W .3d 520, 524 (Tenn. Crim. App. 2000). I t is clea r from our

re v i ew o f t h e re cord that it was the intent of the parties and the trial court to merg e the two

co n v i ct i o n s beca

use the convictions wer e based on alterna te theories of the same offe nse. I t

would appea

r t hat t he failure to merg e the convictions was an oversig ht. T h er ef o re

, we remand to

the trial cour

t for the e ntry

of modified judg ments ref lecting a mer g er of

the two convictions. This

wi l l result in a single conviction for the theft of proper ty valued at more than $1000.00. T h e

merg er of the convictions will have no e ffe ct on the De fenda nt’s eff ective se ntence

.

III. Conclusi on

I n acc ordanc e with the af oreme ntioned rea soning a nd authorities, we r emand this ca se to

the trial cour

t for the e ntry

of modified judg ments ref lecting a mer g er of

the Def endant’ s two

convictions and a ffirm the judg ments of the trial c ourt in all other re spects.

_________________________________ ROBERT W. WEDEMEYER, J UDGE

16