State of Tennessee v. Darryl Robinson, W2016-01803-CCA-R3-CD

Background

Victim Thomas Wright testified he was robbed on May 14, 2013 by Darryl Robinson and Demetrius Davison; Robinson displayed a .32 caliber revolver and the victim surrendered cash, phone, and wallet.
Davison (a co-participant) corroborated that Robinson brandished a gun and directed Davison to search the victim’s pockets; Davison admitted discussing robbery beforehand and later cooperated with police.
Jury convicted Robinson of aggravated robbery (Count 1). The parties then stipulated Robinson had a prior aggravated assault felony for the bifurcated possession phase (Count 2).
The jury returned a verdict reading Robinson guilty of “convicted felon in possession of a handgun” (a Class E felony), but the trial court sentenced him under the Class C firearm-possession provision tied to prior violent felonies.
Robinson appealed challenging sufficiency for aggravated robbery, prejudicial use of his nickname, and multiple issues relating to Count 2 (indictment redaction, jury instructions, sufficiency, and sentencing).

Issues

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of aggravated robbery conviction	Evidence (victim, Davison) supports robbery by display/use of a gun	Robinson argued timing conflicts: property taken before gun displayed, so no aggravated robbery	Affirmed — viewing evidence in State’s favor, jury could find property taken because gun was displayed; inconsistencies not fatal
Use of nickname “Trigger Man” at trial	State did not intentionally inject prejudice; limited use corrected	Robinson argued pretrial order forbade nickname; its use was highly prejudicial — sought plain error relief	No plain error — limited, self-corrected use and possible tactical waiver; not necessary to do substantial justice
Indictment/redaction and jury instruction for Count 2 (convicted felon possession)	State argued stipulation and exhibit sufficed; jury informed of second-stage issue	Robinson argued indictment listed multiple prior felonies (not redacted) and jury lacked written element instruction; sought plain error relief	No relief — hearing multiple priors after guilty verdict of Count 1 could not have affected finding; oral instructions adequate under the circumstances though written instructions were required by rule; plain error not warranted
Nature of Count 2 conviction and sentencing	State treated offense as Class C (firearm with prior violent felony) and sentenced accordingly	Robinson noted jury verdict explicitly found possession of a handgun (Class E) and sought correction/resentence	Remedy: Affirm conviction as convicted felon in possession of a handgun (Class E); vacate Class C sentence and remand for resentencing under the Class E offense

Key Cases Cited

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
State v. Evans, 838 S.W.2d 185 (Tenn. 1992) (appellate review of criminal sufficiency)
State v. Anderson, 835 S.W.2d 600 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1992) (sufficiency and appellate deference)
State v. Pappas, 754 S.W.2d 620 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1987) (credibility and weight of evidence are jury functions)
State v. Grace, 493 S.W.2d 474 (Tenn. 1973) (jury verdict accredits State’s witnesses)
Bolin v. State, 405 S.W.2d 768 (Tenn. 1966) (trial judge and jury as primary factfinders)
Carroll v. State, 370 S.W.2d 523 (Tenn. 1963) (discussion of trial factfinding role)
State v. Tuggle, 639 S.W.2d 913 (Tenn. 1982) (burden on appellant to show insufficiency after conviction)
State v. Radley, 29 S.W.3d 532 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1999) (inconsistencies in testimony do not automatically create reasonable doubt)
State v. Zirkle, 910 S.W.2d 874 (Tenn. 1995) (nicknames should generally be avoided at trial)
State v. Smith, 24 S.W.3d 274 (Tenn. 2000) (plain error doctrine and its factors)
State v. Adkisson, 899 S.W.2d 626 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1994) (plain error framework)