State of Tennessee v. Kevvon Clark
W2020-01036-CCA-R3-CD
| Tenn. Crim. App. | Feb 24, 2022Background
- On March 30–31, 2017, Kevvon Clark (defendant) and codefendant Jermarcus Thomas abducted two victims from a boarding-house room: a female (rape victim) and a male (homicide victim).
- Clark arrived armed, took the male victim’s wallet and truck keys, forced both into the victim’s truck, and sat by a door holding a gun while Thomas drove; the female was forced to perform oral sex, later escaped, and flagged down help.
- The male victim was later found bound and shot in the head in an abandoned lot; medical evidence supported a downward trajectory consistent with the victim kneeling.
- Thomas testified against Clark, saying Clark shot the victim; several witnesses (rape victim, house occupant Kenney, and acquaintances who heard post-offense admissions) corroborated parts of the account.
- Clark was convicted of first-degree (premeditated and felony) murder, two counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, aggravated rape, and aggravated robbery; he received an effective life sentence and appealed, arguing (1) insufficiency of evidence on several counts and (2) plain-error relief for the trial court’s failure to give the State v. White jury instruction on kidnapping-incidental-to-another-felony.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sufficiency — first-degree premeditated murder (and accomplice corroboration) | State: testimony (Thomas), victim bound and shot while pleading, corroborating physical and witness evidence support premeditation and identity. | Clark: insufficient proof of premeditation; conviction rests on uncorroborated accomplice testimony. | Affirmed. Evidence (physical, witness, and independent corroboration) supports premeditation; accomplice testimony was adequately corroborated. |
| Sufficiency — especially aggravated kidnapping of homicide victim and felony murder predicate | State: removal/confinement exceeded what was necessary for robbery; kidnapping separate and supports felony-murder. | Clark: kidnapping was incidental to an ongoing robbery (per State v. White). | Affirmed. Removal/confinement went beyond robbery (prevented help, increased risk, reduced detection); kidnapping was not merely incidental. |
| Sufficiency — aggravated rape (criminal responsibility) | State: Clark aided/abeted Thomas (held gun, directed, bound victim), so Clark is criminally responsible for Thomas’s rape. | Clark: insufficient evidence to attribute Thomas’s rape to Clark. | Affirmed. Evidence shows Clark knowingly promoted/assisted the rape and is criminally responsible. |
| Failure to give White instruction (plain error) | State: defendant must prove plain error; record shows no substantial right affected. | Clark: trial court erred by not giving the White instruction; seeks plain-error relief despite no trial objection. | No plain-error relief. Court found the omission was error but not one that affected a substantial right given the strength of the evidence; outcome stands. |
Key Cases Cited
- Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (standard for sufficiency-of-the-evidence review)
- State v. White, 362 S.W.3d 559 (Tenn. 2012) (White instruction: kidnapping not incidental to other felony requires specific jury finding)
- State v. Alston, 465 S.W.3d 555 (Tenn. 2015) (application of White factors to distinguish kidnapping from related felonies)
- State v. Bigbee, 885 S.W.2d 797 (Tenn. 1994) (accomplice testimony requires independent corroboration)
- State v. Dorantes, 331 S.W.3d 370 (Tenn. 2011) (criminal responsibility and standards for establishing aider/abetter liability)