State of Tennessee v. Paul Buchanan, W2017-00160-CCA-R3-CD

On April 13, 2013, Antonio Blake returned to his duplex in Memphis; a man entered carrying a chrome pistol, grabbed and briefly choked Blake, removed his wallet, and took $100. Furniture was disturbed during the struggle.
Blake testified he had no difficulty seeing the assailant, recognized the assailant’s voice, and identified Paul Buchanan at the scene, in a photographic lineup (circling Buchanan’s photo), at the preliminary hearing, and at trial.
Blake’s initial statements to officers at the scene, and to one officer, sometimes referenced two men and suggested a person named "Michael" had the gun, creating a discrepancy the defense emphasized.
The State charged Buchanan with aggravated robbery (use of a deadly weapon) and three counts of convicted felon in possession of a firearm/handgun; the parties stipulated Buchanan’s prior felony convictions necessary to sustain the weapon-enhancement counts.
A jury convicted Buchanan on all counts; the trial court merged duplicate weapon counts, found Buchanan a persistent offender, and imposed consecutive sentences totaling an effective 40 years (30 years for aggravated robbery, 10 years for felon-in-possession).
On appeal Buchanan argued the evidence was insufficient to prove he committed the robbery or possessed the firearm; the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed.

Issue	State's Argument	Buchanan's Argument	Held
Sufficiency of evidence to prove identity and aggravated robbery	State: Blake positively identified Buchanan at scene, in photospread, and at trial; jury may credit that testimony	Buchanan: Blake’s statements were inconsistent (initially said two men and that "Michael" had the gun), undermining ID	Held: Conviction affirmed; credibility and conflicts were for the jury, which accredited Blake’s ID
Sufficiency of evidence to prove possession of a firearm by a convicted felon	State: Blake testified Buchanan pointed a pistol at him; stipulations established prior felonies to support firearm counts	Buchanan: Inconsistent statements about who had the pistol ("Michael") create reasonable doubt	Held: Affirmed; jury credited Blake’s testimony that Buchanan possessed the pistol

Jackson v. Virginia, 443 U.S. 307 (1979) (standard for reviewing sufficiency of the evidence)
Dorantes v. State, 331 S.W.3d 370 (Tenn. 2011) (same standard applies to direct and circumstantial evidence)
Bland v. State, 958 S.W.2d 651 (Tenn. 1997) (appellate court will not reweigh evidence; defendant must show insufficiency)
Bolin v. State, 405 S.W.2d 768 (Tenn. 1966) (jury verdict accredits State’s witnesses and resolves conflicts in favor of State)
Crawford v. State, 635 S.W.2d 704 (Tenn. Crim. App. 1982) (identity is a factual question for the trier of fact)