STATE OF TENNESSEE v. BRANDON BASSETT - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. BRANDON BASSETT

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jul 7, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Kendall Stivers Jones, Assistant Public Defender – Appellate Division Tennessee District Public Defenders Conference, Franklin, Tennessee (on appeal); Roger Nell, District Public Defender (at trial); John T. Maher (at bond hearing); Charles Bloodworth and Joseph A. Price, Assistant District Public Defenders (at pre-trial motions and motion for new trial), for the appellant, Brandon Bassett.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Caroline Weldon, Assistant Attorney General; Robert Nash, District Attorney General; and Marianne Bell, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): EASTER

Brandon Bassett, Defendant, was indicted for and convicted of five counts of aggravated sexual battery. On appeal he argues that the State’s failure to elect an offense in Count 5 resulted in a jury verdict that was not unanimous and requires reversal. Defendant also argues the trial court abused its discretion in ordering consecutive sentencing by failing to place findings on the record to show that the overall length of the sentence comported with the purposes and principles of sentencing. Because we determine that the proof at trial necessitated an election on Count 5, we reverse the conviction in Count 5 and remand for a new trial. However, we determine the trial court did not abuse its discretion in sentencing Defendant to an effective sentence of thirty years. In all other respects, the judgments are affirmed. Accordingly, the judgments of the trial court are affirmed in part, reversed in part, and remanded for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

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