STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOHNATHAN V. DUNCAN - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOHNATHAN V. DUNCAN

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Jul 17, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Mitchell A. Raines, Assistant Public Defender – Appellate Division, Franklin, Tennessee (on appeal), and Thomas A. Maynard, Taylor Michael Durrett, and Christopher Henry Reynolds, Lebanon, Tennessee (at trial), for the appellant, Johnathan V. Duncan.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; William C. Lundy, Assistant Attorney General; Jason L. Lawson, District Attorney General; and Justin Harris and Thomas Harwell Swink, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): EASTER

Jonathan Duncan, Defendant, was indicted for first degree murder, felony murder, and aggravated robbery by the Wilson County Grand Jury for his involvement in the death of Ellis Sanders, the victim. After a jury trial, he was found guilty on all counts and sentenced to an effective sentence of life imprisonment. After the denial of a motion for new trial, Defendant appeals, arguing: 1) the evidence was insufficient to support the convictions; 2) Defendant’s right to a fair and impartial jury was violated because jurors slept during trial, the trial court required the jury to work “extensive and unreasonable hours,” and the trial court interfered with the jury by holding ex parte meetings; and 3) the trial court erred in allowing the State to present evidence of uncharged bad acts in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b). After a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court but remand the matter to the trial court for entry of corrected judgment forms to reflect merger of the first degree murder and felony murder convictions.

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