STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CLEOTHA ABSTON A/K/A CLEOTHA HENDERSON - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CLEOTHA ABSTON A/K/A CLEOTHA HENDERSON

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Oct 21, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Juni S. Ganguli, Memphis, Tennessee, for the appellant, Cleotha Abston.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; William C. Lundy, Assistant Attorney General; Steven J. Mulroy, District Attorney General; and Paul Hagerman and Brittany Neal, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): SWORD

The Defendant, Cleotha Abston, appeals his Shelby County Criminal Court convictions of aggravated rape, aggravated kidnapping, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, for which he received an effective sentence of eighty years’ incarceration. On appeal, the Defendant argues (1) the trial court erred by denying his motion to exclude reference to a firearm recovered from his vehicle following his arrest, (2) the trial court erred by denying his request to instruct the jury regarding lost or destroyed evidence pursuant to State v. Ferguson, 2 S.W.3d 912 (Tenn. 1999), (3) the trial court erred by denying his motion to bifurcate his charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and (4) the evidence was insufficient to sustain his convictions. Discerning no error, we affirm.

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