STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CHARLIE RICHARD MARTINEZ - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. CHARLIE RICHARD MARTINEZ

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Feb 13, 2026

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Chelsea C. Moore (at sentencing and on appeal), and Kit Rodgers (at trial), Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Charlie Richard Martinez.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Garrett D. Ward, Senior Assistant Attorney General; Charme P. Allen, District Attorney General; and Cameron Williams, Jordan Murray, and Jodie Bush, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee

Judge(s): MCMULLEN

A Knox County jury convicted the Defendant, Charlie Richard Martinez, of first degree felony murder, especially aggravated robbery, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of life imprisonment plus four years. On appeal, the Defendant argues: (1) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions; (2) the trial court abused its discretion in admitting three different writings attributed to the Defendant as autobiographical rap lyrics; (3) the trial court committed plain error in allowing the State to amend the especially aggravated robbery count the morning of trial; (4) the trial court erred in allowing Kendra Ivey to testify to double hearsay; (5) the trial court abused its discretion in denying his Specific Discovery Request No. 1, which requested materials necessary for his state-funded expert; and (6) the cumulative effect of these errors deprived him of a fair trial. After review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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