STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOHN JAY STARNES - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOHN JAY STARNES

Posted by: David Lazar on Jul 15, 2026

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Brennan M. Wingerter, Director, and M. Todd Ridley (on appeal), Assistant Public Defender—Appellate Division, Tennessee Public Defender’s Conference; and Roger E. Nell (at trial and sentencing), District Public Defender, for the appellant, John Jay Starnes.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Elizabeth H. Evan, Assistant Attorney General; Robert J. Nash, District Attorney General; and Jeffrey P. Watts, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): HOLLOWAY

John Jay Starnes, Defendant, was convicted following a bench trial of two counts of unlawfully and negligently placing a child in imminent danger in violation of Tennessee Code Annotated section 39-15-401(d) (2022). Defendant argues that the trial court erred by denying diversion and by imposing a split-confinement sentence of eleven months and twenty-nine days, suspended to probation after service of thirty days in jail. Following a thorough review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the judgment of the trial court.

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