STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOSEPH EUGENE CHESTNUT, JR. - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JOSEPH EUGENE CHESTNUT, JR.

Posted by: David Lazar on Jul 16, 2026

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: William W. Gill, Assistant Public Defender – Appellate Division (on appeal); Shelley Thompson Gardner, District Public Defender; and Chris W. Dotson and Joe L. McClerran, Assistant District Public Defenders (at trial), for the appellant, Joseph Eugene Chestnut, Jr.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; William C. Lundy, Assistant Attorney General; Jason L. Lawson, District Attorney General; and William A. Calla, Assistant District Attorney General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): SWORD

The Defendant, Joseph Eugene Chestnut, Jr., was convicted by a Macon County jury of one count of first degree premeditated murder and four counts of aggravated cruelty to animals. The trial court imposed an effective sentence of life imprisonment. On appeal, the Defendant claims that the trial court erred by denying his motion to suppress the firearm seized during the warrantless search of his vehicle and that the evidence of premeditation is insufficient to support his conviction of first degree murder. Following our review and pursuant to Tennessee Rule of Criminal Procedure 36, we remand for entry of a corrected judgment in Count One to correct a clerical error. Otherwise, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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