State of Tennessee v. Ryon Ka'Brayle Easley

The Defendant, Ryon Ka’Brayle Easley, was convicted by a Madison County Circuit Court jury of attempted voluntary manslaughter, employing a firearm during the commission of a dangerous felony, second degree murder, assault, and four counts of aggravated assault, for which he received an effective sentence of thirty-one years as a Range I offender in the Tennessee Department of Correction. The Defendant raises the following issues on appeal: (1) whether the evidence is sufficient to sustain his second degree murder conviction; (2) whether the doctrine of transferred intent was misapplied, making his conviction for the second degree murder of the victim inconsistent with his conviction for the attempted voluntary manslaughter of his alleged intended victim;(3) whether the trial court’s self-defense instruction imposed an improper duty to retreat; (4) whether the trial court erred in denying access to a forensic cell phone expert; and (5)whether the trial court erred by not instructing the jury on the State’s duty to preserve evidence. We affirm the judgments of the trial court.