State of Tennessee v. Alexander Mhlanga

The Defendant, Alexander Mhlanga, entered an open guilty plea to driving under the influence (DUI), ninth offense; DUI per se, ninth offense; and driving on a revoked license, second offense or more. Following a sentencing hearing, the trial court imposed an effective sentence of eleven years’ incarceration as a Range III, persistent offender, at a one hundred percent service rate. On appeal, the Defendant argues that the trial court abused its discretion by denying his request for alternative sentencing and by failing to consider his eligibility for community corrections, regardless of the overall length of his sentence. Finding no error, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.