State v. Carder

1

STATE OF TENNESSEE v. JAMES STEPHEN CARDER

No. M2022-00641-CCA-R3-CD

Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee, Nashville

August 24, 2023

Assigned on Briefs July 18, 2023

Appeal from the Circuit Court for Marshall County No. 19-CR-176 Forest A. Durard, Jr., Judge

Defendant, James Stephen Carder, was indicted by the Marshall County Grand Jury for 36 counts of theft of property in amounts ranging from less than $1,000 to $60,000 and two counts of aggregate theft in an amount greater than $60,000 but less than $250,000. Five of the theft counts were dismissed after the close of the State's proof, and a petit jury convicted Defendant of 24 theft counts and both aggregate theft counts. The trial court merged those individual theft convictions involving the same victim and also merged the two counts of aggregate theft, and the court sentenced Defendant as a Range II offender to an effective 20 years' incarceration and ordered him to pay $134,990 in restitution. In this appeal, Defendant argues that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions, that the trial court lacked subject matter jurisdiction, and that law enforcement improperly investigated the case and interfered with his contracts. Having reviewed the entire record and the briefs of the parties, we affirm the judgments of the trial court. However, we remand this case to the trial court for entry of amended judgment forms to reflect the merger of the 24 individual theft convictions into count 37 the one aggregate theft conviction.

Tenn R. App. P. 3, Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Circuit Court Affirmed and Case Remanded

James Stephen Carder, Whiteville, Tennessee, Pro Se.

Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Brooke A. Huppenthal, Assistant Attorney General; Robert J. Carter, District Attorney General; and William Bottoms and Lee Brooks, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

TIMOTHY L. EASTER, J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which JAMES CURWOOD WITT, JR., and ROBERT H. MONTGOMERY, JR., JJ., joined.

OPINION

TIMOTHY L. EASTER, JUDGE

Evidence at Trial

Defendant was the owner of Sleeping Beauty Customs, LLC, an antique and hot rod car restoration business. Defendant operated the business in Mount Pleasant and later moved his shop to Lewisburg. Defendant advertised on Craigslist and Facebook and attracted customers from Tennessee and surrounding states. Generally, customers provided or purchased the parts required for the restoration and repair, and Defendant charged for his labor.

Victims testified generally that Defendant was difficult to contact that he failed to complete the work in the agreed upon timeframe; and that he left their disassembled vehicles exposed to the elements, causing damage. Defendant's customer contract contained a clause stating that Defendant was not required to meet the agreed-upon deadline and that if customers attempted to retrieve their vehicles, they would forfeit all money paid and parts provided.

Defendant rented his shop in Lewisburg from Mike Wilson. A mechanic shop was located adjacent to Defendant's shop in the same building. In November 2018, Lewisburg Police Department Detective Santiago McClain began investigating reports of theft by Sleeping Beauty Customs. When he arrived at Defendant's shop, Detective McClain spoke to Mr. Wilson, now deceased, and several victims who were outside looking for their vehicles. Defendant was not present, and his shop was closed. Detective McClain told the victims to go to the police station, where he took a report from each of them. As the investigation continued, more victims came forward.

Detective McClain executed a search warrant for Defendant's shop. He recovered several vehicles identified by the victims' titles and VINs, including a Dodge Ram 2500, a 1970 Chevy Nova, a 1968 Ford Mustang, a 1973 Ford Mustang, a 1969 Lincoln, a 1958 Chevy Corvette, a one-ton Chevy truck, a 1974 Firebird, a 1960 Ford truck, and various vehicle parts. Detective McClain explained that police did not seize any engines due to the difficulty of moving them. One of the victims worked with Mr. Wilson to remove an engine for his Firebird from Defendant's shop. Officers moved the items recovered to an impound lot for the victims to retrieve. All of the vehicles were "completely disassembled," and victims had to use trailers to transport them.

Detective McClain made several attempts to contact Defendant, including going to Defendant's other shop in Nashville, but was unsuccessful. Eventually, Defendant called the police department and spoke to a supervisor. Defendant was arrested in October 2019.

Randy Lewis (Count 1) took his 1968 El Camino to Defendant in March 2018 to be painted. Mr. Lewis agreed to pay $5,000, and Defendant agreed to finish the project in 90 days. Mr. Lewis testified the car was in "good shape" when he left it with Defendant. In August 2018, Mr. Lewis paid an additional $1,230 after Defendant told him the frame was bent. Mr. Lewis recovered the car in October 2018. Defendant had removed the engine, and a mechanic in the adjacent shop had installed a wiring harness. The car had not been sanded or primed, despite Defendant's having told Mr. Lewis on September 24 that one of his employees "had worked all weekend to get the car ready to be primed." Mr. Lewis testified that Defendant "was almost impossible to get in touch with." Mr. Lewis did not recover several parts, including the battery, chrome trim, taillight assembly, and door handles.

Brandon Daniel (Count 2) hired Defendant to restore the interior and repaint his 1979 Cutlass Calais T-top for $5,000. Defendant agreed to complete the work in five months, and Mr. Daniel paid him $3,990. Defendant had Mr. Daniel's car for 11 months and "not one thing was done" to the car, despite Defendant's updates that work was being completed. Defendant gave several excuses for why the work was taking longer than agreed and told Mr. Daniel that he was "going to file bankruptcy because everyone [wa]s trying to get their money and a lot of statements like that."

Eugene Wilburn (Count 3) testified that Defendant agreed to repair two Studebakers and a Nissan Versa. In exchange, Mr. Wilburn traded Defendant a 1962 Studebaker and paid him $4,000. Defendant estimated the project would take 90 days to complete. When Mr. Wilburn recovered the vehicles, no work had been completed on them.

Gay Crabtree (Counts 5 and 6) testified that Defendant agreed to paint a 1983 Ford F-100. In exchange, Mrs. Crabtree paid Defendant $500, and her husband traded car parts and motors valued at $4,500. Mrs. Crabtree also provided parts for Defendant to install on the Ford F-100. Mrs. Crabtree testified that Defendant never completed any work on the truck and that it "sat in the same place for 8 months." When Mrs. Crabtree took the truck to Defendant's shop, Defendant told her "it had to get in line with everyone else's vehicle." Mrs. Crabtree asked that the truck be kept inside the shop, but Defendant left it outside exposed to the elements. Mrs. Crabtree recovered the truck and some of the parts. The truck was generally in the same condition but had more rust than when she left it with Defendant.

Gregory Gibson (Counts 7 and 8) took his 1968 Ford Mustang Coupe to Defendant to be painted. He paid Defendant $1,500 and traded two other Mustangs to have the work done. Mr. Gibson testified that the car "needed minimal repair work" and "just needed sanding and painted." Defendant told Mr. Gibson that the work would be completed in three months, but the contract stated that it would be complete in six months. Defendant kept the car for one year before Mr. Gibson retrieved it. Mr. Gibson testified the car was "still sitting in the same spot as when [he] dropped it off" and that it was in "worse condition than when [he] dropped it off due to sitting outside in the elements for a year." Mr. Gibson contacted Defendant several times to inquire about the progress of the work, and Defendant told him if he picked up the car, he would forfeit whatever he had paid and traded for the work according to the contract. Defendant told Mr. Gibson, "'if you want to try to sue me you can, but nobody has ever won because I have everything legally documented at the bottom, here with the clause if it takes me longer, it takes me longer.'" Mr. Gibson did not recover his two other Mustangs because Defendant had already sold them and no longer had the titles to the vehicles. Mr. Gibson testified that he believed Defendant told him he sold one for $1,700 and the other for "around $3,500 and got a couple of other vehicles traded toward it also[.]"

Ibin Moore (Count 10) took the "rear end" from his 1968 Pontiac Firebird to Defendant to repair and repaint in November 2018. Mr. Moore agreed to pay Defendant $4,000, and Defendant agreed to finish the work in three months. Mr. Moore paid $1,000 as a down payment. The contract also stated the parts that Mr. Moore would provide and stated that Defendant would store the car indoors while it was at his shop. On March 12, 2019, Defendant text messaged Mr. Moore telling him that he was out of town but that he would bring the rear end of the vehicle to him when he returned. Mr. Moore never recovered the rear end of his Firebird, which he estimated was worth $3,800.

Harold Childers (Count 12) traded Defendant his 1917 Ford T-Bucket in exchange for restoring Mr. Childers's 1949 Mercury. Defendant agreed to restore the Mercury "from the headlight[s] to the taillights." Defendant agreed to complete the job in six months. When Mr. Childers recovered the car "a little over a year" later, Defendant had removed the motor and transmission but had not completed any other work on the...