The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has dismissed the appeal of a Cumberland County man serving a 25-year sentence for homicide and attempted murder because his notice of appeal was not filed on time.
Tony Charles Davenport sought to overturn his convictions and consecutive sentencing. The Appellate Court reviewed the timeline of the legal filings to determine if the case could proceed to a review of the evidence.
“Because we conclude that the Defendant’s notice of appeal was untimely filed and that the interests of justice do not merit waiver of the untimeliness, we dismiss the appeal,” Sword said.
A Cumberland County jury convicted Davenport of reckless homicide, attempted second degree murder, and attempted voluntary manslaughter. He received an effective sentence of twenty-five years of incarceration to be served as a multiple offender.
“On appeal, the Defendant claims that the evidence was insufficient to support his convictions of attempted second degree murder and attempted voluntary manslaughter and that the trial court erred in imposing consecutive sentencing,” Sword said.
The charges stemmed from an incident in March 2022 where Davenport entered a neighbor’s home armed with an AR-15 after suspecting them of theft and vandalism. He kicked in the front door and engaged in a physical altercation over the weapon with the occupants.
“The State responds that the Defendant’s appeal is untimely and should be dismissed,” Judge Steven W. Sword said. “We agree with the State.”
Davenport testified during the trial that he had reported issues to law enforcement previously but conceded he had no proof the victims were responsible. He admitted to beating one of the victims after losing control of his firearm during the struggle.