Legal Case

State of TEnnessee v. Robert Joseph Atkins

Court

Court of Criminal Appeals of Tennessee

Decided

August 11, 2025

Jurisdiction

SA

Importance

45%

Significant

Practice Areas

Criminal Law
Appellate Law
Evidence
Constitutional Law

Case Summary

08/11/2025 THE COURT OF CRIMINAL APPEALS OF TENNESSEE AT KNOXVILLE April 22, 2025 Session STATE OF TENNESSEE v. ROBERT JOSEPH ATKINS Appeal from the Criminal Court for Knox County No. 117774 Steven Wayne Sword, Judge ___________________________________ No. E2024-00320-CCA-R3-CD ___________________________________ A Knox County jury convicted the Defendant, Robert Joseph Atkins, of delivery of a Schedule I controlled substance (acetylfentanyl) within 1,000 feet of a drug-free zone and delivery of a Schedule II controlled substance (fentanyl) within 1,000 feet of a drug-free zone. On appeal, the Defendant argues: (1) the trial court erred by admitting his statements to law enforcement because new testimony at trial corroborated his claim that his statements were involuntary; (2) the trial court failed to properly instruct the jury on the inference of casual exchange and the order of consideration; and (3) the evidence is insufficient to sustain his convictions. Upon review, we affirm. Tenn R. App. P. 3 Appeal as of Right; Judgments of the Criminal Court Affirmed CAMILLE R. MCMULLEN, P.J., delivered the opinion of the court, in which ROBERT W. WEDEMEYER and KYLE A. HIXSON JJ., joined. Tyler Mark Caviness, Knoxville, Tennessee, for the appellant, Robert Joseph Atkins. Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; William C. Lundy, Assistant Attorney General; Charme P. Allen, District Attorney General; and Teddy Ryan and Sean McDermott, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee. OPINION The facts giving rise to the Defendant’s convictions stem from the death of Velma Smith, the victim in this case, on January 19, 2019. At the time of her death, the victim was living at “Beverly Park Place Health and Rehab Center.” On January 21, 2019, Lieutenant Heather Reyda of the Knox County Sheriff’s Office (KCSO) was assigned to a federal task force investigating drug-related overdose deaths. Based on information obtained from the victim’s cell phone and from family members, Lieutenant Reyda determined that the Defendant had provided the victim with drugs on the day she died. The Defendant was not located by law enforcement until February of 2020. On August 5, 2020, a Knox County grand jury charged the Defendant by presentment with four counts: one count of second-degree murder and three counts of delivery of a controlled substance. The State dismissed the fourth count of the presentment prior to trial. At trial, the jury acquitted the Defendant of the charge of murder in count one. The jury convicted the Defendant on the remaining two counts of delivery of a controlled substance. This appeal concerns only those two convictions. Suppression Hearing. On February 22, 2022, the Defendant filed a motion to suppress the statement he made on February 10, 2020, to Lieutenant Reyda. He argued generally that his statement was involuntary under the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution and Article I, Section 8 of the Tennessee Constitution. As factual grounds, he asserted that (1) he was incarcerated at the Knox County Detention Center on charges unrelated to this case; (2) because he was in custody he was “deprived of his freedom to not talk to detectives”; (3) he told detectives he did not want to talk to them; (4) he was tased and maced while in custody “which then caused him to be indicted for [Second] degree murder”; (5) at the time of the instant interview he had never been interrogated by law enforcement while in custody; and (6) although he was informed of his rights pursuant to Miranda, under the circumstances, he did not make a knowing and voluntary statement. He argued that the circumstances surrounding his interrogation with Lieutenant Reyda created a coercive environment that influenced his statements. In particular, he claimed that an altercation with correctional officers that occurred before his interrogation caused his statement to be involuntary. On July 12, 2022, the State filed a detailed response to the Defendant’s motion to suppress. The State alleged that on February 10, 2020, the Defendant was incarcerated on a separate charge in the Knox County Jail. He was transported to Visitation Booth 1 to speak to detectives. The Defendant became agitated and advised officers that he would not speak to anyone and wanted to be taken back to his cell. The Defendant then began kicking the door and windows in the visitation booth. The Defendant refused to comply with orders to stop. At 8:16 a.m., officers entered the visitation booth to restrain the Defendant. When officers entered the booth, the Defendant began fighting officers and resisting restraints. One officer maced the Defendant. When the Defendant continued

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Case Details

Case Details

Legal case information

Status

Decided

Date Decided

August 11, 2025

Jurisdiction

SA

Court Type

federal

Legal Significance

Case importance metrics

Importance Score
Significant
Score45%
Citations
0
Legal Topics
Controlled Substances
Voluntariness of Statements
Jury Instructions
Sufficiency of Evidence
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AddedAug 11, 2025
UpdatedAug 11, 2025

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Legal Topics

Areas of law covered in this case

Controlled Substances
Voluntariness of Statements
Jury Instructions
Sufficiency of Evidence
Plain Error Relief

Case Information

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Court Proceedings

Date FiledAugust 11, 2025
Date DecidedAugust 11, 2025

Document Details

Times Cited
0
Importance Score
0.5

Legal Classification

JurisdictionSA
Court Type
federal
Judicial Panel
Judge Camille R. McMullen
Opinion Author
Judge Camille R. McMullen

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80% match
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