STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MATTHEW JAMES WOOD - Articles

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STATE OF TENNESSEE v. MATTHEW JAMES WOOD

Posted by: Azya Thornton on Sep 9, 2025

Court: TN Court of Criminal Appeals

Attorneys 1: Donald Leon Shahan, Jr. (at motion for new trial and on appeal), District Public Defender; Larry D. Wright (at motion in limine hearing), Assistant Public Defender; and Todd W. Gee (at motion to suppress and trial), Cleveland, Tennessee, for the appellant, Matthew James Wood.

Attorneys 2: Jonathan Skrmetti, Attorney General and Reporter; Benjamin L. Barker, Assistant Attorney General; Stephen Hatchett, District Attorney General; and Sean S. Boers and Paul O. Moyle IV, Assistant District Attorneys General, for the appellee, State of Tennessee.

Judge(s): HOLLOWAY

Defendant, Matthew James Wood, appeals from his Polk County Criminal Court convictions for attempted possession with intent to sell or deliver more than 0.5 grams of methamphetamine; possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the attempted commission of a dangerous felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, for which he received a total effective sentence of seven years’ incarceration. Defendant contends that: (1) the trial court erred by denying Defendant’s motion to suppress evidence obtained from the traffic stop; (2) the trial court erroneously admitted text messages in violation of Tennessee Rule of Evidence 404(b); (3) the trial court erroneously restricted Defendant’s cross-examination of a police officer; and (4) the evidence of his intent to sell or deliver is insufficient to support his convictions for attempted possession of methamphetamine and possession of a firearm with the intent to go armed during the attempt to commit a dangerous felony. Following a thorough review, we affirm the judgments of the trial court.

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