STATE OF TENNESSEE v. LAMAR DENSON

Syllabus

The defendant, Lamar Lanair Denson, was convicted by a Knox County Criminal Courtjury of the sale of fentanyl, a Class C felony; possession of heroin with intent to sell ordeliver, a Class B felony; possession of fentanyl with intent to sell or deliver, a Class Cfelony; possession of a firearm by one with a prior conviction for a felony drug offense, aClass C felony; maintaining a dwelling for the unlawful selling of controlled substances, aClass D felony; and possession of drug paraphernalia, a Class A misdemeanor. The trialcourt imposed an effective sentence of fourteen years' incarceration followed by five yearson supervised probation. On appeal, the defendant argues that the trial court abused itsdiscretion in: (1) denying his motion to dismiss Count 5 of the indictment, a charge relatedto the sale of fentanyl, due to the loss of potentially exculpatory evidence; and (2) reopeningthe proof to allow the State to enter into evidence a stipulation regarding the defendant'sstatus as having a prior conviction that would disqualify him from possessing a firearm .Following a thorough review of the record, the briefs, and oral arguments of the parties,we affirm the judgments of the trial court.