Subject Found Guilty of DUI III in Rutherford County found to have THC in his System and Later Files an Appeal, Suggesting the 11-Months / 29-Days Jail Sentence was Excessive

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, TN - A defendant in a DUI Third Offense case that started with an arrest that was made by a LaVergne Police Officer filed an appeal after being sentenced to 11-months and 29-days behind bars. Sebakire Crode, who was found guilty of driving under the influence for the third time, suggested the sentence was excessive, although Crode only spent 150 days behind bars as opposed to the full 363 days sentenced.

In February of 2019, Crode was pulled over by Officer Christopher Golden at around 9:45 in the morning for speeding. The LaVergne Officer reported that Crode passed him while driving 18-miles-per-hour over the speed limit. Once stopped, the police officer reported an odor of marijuana coming from the inside of Crodes vehicle. When the officer asked the suspect to step out of the car, the officer testified in court that Crodes car began rolling, “but the defendant didn't seem to react at first.” The officer had to tell Crode about the rolling car twice, before the subject put the car into park.

As luck would have it, the police officer noticed a plastic baggie sticking out of the suspects shoe. That little baggie contained a marijuana cigarette, according to the courts. Crode even told the officer that he was on his way to deliver the cigarette to a friend. Needless to say, he was written a ticket for simple possession of marijuana. After failing a field sobriety test, Crode was arrested for DUI.

In court, it was learned that a blood sample gathered by officials and sent to the TBI Crime Lab showed that Crode had Delta 9 THC in his blood, as well as 11-Hydroxy-THC, the active metabolite of the drug. A TBI Agent event testified that it was believed that a person with THC in his system could, potentially, exhibit slowed reaction time, an “impaired ability [for] multitasking or doing divided-attention tasks,” difficulty concentrating, and short-term memory lapse. The agent opined that a THC-affected person “could either be going 20 [miles per hour] over or 20 under [the speed limit] and think [they were] going the speed limit.”

Crode, who was originally sentenced in the Rutherford County Courtroom of Judge Howard A. Wilson, lost his appeal. The closing of the paperwork for the denied appeal was filed by the Clerk of the Appellate Courts on Wednesday, May 31, 2023.

On a side note, Crode later received a 4th DUI charge in neighboring Nashville, which was amended in court as DUI number 3. The suspect was sentenced in that case to spend another 11-months and 29-days behind bars. He was later released after spending only 120-days in jail.

Source:
Rutherford County Court Case (TN Vs. SEBAKIRE CRODE)
Court of Criminal Appeals of TN No. M2021-01371-CCA-R3-CD
Davidson County Case Disposition: GUILTY / DATE of Disposition: 05-JAN-23

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