Fallon Tallent

Other details

Fallon Tallent was convicted of two counts of first degree murder and received consecutive life sentences.

Tallent later filed a post-conviction petition for relief, and the post-conviction court dismissed the petition. On appeal, the appellate court reversed the dismissal and remanded the case for appointment of counsel to assist with an amended petition for post-conviction relief.

Timeline

• July 9, 2003 — Officers were killed when Tallent led police on a high-speed chase on Interstate 40 and struck Sergeant Jerry Mundy and Wilson County Sheriff's Deputy John Musice with a stolen Mercedes.
• March 24, 2008 — Fallon Lynn Tallent v. State of Tennessee: the judgment of the post-conviction court was reversed and the case remanded for appointment of counsel.
• June 30, 2004 — Tallent was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences.
• December 18, 2007 — J.C. McLIN, J., delivered the opinion in Fallon Lynn Tallent v. State of Tennessee, with THOMAS T. WOODALL and JOHN EVERETT WILLIAMS, JJ., joined.
• January 10, 2006 — Tallent’s convictions were affirmed on direct appeal, and the Tennessee Supreme Court later denied permission to appeal.
• May 1, 2006 — The supreme court denied permission to appeal.
• August 23 — The trial judge reserved deciding in a hearing whether the sentences would run consecutively or concurrently.

Background

Fallon Tallent was a Maryville woman charged with the deaths of Wilson County Sheriff's Department Deputy Jon Musice and Mount Juliet Police Sgt. Jerry Mundy. Tallent was convicted of running down and killing two law enforcement officers on Interstate 40.

In the direct appeal background facts, Tallent exchanged approximately fifty dollars worth of crack cocaine for a Mercedes Benz on July 8, 2003. Later that day, Tallent picked up Dorothy Cash, a former lover and fellow Knoxville prostitute. Cash and Tallent spent the night smoking crack and driving around Knoxville and surrounding areas.

At approximately 8:00 a.m. on July 9, 2003, Officer Blake Barham of the Knoxville Police Department noticed the Mercedes parked in a local housing project, the Walter P. Taylor Homes. The officer was informed by his dispatcher that the Mercedes had been reported stolen and exited his cruiser to investigate. Officer Barham recognized the driver of the Mercedes as Tallent but, before he reached the Mercedes, Tallent started her car, shifted it into reverse, and drove it into Officer Barham’s cruiser.

Officer Blake Barham jumped out of the path of the Mercedes to avoid being struck as it made its way toward his vehicle. After hitting Officer Barham’s cruiser, Tallent drove away quickly.

Tallent pursued police in Knoxville on residential and commercial streets at speeds of up to 70 miles per hour in 30 mile per hour zones. Tallent passed several vehicles and ran through stop signs and stop lights, and her pursuit was terminated on public safety grounds after her supervisor advised Officer Barham to terminate the pursuit.

Shortly after the chase ended, Tallent entered Interstate 40 heading west toward Nashville at an excessive rate of speed. Cash testified that Tallent tried to get the car to go 150 miles per hour. Tallent testified that she was going 130 miles per hour on the Interstate.

During the trip, motorists called the police to report that Tallent was driving recklessly. A truck driver, Jerry Carter, called 9-1-1 and stated that if Tallent was not stopped, someone was going to get killed.

Tallent continued westbound on Interstate 40, swerving in and out of traffic, passing cars and trucks, and driving on the shoulder to pass vehicles when necessary. During the trip from Knoxville to Nashville, Tallent and Cash smoked the remainder of the crack cocaine in their possession.

Police from different jurisdictions pursued Tallent, yielding pursuit to other units as Tallent and Cash crossed jurisdictional lines. Even when Tallent was not being pursued, she continued to drive at speeds of up to 120 miles per hour, dodging through traffic and running vehicles off the road, according to the testimony of police and other drivers.

As Tallent approached the main Mount Juliet exit, exit number 226, she warned Cash to be on the lookout for police deploying “spike strips.” Tallent testified she was familiar with that method of stopping a fleeing vehicle because she had been involved in a high speed chase with the police in March of 2003, in another vehicle acquired in exchange for crack cocaine. Tallent testified that chase ended when the police placed a stinger strip on Interstate 40 in front of her vehicle, which she drove over, flattening her tires.

The offence

Sergeant Jerry Mundy of the Mount Juliet Police Department deployed a stinger strip in an attempt to stop Tallent’s vehicle shortly after Tallent warned Cash.

The stretch of road in the vicinity of exit 226 included a shoulder on the extreme left side, an HOV lane, a center lane, a right lane, and the gore separating the right lane from the on-ramp. Evidence showed Tallent could have avoided the stinger strip by steering to the left or could have simply driven over it.

After the stinger strip was deployed, the Mercedes changed course moving from the center lane toward the right side of the road in what seven witnesses described as a controlled turn. Traveling at an estimated 80 to 120 miles per hour, the Mercedes struck Sergeant Mundy. Immediately thereafter, it hit Wilson County Sheriff's Deputy John Musice, who was on the scene in support of Sergeant Mundy. Both Sergeant Mundy and Deputy Musice were killed immediately upon being struck by the Mercedes, and their bodies were thrown from the points of impact 280 feet and 270 feet respectively.

There was no evidence that Tallent attempted to use her brakes before the Mercedes hit Sergeant Mundy. The impact with his body rendered the vehicle inoperable: it shattered the windshield and crushed the front driver’s side fender, which caused the front driver’s side tire to explode. The Mercedes eventually came to a stop after hitting the two officers and smashing into Deputy Musice’s cruiser.

Tallent and Cash were taken into custody at the scene and transported via helicopter to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

At trial, Tallent was convicted of two counts of first degree murder, and the trial court sentenced her to serve two consecutive life sentences with the Tennessee Department of Correction.

Investigation

Officer Blake Barham, of the Knoxville Police Department, noticed the Mercedes parked at the Walter P. Taylor Homes after being informed the Mercedes had been reported stolen. Officer Barham exited his cruiser to investigate and recognized Tallent as the driver before Tallent drove into his cruiser.

Jerry Carter called 9-1-1 stating that if Tallent was not stopped, someone was going to get killed.

Arrest

Tallent was taken into custody at the scene together with Dorothy Cash after the Mercedes came to a stop following the killings. Tallent and Cash were transported via helicopter to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Trial

The jury was selected more than 200 miles away in Sullivan County. The jury deliberated for about six hours before announcing the verdict of first-degree murder for Tallent striking and killing two lawmen.

Wilson County Circuit Court Judge John Wootten gave Tallent two life sentences but reserved deciding until a hearing Aug. 23 whether Tallent would serve the sentences consecutively or concurrently.

Tallent was 22 at the time of the verdict.

Prosecutors closed their case after five days of testimony.

Mundy was struck July 9, 2003, by a stolen 1986 Mercedes driven by Tallent as he placed spike strips on Interstate 40 in Mount Juliet to end a car chase that began in Knoxville. The vehicle then plowed into Musice.

The prosecution argued Tallent’s actions were premeditated because she fled from police and “had proposed to do anything — even kill — to get away.” Prosecutor Bobby Hibbett outlined choices Tallent made showing she intended to kill whoever tried to stop her. Prosecutors presented a pattern beginning a few months before the fatal accident when Tallent fled from police and was stopped after running over a spike strip in the road.

Prosecutor Bobby Hibbett said:

“The seeds of premeditation started March 15, 2003, when she was stopped by that Stinger (spike strip),” and: “She decided that she will never be stopped by a Stinger again.”

The defense contended Tallent had a split-second to react when she saw Mundy on I-40 and swerved to the right to avoid the strips and keep going.

Tallent testified on her own behalf and said she didn’t intend to hit the officers.

Tallent’s defense attorney, Craig Garrett, argued that publicity and emotion surrounding the case made it impossible for Tallent to get a fair trial in Wilson County and that the verdict would be appealed.

Craig Garrett said:

“We’re disappointed. We respect the judgment of the jury, but we think they’re wrong,”

and:

“We’re shocked. From the proof they put on, I don’t think there were two counts of first-degree murder.”

Garrett’s defense partner, attorney David Boyd, made the statement attributed to “said Garrett’s defense partner, attorney David Boyd”:

The defense argued Tallent’s judgment and muscle coordination were impaired by crack, while the prosecution contended she made a series of decisions leading to the fatal accident.

District Attorney General Tommy Thompson called Hibbett’s cross-examination of Tallent a turning point in the trial and said:

“He had her admitting that she knew what she was doing,”

and:

“stood up for truth and justice.”

Tallent showed no emotion when the verdict was announced and had a blank face when the verdict was read, according to Musice’s daughter, Bonnie Anderson.

Musice’s daughter, Bonnie Anderson, said after the verdict:

“She’ll never hurt anybody again,”

and:

“When they read it (the verdict), she had a blank face. She was just as cold as she always is,”

After the verdict was read, Anderson and other relatives of the slain lawmen cried and hugged in the courtroom.

Tallent’s aunt, Rhonda Stinnett, hoped the jury would find her niece guilty of the lesser charge of second-degree murder so she might one day be reunited with her son, Joseph, 2. Stinnett said:

“It means he doesn’t have a mother,” and: “It means he’s never going to see her again. How can I explain it to her son.”

Sentencing

Judge John Wootten gave Tallent two life sentences but reserved deciding until a hearing Aug. 23 whether the sentences would run consecutively or concurrently.

If the sentences were concurrent, Tallent would have had to serve at least 51 years before being eligible for parole. If the sentences were consecutive, Tallent would not have been eligible for parole for 102 years.

Tallent later received consecutive life sentences on June 30, 2004, and she was not eligible for parole for 102 years.

Appeals

In Tallent’s direct appeal, the convictions were affirmed and the supreme court denied permission to appeal.

The supreme court denied permission to appeal after the direct appeal. After that, Tallent filed a pro sepetition for post-conviction relief.

The post-conviction court dismissed the petition.

On appeal from the post-conviction court’s dismissal, Tallent argued:

• She received the ineffective assistance of trial counsel, including that trial counsel did not permit her to accept a plea bargain offered by the state.
• Trial counsel did not effectively argue for a change of venue, denying her a fair and unbiased trial.
• Trial counsel failed to request a second mental evaluation of Tallent.
• Her constitutional right to due process was violated because she was denied a preliminary hearing.

The appellate court reversed the dismissal of the post-conviction petition and remanded for appointment of counsel to assist Tallent in drafting an amended petition for post-conviction relief.

Outcome

In the appeal of the post-conviction dismissal, the appellate court concluded that when viewed in the light most favorable to the petitioner, Tallent’s claims as presented in her original pro se petition, along with her request for counsel, entitled her to appointment of counsel. The court reversed the dismissal and remanded for appointment of counsel.

Tallent’s post-conviction dismissal was not affirmed.

Aftermath

At a later hearing where Tallent’s request for a new trial was denied, Mundy’s widow, Trish, attended.

Trish Mundy said:

“I made a commitment that if she's in court, I'll be in court, or if the case is in court, I'll be in court and so I deal with it when I need to deal with it, and don't really think about it a lot other than that,”

When asked what it was like to see her husband’s killer again, Trish Mundy said:

“It was harder than I expected today. This was the first time at one of the appeals that she has been in the courtroom so it was a little bit harder.”

She added:

“I think it's normal, she's got nothing else to do. It's not costing her anything and it doesn't surprise me. It's the process and we knew that six or seven years ago.”

Trish Mundy further said, about appearances and that jail was where Tallent needed to be:

“Mundy went on to say appearances aside, Tallent has not changed and jail is where she needs to be.”

The judge denied Tallent’s request for a new trial on grounds that Tallent did not have a preliminary hearing, wanted to take a plea bargain, had ineffective counsel during her trial, and underwent a psychiatric exam unbeknownst to her.

Other details

A written opinion in Tallent v. State at Nashville included direct appeal procedural references stating:

• Tallent’s convictions were affirmed on direct appeal.
• The supreme court denied permission to appeal.
• The record indicated that after Tallent filed her notice of appeal, she also filed an amended pro sepetition for post-conviction relief, which was also dismissed by order of the post-conviction court.

The later opinion stated that the petitioner’s claims in the post-conviction petition appeared to attempt to re-litigate issues previously determined on appeal, but because the petition was pro se and framed under constitutionally recognized grounds for post-conviction review, the dismissal of the petition required reversal for appointment of counsel.