Judge sentences Eric Lavoie Henderson to six years after guilty pleas in weapon, assault and DUI cases

A judge in circuit court sentenced Eric Lavoie Henderson to six years in prison after Henderson pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, three counts of attempted aggravated assault and a fourth-offense driving under the influence. The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently and remanded Henderson to begin serving his sentence with credit for time already served.

The sentence followed a contested sentencing hearing in which the judge reviewed a pre-sentence report that listed roughly 40–41 prior convictions dating back to the 1980s and heard argument from the state and the defense. “I counted up the number of prior convictions,” the judge said during the hearing, describing the defendant’s record as “a lengthy history of criminal conduct.”

The state argued several statutory enhancement factors applied, including the defendant’s prior criminal history, that the incident involved multiple victims and that Henderson failed to comply with conditions of release while on bond. The prosecutor asked the court to impose a term that reflected those aggravating factors.

Defense counsel asked the court to consider Henderson’s recent sobriety and to impose either time served or a split sentence that would allow the defendant to continue treatment and rebuild family relationships. The defense noted Henderson had been in custody since March 20 and asked the court to give credit for time served and to consider alternatives to full confinement.

Henderson testified under oath and acknowledged a long criminal history but disputed that all entries on the pre-sentence report were his, saying some records may belong to a son with a similar name. Officer Wendy James, who helped compile records, testified she had verified Henderson’s birth date for the entries she entered and estimated she personally entered roughly 30 of the records on the report; she acknowledged the list included earlier entries that predated her work.

The judge applied Tennessee statutory sentencing considerations and enhancement provisions cited at the hearing, including the code sections read into the record, and concluded that confinement was necessary. The court set the following terms: six years for the felon-in-possession (class C) conviction; four years on each attempted aggravated assault count (class D); and one year for the fourth-offense DUI (with a mandatory minimum noted for DUI). The judge ordered that those sentences run concurrently for an aggregate effective sentence of six years and remanded Henderson to custody with credit for time served.

The court explained it had discretion to order consecutive or concurrent sentences under Tennessee Code Annotated § 40-35-115, but declined to run multiple counts consecutively after noting most prior convictions were traffic or misdemeanor matters. The judge also said several of the more serious counts had already been reduced or dismissed as part of the plea negotiations and that the defendant had received some concessions in the plea agreement.

Defense counsel preserved arguments for mitigation and urged the court to consider split confinement under statutory authority; the judge described the case as different from routine plea agreements and emphasized the court’s obligation to follow sentencing law and the statutory factors.

Henderson will be remanded to begin serving the sentence; the judgment as announced by the court includes credit for time served. No further appeal or post-sentencing actions were announced on the record at the hearing.