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Cheatham County court sets July 8 final-plea day for many cases; several defendants enter pleas or no-contest agreements
Summary
During a docket session the court set a July 8 "final plea" date for numerous arraignments and accepted several plea/no-contest agreements, including multi-year sentences and suspended terms; public defenders were appointed in multiple cases.
The presiding judge at a Cheatham County criminal docket repeatedly set July 8 as the final plea day for many pending criminal cases, advising that cases not resolved by that date would be assigned trial dates. The court handled arraignments, appointed counsel for indigent defendants and accepted several guilty or no-contest pleas resulting in jail time, suspended sentences or Department of Correction commitments.
Why it matters: The judge’s use of a single "final plea" date is part of a calendar-management practice the court applied to dozens of matters on the docket. Defendants who do not reach plea agreements by that deadline face trial dates and potential incarceration; several defendants in the session resolved their cases and received sentences or suspended sentences.
Key pleas and outcomes recorded in the session included: - Tracy Lee Lankford pleaded guilty to aggravated assault and was sentenced to six years in the Tennessee Department of Correction as a Range II offender, with the sentence ordered to be served at 100% (the court also imposed concurrent/probationary conditions across related counts and required recovery meetings as a condition of probation). (Transcript: plea colloquy and court findings.) - Dylan Robert Duke pleaded no contest to a felony criminal information and received a two-year Tennessee Department of Correction sentence as a Range I offender, to be served concurrently with an out-of-county Robertson County sentence; the court suspended a driver's license for six months and dismissed several consolidated general-sessions counts. (Transcript: factual proffer by the state and court acceptance.) - Joseph R. Ford entered a no-contest plea to aggravated assault (count 1); counts 2 and 3 were dismissed. The judge imposed a three-year Tennessee Department of Correction sentence suspended to probation; the court assessed costs and instructed the defendant to meet with probation services. - James Duane Heath entered a no-contest plea to domestic assault (a misdemeanor); the court accepted the plea and imposed 11 months, 29 days suspended to probation.
The court also appointed or confirmed counsel for multiple defendants who asked for or qualified for representation — including appointment of public defenders for indigent defendants and retention/appointment of private counsel (e.g., Sunny Stevens was appointed in a case where a conflict existed for the public defender’s office).
The judge repeatedly told defendants that July 8 would be the last status/plea date and that failure to settle would mean assignment of trial dates. Several arraignments were set instead for March 18 for matters that prosecutors or defense counsel said needed short additional time.
Ending The docket session produced a mix of case resolutions and scheduling orders intended to move long‑pending matters toward plea or trial. The July 8 final plea deadline will determine which cases proceed to trial if not resolved earlier.
