Court Of Appeals Denies Guilty Plea Withdraw

The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals Thursday denied a Putnam County man’s request to withdraw his guilty plea based on his mental competence.

Weylin Trent Strode pled guilty to one count of aggravated assault in November, 2018. Strode requested a mental evaluation one month earlier saying he was not of sound mind at the time of the crime. The state failed to schedule the first mental evaluation. According to the appeals court, Strode did not show up for the second hearing.

“The trial court ordered two forensic mental evaluations and, while it is unclear why the first evaluation did not take place, the record indicates that the Defendant simply did not show up for the second scheduled examination,” Judge Alan Glenn wrote in the ruling. “The Defendant provides no argument or authority as to why the moot issue of restitution or the trial court’s failure to give him a third opportunity for a mental evaluation supports his assertion that the trial court erred in not allowing him to withdraw his guilty plea.”