NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals has upheld the conviction of Brandon Tylor Mulac, a DeKalb County man sentenced to 60 years in prison for methamphetamine possession with intent to distribute. The decision comes after Mulac challenged the legality of the evidence presented at trial, much of which stemmed from two separate law enforcement encounters - - one in Smith County and the other in DeKalb County.
The legal troubles for 31-year-old Mulac began in Smith County—just past the Lebanon, TN area—where he was pulled over and found to be in possession of 396 grams of methamphetamine, or more than 13 ounces. That incident prompted authorities to secure a search warrant for his residence, which was one county over in DeKalb County. There, detectives report finding an additional 425 grams of meth, which is equivalent to almost 15 ounces.
To better illustrate the amount of meth collected during the original stop in Smith County, combined with the visit to Mulac’s home in the Smithville area, it equaled almost one ounce more than a 28-ounce sports drink sold at most convenience stores.
In his appeal, Mulac argued that the trial court erred in denying two key motions: a motion to suppress evidence obtained from the search of his DeKalb County home, and a motion to exclude evidence from the Smith County traffic stop, citing Rule 404(b) of the Tennessee Rules of Evidence. Rule 404(b) generally prohibits introducing prior bad acts to show a defendant’s character, but allows it for limited purposes such as proving intent, knowledge, or absence of mistake.
Mulac further asserted that the search warrant affidavit lacked probable cause and contained false information, thereby violating the Franks v. Delaware standard set by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1978. He also claimed that the evidence presented at trial was insufficient to support his conviction, and that the trial court erred in denying a motion for judgment of acquittal.
After reviewing all claims, the Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the trial court’s ruling, leaving the 60-year sentence in place. The court found the search warrant valid, the evidence admissible, and the conviction supported by sufficient proof. According to the Tennessee Department of Correction, Mulac will be one month into his 87th birthday when his sentence officially ends in year 2080. However, he will be eligible for release on parole in November of 2042. At that point, he will be 49-years-of-age.
Currently, the former DeKalb County resident remains behind bars at the Whiteville Correctional Facility in Whiteville, Tennessee.
Summary of the Original Case: On April 6, 2021, Brandon Tylor Mulac was pulled over during a traffic stop in Smith County, Tennessee. During the stop, a sheriff’s sergeant found drugs on him and inside his vehicle — including six grams of methamphetamine in his pocket, nearly 400 grams of meth, digital scales, and fentanyl in the vehicle. The officer also learned the man lived in DeKalb County and arrested both him and his passenger, Starlett Arnold.
Later that day, Arnold gave police a written statement saying Mulac was a drug dealer. She claimed she saw him hide a large bag of meth behind a picture in his kitchen before they left to make a drug sale. She also described a nearby house filled with drugs, guns, and stolen tools.
Using Arnold’s statement and past tips from another informant, police got a search warrant for Mulac’s home in DeKalb County. Just after midnight on April 7, police searched his home and found over 400 grams of meth in a freezer and a small amount of fentanyl.
A grand jury later indicted the Mulac for possessing over 300 grams of meth with the intent to sell — a serious Class A felony — and for possessing fentanyl with intent to sell.
Mulac’s lawyer argued the search was illegal. They said the warrant was based on unreliable and misleading information and that Arnold didn’t say in writing that the hidden bag actually contained meth. They also claimed the connection between the man’s house and the drugs wasn’t strong enough.
At a pre-trial hearing, detectives testified they believed Arnold’s information was trustworthy. Text messages and location data supported her claims that the man had recently traveled to Atlanta (where he allegedly got the drugs). Officers also said it was common for people involved in drugs to move things around quickly if they thought police were coming.
Even though the search found the meth in a freezer and not behind a picture, the judge said the warrant was still valid. The judge ruled there was enough evidence to search the home.
Later, the man’s lawyer tried to block evidence from the traffic stop, calling it unfair and too damaging. But the court allowed it, saying it helped show the man’s intent to sell drugs and was important to the full story.
At trial, officers testified about what they found during the search, including drugs, paraphernalia, and who was at the house. One officer said it was unlikely that Sullivan (the man’s girlfriend who was there during the search) owned the drugs because she was a user, not a dealer — and she later died of a drug overdose. The defense argued there wasn’t enough proof the meth belonged to the man because he wasn’t even at the house during the search and others lived there.
The jury found Mulac guilty of possessing meth with the intent to sell but not guilty of the fentanyl charge. He was sentenced as a career criminal to 60 years in prison and fined $75,000.
Mulac filed for a new trial, but the court denied the case from moving forward. He appealed the decision but lost, according to the court clerk filing that was dated July 15, 2025.
