State v. Arteaga

896 P.2d 1035, 257 Kan. 874, 1995 Kan. LEXIS 77
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedJune 2, 1995
DocketNo. 71,729
StatusPublished
Cited by25 cases

This text of 896 P.2d 1035 (State v. Arteaga) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Kansas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Arteaga, 896 P.2d 1035, 257 Kan. 874, 1995 Kan. LEXIS 77 (kan 1995).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Abbott, J.:

This is a direct appeal by the defendant, Troy John Arteaga, from his convictions for first-degree felony murder and attempted aggravated robbery. Defendant was sentenced to a controlling sentence of life imprisonment. Defendant raises five issues on appeal having to do with peremptory challenges (Batson issue), juror misconduct, a gruesome photograph (autopsy photo), failure to give a requested instruction (voluntary manslaughter), and exclusion of evidence of a witness’violent character.

The facts necessary to decide the various issues will be developed as the issues are discussed. An overview of the events leading up to Jerry Anderson’s death is of help in a general understanding of the issues.

David Culbertson and Jerry Anderson spent the afternoon of June 18,1993, working together and then took their families to the Grain Bin for dinner. Throughout the course of the afternoon and evening, Culbertson and Anderson each consumed at least three to five beers and one mai tai. After arriving home from the Grain Bin around 6:00 p.m., Culbertson walked to Anderson’s nearby house, and the two left in Anderson’s wife’s car to get some beer.

That same day, the defendant, Troy Arteaga, spent the afternoon driving around with Robert Flores in Arteaga’s car. Arteaga testified he had with him two bags of marijuana — one bag with 2-3 joints in it and one bag containing Vz oz. of marijuana. He testified that Flores had his own bag of marijuana. According to Arteaga, they smoked two joints of marijuana. They picked up Flores’ cousin Ruben Valdez-Hemandez (Valdez), and Flores and Valdez shared a joint; Arteaga may have joined them. After picking up two of his wife’s children, ages 4 and 7, at the pool, Arteaga continued driving around with Flores and Valdez. Arteaga went to the liquor store and bought two quarts of Old English malt liquor, one for himself [877]*877and one for Flores. There may have been two trips to the liquor store and a total of four quarts of Old English purchased for Flores and Arteaga.

The paths of Culbertson and Anderson and Arteaga, Flores, and Valdez crossed shortly after 6:00 p.m. on Alfalfa Street, an alleyway. Anderson and Culbertson were in Anderson’s vehicle, with Anderson driving. Arteaga was driving his car with Flores in the front passenger seat, Valdez in the back passenger seat, and Arteaga’s wife’s sons in the back seat. Ultimately, Anderson received a fatal wound caused by a knife held by Arteaga.

There are four versions of how the wound was inflicted. Basically, it boiled down to whether the jury believed Jerry Anderson was killed by Arteaga during an attempted aggravated robbery, in self-defense, or by accident.

The State, on appeal, is. entitled to the most favorable version supported by the evidence. That version is that Culbertson and Anderson were attempting to buy marijuana from Arteaga. Arteaga said that Culbertson and Anderson had money and he was going to “roll” them. Arteaga got out of his car, taking a large knife with him, and went to the Anderson vehicle. Arteaga and Culbertson exited the Anderson car, and Arteaga attempted to take Culbertson’s money. A knife was used in a struggle with Culbertson, and when Anderson came to Culbertson’s assistance Arteaga stabbed Anderson, resulting in his death.

Arteaga insisted that he did not intend to rob them or stab Anderson. He testified that the stabbing occurred after Culbertson told Anderson to drive off with Arteaga’s marijuana. He admitted that neither Culbertson nor Anderson were armed.

Anderson was pronounced dead shortly after being transported by ambulance to the hospital. He had a large, gaping stab wound to the front left side of his chest. Anderson bled to death from the stab wound to the heart, complicated by a collapsed lung.

Flores testified that after the stabbing, Arteaga returned to the car and told Flores that Flores had not seen anything and that if Flores said anything, the same thing would happen to him. Valdez testified that Arteaga later made a similar threat to him about Valdez not having seen anything. Arteaga denied making these threats. [878]*878Arteaga then went to Emilio Hernandez’s house, where he got his head shaved.

The next day, Arteaga, his wife, and her three children drove to her parents’ home in Oklahoma. Arteaga was arrested in Oklahoma three days later.

I. STATE’S USE OF PEREMPTORY CHALLENGES

The defendant’s first claim of error concerns the State’s use of peremptory challenges to exclude Hispanic venirepersons. He argues that the State’s exclusion of 5 of 6 Hispanic venirepersons was discriminatory and violates Batson v. Kentucky, 476 U.S. 79, 90 L. Ed. 2d 69, 106 S. Ct. 1712 (1986).

In Batson, the United States Supreme Court held that the striking of black venirepersons based on racial grounds or the belief that black jurors will be partial to a black defendant violates the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. 476 U.S. at 89. The Court outlined a three-part test in Batson and in its subsequent decision in Hernandez v. New York, 500 U.S. 352, 114 L. Ed. 2d 395, 111 S. Ct. 1859 (1991). This court restated the test in State v. Poole, 252 Kan. 108, Syl. ¶ 1, 843 P.2d 689 (1992):

“A three-step analysis is used to determine if the State’s use of peremptory strikes violates the Equal Protection Clause. First, the defendant must make a prima facie showing that die prosecutor has exercised peremptory challenges on the basis of race. Second, if the requisite showing has been made, the burden shifts to the prosecutor to articulate a race-neutral explanation for striking the jurors in question. Finally, the trial court must determine whedier the defendant has carried Iris burden of proving purposeful discrimination.”

This court’s standard of review of a trial court’s ruling that the State did or did not act with a discriminatory purpose in exercising a peremptory challenge is abuse of discretion. State v. Walston, 256 Kan. 372, Syl. ¶ 1, 886 P.2d 349 (1994).

The trial court here qualified 36 jurors and 6 alternate jurors. In seating the jury, each party had 12 peremptory challenges of jurors and 2 peremptory challenges of alternate jurors. Of the 36 jurors qualified, 6 were Hispanic or had Hispanic surnames. Five of these 6 were excused by the State’s use of peremptory challenges. The trial court ruled that based on the Hispanic surnames, the defen[879]*879dant had made a prima facie showing of discriminatory purpose and required the State to present race-neutral reasons for exercising its peremptory challenges on those jurors. The following reasons were expounded for striking the jurors:

1. P.G.
He was the ex-husband of a law enforcement officer. He may have answered a question on voir dire untruthfully concerning his marital status. He knew a defense witness as well as two witnesses for the State.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
896 P.2d 1035, 257 Kan. 874, 1995 Kan. LEXIS 77, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-arteaga-kan-1995.