State v. Daniels

573 P.2d 607, 223 Kan. 266, 1977 Kan. LEXIS 410
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedDecember 10, 1977
Docket48,867
StatusPublished
Cited by36 cases

This text of 573 P.2d 607 (State v. Daniels) 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. Daniels, 573 P.2d 607, 223 Kan. 266, 1977 Kan. LEXIS 410 (kan 1977).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Holmes, J.:

This is a direct appeal by the defendant-appellant from a conviction of aggravated battery (K.S.A. 21-3414).

Defendant was charged with attempted murder (K.S.A. 21-3301 and K.S.A. 21-3401) against Jimmie Rogers and simple battery (K.S.A. 21-3412) against Ms. Sharon Goodhart. The trial court, *267 over defendant’s strenuous objection, gave instructions that aggravated battery, aggravated assault and criminal injury to persons were lesser included offenses of attempted murder. Defendant was found not guilty of attempted murder and guilty of aggravated battery. The defendant was also found not guilty of the charge of simple battery against Ms. Goodhart.

Defendant alleges he has been denied his constitutional right to due process of law in being convicted of a crime based upon a charge not made in the information.

The question squarely before this court is whether it was error for the trial court to give an instruction on the crimes of aggravated battery, aggravated assault and criminal injury to persons as being lesser included offenses of attempted murder.

In the early morning hours of June 14, 1975, Harold Daniels became suspicious of his wife’s fidelity when she arrived at their home in Satanta around three o’clock a.m. Harold Daniels dressed and took his wife with him to his place of business, a feedlot in Satanta, where he armed himself with a loaded pistol and then drove to Liberal, Kansas, in search of his wife’s alleged paramour, one Jimmie Rogers. When they arrived in Liberal, defendant drove to the home of his brother, Lee Daniels, and requested that he accompany them in search of Jimmie Rogers.

Defendant, his wife and his brother eventually found Jimmie Rogers’ pickup truck in the driveway at the residence of Ms. Sharon Goodhart in Liberal, Kansas. Defendant entered Ms. Goodhart’s home in search of Jimmie Rogers and as he did so, Mrs. Daniels ran to Rogers’ pickup, where Rogers was asleep in the seat. Mrs. Daniels began beating on the truck window in an attempt to awaken Rogers. Defendant immediately emerged from Ms. Goodhart’s residence and in doing so, as she attempted to restrain him, she was pushed aside, resulting in the charge of simple battery. Defendant proceeded to Jimmie Rogers’ truck and fired a number of shots into the cab of the truck, wounding Jimmie Rogers. There is a divergence in the testimony as to whether Jimmie Rogers ever awoke before being shot. The affray ended when defendant’s brother, Lee Daniels, grabbed defendant’s arm and attempted to take the gun away from him.

Ms. Goodhart called the police and the defendant, his wife and brother got in their pickup and left the scene. Later that day defendant was arrested upon a warrant charging him with aggravated battery in violation of K.S.A. 21-3414.

*268 On July 24, 1975, an amended complaint was filed charging Harold Daniels in count one with attempted murder, count two with aggravated battery, both against the victim, Jimmie Rogers, and count three with simple battery against Ms. Sharon Good-hart.

The amended information, eliminating formal parts, charged:

Count I. “. . . one HAROLD DANIELS did then and there UNLAWFULLY, FELONIOUSLY, and willfully commit the offense of committing an overt act toward the perpetration of the crime of murder of Jimmie Rogers as defined by K.S.A. 21-3401 and with the intent to commit said crime that failed in the perpetration thereof. In violation of K.S.A. 21-3301; . . .”
Count II. “. . . the said HAROLD DANIELS did then and there unlawfully, willfully and feloniously commit the offense of touching or applying force to the person of another, to-wit: Jimmie Rogers, with the intent to injure said Jimmie Rogers and did inflict great bodily harm upon said Jimmie Rogers. In violation of K.S.A. 21-3414; . . .”
Count III. “. . . the said HAROLD DANIELS did then and there unlawfully, willfully and intentionally touch the person of another, to-wit: Sharon Goodhart, in a rude, insolent and angry manner. In violation of K.S.A. 21-3412; . . .”

The defendant filed a motion to require the State to elect between counts one and two of the information. At a hearing on this motion the State dismissed count two. The case went to trial before a jury on March 29, 1976, on the charges of attempted murder against Jimmie Rogers, count one, and simple battery against Sharon Goodhart, count three. At trial, defendant’s version of the incident was he had no intention of harming Rogers but just wanted to talk with him about what was going on with defendant’s wife and he shot in self-defense as Jimmie Rogers bent over in his truck reaching for what defendant believed to be a pistol.

After the evidence was in, the court instructed the jury on the elements of attempted murder and, over the objection of defense counsel, instructed that aggravated battery, aggravated assault and criminal injury to persons were lesser included offenses of attempted murder.

Pertinent instructions given by the court were:

“INSTRUCTION NO. 2.
“The offense of attempted murder with which the Defendant is charged includes the lesser offenses of aggravated battery, aggravated assault, and criminal injury to persons.
*269 - “You may find the Defendant guilty of attempted murder or aggravated battery, or aggravated assault, or criminal injury to persons, or not guilty.
“Where there is reasonable doubt as to which of two or more offenses the Defendant is guilty, he may be convicted of the lesser offense only.
“Your foreman should sign the appropriate verdict form. The other verdict forms are to be left unsigned.”
“INSTRUCTION NO. 3.
“The defendant is charged with the crime of an attempt to commit the crime of murder. The defendant pleads not guilty.
“To establish this charge each of the following claims must be proved:
“1.

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Bluebook (online)
573 P.2d 607, 223 Kan. 266, 1977 Kan. LEXIS 410, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-daniels-kan-1977.