State v. Friday

306 P.3d 265, 297 Kan. 1023, 2013 WL 4039441, 2013 Kan. LEXIS 654
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedAugust 9, 2013
DocketNo. 101,806
StatusPublished
Cited by33 cases

This text of 306 P.3d 265 (State v. Friday) 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. Friday, 306 P.3d 265, 297 Kan. 1023, 2013 WL 4039441, 2013 Kan. LEXIS 654 (kan 2013).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Nuss, C.J.:

We granted Shanna Fridays petition for review of the Court of Appeals decision affirming her conviction and sentence for second-degree unintentional murder stemming from the beating of Jeny Deshazer. The issues on appeal, and our accompanying holdings, are as follows:

1. Did the prosecutor commit misconduct during her argument? Yes, but harmless error.
2. Did the district court err in refusing to instruct the juiy on self-defense? No.
3. Did the district court err in instructing the jury on aiding and abetting? No.
4. Did the district court err in excluding specific evidence of a witness’ plea bargain? No.
5. Did cumulative error deny Friday a fair trial? No.
6. Does the identical offense sentencing doctrine require reversing and remanding for resentencing? No.
7. Did the district court err in including Friday’s prior convictions in her criminal history score without their being proved to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt? No.

We therefore affirm the district court and the Court of Appeals panel.

Facts

On February 2, 2008, Deshazer was found dead in a bathtub in [1028]*1028his mobile home in Lawrence. His body was covered in blood, and according to the coroner, his face was “just bashed in.” The coroner determined the cause of death was blunt force injuries to the head, with additional contributing medical conditions.

The night before Deshazer s death, he got together at his home with Jerod Buffalohead, Jarvis Jones, and defendant Friday. Buf-falohead and Jones arrived around 4:30 p.m., and Friday arrived around 5 p.m. All four drank alcohol together throughout the evening. Shortly after arriving, Buffalohead left and returned around 8:45 p.m.

At one point, Friday got into a verbal altercation with Deshazer. Their argument never became physical, and they eventually cooled down.

Shortly after Buffalohead returned to Deshazer’s home, a physical altercation began. Buffalohead, Friday, and Jones each offered different versions of the episode that resulted in Deshazer s death.

Jerod Buffalohead

According to Buffalohead’s testimony for the defense, he heard arguing when he returned to the mobile home around 8:45 p.m. Somebody told Buffalohead that he owed Deshazer money, so Buf-falohead offered to pay Deshazer. But Deshazer said Buffalohead did not owe him anything. While Buffalohead was getting ice, “a fight started” between Friday and Deshazer. Buffalohead testified:

“I’m not real sure how the fight started, but I heard a slap, I heard a thud on the ground and—
[[Image here]]
“ . . . [w]hen I heard all that, I turned around and Jeny [Deshazer is] on, is on, not on top of her—I don’t know if they fell, I don’t know—
[[Image here]]
“. . . I don’t know if they tripped, but I pulled [Deshazer] off of [Friday].”

After Buffalohead pulled Deshazer from Friday, he sat Deshazer in a chair and Friday momentarily left the room. When she returned, she again argued with Deshazer. According to Buffalohead, “Jeny had a small bottle and I think that was plastic, but he threw it and it was, it landed in between 'em or he threw it on the ground.”

[1029]*1029After Deshazer threw the bottle, Friday slapped him and they started fist fighting. Buffalohead then separated them. Jones also intervened and began hitting Deshazer. Buffalohead cussed at Jones for hitting Deshazer. Friday then hit Deshazer in the face with a bottle. According to Buffalohead, he tried to grab the bottle, but it shattered on Deshazer s head.

Jones continued to punch Deshazer s face until Buffalohead pulled him away. When Deshazer then stood up from his chair and started to go after Jones, Buffalohead threw a blanket over De-shazer to calm him down. Deshazer tripped over the blanket; then Buffalohead and Jones picked him up and put him back in his chair. After Buffalohead asked Friday if she had called for help, he left to go to his parents’ house.

Shanna Friday

According to Friday s statements to police, at some point in the evening Buffalohead became angry at how Deshazer was treating Friday. So Buffalohead and Jones began beating Deshazer while he was sitting in a chair. They eventually threw a blanket over his head. Friday then punched Deshazer three times in the face, with Buffalohead and Jones moving out of her way. During the beating, Deshazer “fought with his mouth” by “talking shit.” According to Friday, Jones hit Deshazer with an ashtray, but she repeatedly denied anybody hit Deshazer with a bottle.

After tire physical altercation ended, Friday gave Deshazer water, some pills, and a blanket. She also tried to wipe him off. When she offered to call the police or an ambulance, he declined. Friday then lay on tire couch and fell asleep. She awoke in the middle of the night and noticed Deshazer stumbling from one end of the home to the other. She also saw excrement. Friday apparently went back to sleep and left around 8 a.m. Before she left, Friday asked Deshazer if he was doing OK and if he wanted her to call the police or an ambulance. Deshazer responded from the bathroom that he was OK and did not want Friday to call anyone for help.

[1030]*1030 Jarois Jones

According to Jones’ testimony for the State, before Buffalohead returned to the home Deshazer said that Buffalohead owed him money. Friday then encouraged Deshazer to tell Buffalohead this when he came back. Buffalohead then walked in and asked, “Tell me what?” So Friday told Buffalohead that Deshazer thought Buf-falohead owed him money. Buffalohead then stood over Deshazer, and Deshazer “let the matter go.”

Jones had little recollection of the remaining events because he testified he was drunk and had blacked out from the alcohol. The next thing Jones remembered was people yelling. He saw Buffa-lohead hit Deshazer five or six times while Deshazer was seated in a chair. While Buffalohead was the only person Jones saw hit De-shazer, Friday was egging Buffalohead on by saying, “That’s what you get, that’s what you get.” Buffalohead then threw a blanket or rug over Deshazer’s head.

Jones soon passed out again. When he awoke at 2:30 a.m., Jones saw Deshazer moaning in his chair with his head back. Deshazer’s face and chest area were bloody. Jones then saw Deshazer “slump” out of his chair and crawl to his bedroom. Jones left, intending to return to his own home, but he ended up drinking with Deshazer’s neighbor. At dawn, Jones left the neighbor’s home and returned to Deshazer’s where he fell asleep in a back bedroom.

Finding the body and the police investigation

Later that morning Jim Vincent arrived at Deshazer’s home. Vincent could not find Deshazer and left. He returned an hour later and asked Nancy Kelch to look for Deshazer. Kelch found him dead in his bathroom.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
306 P.3d 265, 297 Kan. 1023, 2013 WL 4039441, 2013 Kan. LEXIS 654, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-friday-kan-2013.