State v. Kaiser

918 P.2d 629, 260 Kan. 235, 1996 Kan. LEXIS 99
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedJune 7, 1996
Docket73,166
StatusPublished
Cited by20 cases

This text of 918 P.2d 629 (State v. Kaiser) 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. Kaiser, 918 P.2d 629, 260 Kan. 235, 1996 Kan. LEXIS 99 (kan 1996).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Lockett, J.;

Defendant Joshua Kaiser appeals from his convictions for first-degree felony murder, aggravated kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and unlawful use of a weapon. Defendant claims (1) insufficiency of evidence; (2) error in jury instructions; (3) juror misconduct; (4) improper certification for prosecution as an adult; and (5) double jeopardy.

Kaiser, who was 17 years old at the time, was charged with aiding and abetting Jason Schaeffer in several offenses culminating in the shooting death of Tim Riley. The facts are largely undisputed and are based primarily on defendant’s statements to the police and the testimony of a witness.

Kaiser and Schaeffer were AWOL from a juvenile drug and alcohol treatment facility. During the early morning hours of March 1, 1993, Kaiser and Schaeffer left the house of a friend, T. J. Solis. In his statements to the police, Kaiser admitted that he and Schaeffer, who had an unloaded sawed-off .410 shotgun and two shells, left Solis’ house to steal a vehicle. Around 3 a.m. they observed *237 Tim Riley start his car and then return to his house. Kaiser suggested they steal the car. Because Schaeffer was concerned Riley would call the police to report the car stolen, Schaeffer decided they should wait for Riley to return arid take him hostage. As they waited, Kaiser stated, he informed Schaeffer that he did not want to do it. As Kaiser started walking away, Riley came out of the house. Kaiser looked back and heard Schaeffer “cock” the gun and tell Riley that his friend had a .45 pistol. Riley was forced into the driver’s seat. As Kaiser continued to walk away, the car pulled up and Schaeffer told him to get into the front seat of the car. Schaeffer forced Riley into the trunk of the car, and Riley asked them to take care of the car.

Solis became aware they had returned to his house when Kaiser threw snowballs against a window. Solis went outside. Kaiser was sitting in the passenger seat of a car, and Schaeffer was in the driver’s seat. A shotgun that a friend had left at Solis’ house several days earlier was on the back seat. Schaeffer told Solis they had “jacked” a guy. Solis understood that to mean á carjacking. Schaeffer informed Solis that the owner of the car was in the trunk. Because Solis was skeptical, Schaeffer said toward the back of the car, “Are you all right back there, sir?” Solis was surprised by a voice responding from the trunk, “Yeah, I’m all right.” Schaeffer told Solis to get into the car, but Solis declined. Schaeffer drove away with Kaiser in the passenger seat and Riley in the trunk.

Five minutes after Schaeffer and Kaiser departed, Solis called the police and spoke to an officer. Solis told the officer that a person was in the trunk of a car. He gave the officer the make of the car and the license number. He informed the officer that Schaeffer and Kaiser would return to his house to pick up clothes that they had left at his house.

After leaving Solis’ house, Schaeffer and Kaiser drove to the country. Schaeffer suggested to Kaiser that they kill Riley. Kaiser said he told Schaeffer he was not killing anyone and requested Schaeffer to drop him off and allow him to walk home. Kaiser said he later told Schaeffer not to kill Riley.or he would get the hard 40, but Schaeffer ignored him. Schaeffer stopped the car, let Riley .out of the trunk, and told Riley to stand near a fence post with his *238 back to him. Kaiser said he remained in the car with the window open, smoking a cigarette. Schaeffer asked Riley how the ride was, and Riley replied that it was a little bumpy. Schaeffer then shot Riley in the back of the head. After the shooting, Kaiser exited the car and walked to the body. Kaiser observed blood coming from Riley’s mouth and head. Schaeffer took Riley’s watch and ring. Kaiser indicated he felt sad and was in a daze.

Later, Solis again heard Kaiser throwing snowballs against a window. Solis notified the police by telephone that Schaeffer and Kaiser had returned. Solis met Kaiser at the back door of the house. Kaiser asked for clothes he and Schaeffer had left at the house, and Solis retrieved the clothes. Nothing was said about the man in the trunk of the car. Solis said that either Schaeffer or Kaiser told him that they were leaving for Texas. After Schaeffer and Kaiser drove away, Solis again telephoned the police.

The police located the car and a chase ensued, ending when the car crashed into a tree. After a foot chase, Kaiser and Schaeffer were apprehended hiding in a car several blocks from the scene of the crash. Kaiser gave audiotaped and videotaped statements. Kaiser stated to the police, “It was me or him [Riley], or both of us.” Kaiser did not inform the police that they had stopped at Solis’ house before taking Riley into the country. Kaiser later admitted that they had stopped at Solis’ house after Schaeffer killed Riley. Kaiser indicated to the police that Schaeffer was acting crazy. After giving the statements Kaiser directed the police to a field where Riley’s body was found. Riley had died of a single gunshot wound to the back of the head fired from a distance of less than 4 feet.

The State’s motion to waive juvenile jurisdiction was granted, and Kaiser was tried as an adult. The jury convicted Kaiser of unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, and felony murder based on the underlying crime of aggravated robbery. Kaiser was sentenced to life (murder), life (aggravated kidnapping), 15 years to life (aggravated robbery), and 1 to 5 years (unlawful use of a weapon). All sentences were imposed concurrently except the 15 to life sentence for aggravated robbery. Kaiser appeals.

*239 SUFFICIENCY OF EVIDENCE

The defendant’s first claim is that there was insufficient evidence to support his convictions because the State’s evidence was that he was not involved in the crimes, but merely was present, and he was not an aider and abettor. He further claims the conviction was improperly based on speculation, conjecture, and suspicion. Because each claim is based on sufficiency of the evidence, we will analyze each claim separately and then review the evidence.

When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged in a criminal case, an appellate court’s standard of review is whether, after review of all the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the prosecution, the court is convinced that a rational factfinder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. State v. Timley, 255 Kan. 286, Syl. ¶ 13, 875 P.2d 242 (1994). This court will not reweigh the evidence; rather, it looks only to the evidence which supports the verdict. If the essential elements of the charge are sustained by any competent evidence, the conviction must stand. State v. Burton, 235 Kan. 472, Syl. ¶ 2, 681 P.2d 646 (1984).

One of Kaiser’s assertions to the jury was that he reasonably believed he would suffer the same fate as Riley if he did not act as Schaeffer demanded. Based on this testimony, the jury was instructed:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Chandler
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2024
State v. Brown
Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2020
Calhoun v. State
426 P.3d 519 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2018)
State v. Novotny
307 P.3d 1278 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2013)
State v. Johnson
198 P.3d 769 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2008)
State v. Herron
189 P.3d 1173 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2008)
Williams v. Lawton
170 P.3d 414 (Court of Appeals of Kansas, 2007)
State v. Simmons
148 P.3d 525 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2006)
State v. Gonzalez
145 P.3d 18 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2006)
State v. Cook
135 P.3d 1147 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2006)
State v. Jackson
118 P.3d 1238 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2005)
State v. Gleason
88 P.3d 218 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2004)
State v. Bryant
78 P.3d 462 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 2003)
Kaiser v. Nelson
Tenth Circuit, 2000
State v. Speed
961 P.2d 13 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1998)
State v. Franklin
958 P.2d 611 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1998)
State v. Smallwood
955 P.2d 1209 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1998)
State v. Straughter
932 P.2d 387 (Supreme Court of Kansas, 1997)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
918 P.2d 629, 260 Kan. 235, 1996 Kan. LEXIS 99, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-kaiser-kan-1996.