State v. Molina

325 P.3d 1142, 299 Kan. 651, 2014 WL 2440708, 2014 Kan. LEXIS 259
CourtSupreme Court of Kansas
DecidedMay 30, 2014
DocketNo. 105,228
StatusPublished
Cited by22 cases

This text of 325 P.3d 1142 (State v. Molina) 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. Molina, 325 P.3d 1142, 299 Kan. 651, 2014 WL 2440708, 2014 Kan. LEXIS 259 (kan 2014).

Opinion

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Moritz, J.:

A juiy convicted Eldier Molina of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder and one count of criminal possession of a firearm. The district court sentenced Molina to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years (hard 50) on the first murder conviction, a consecutive life sentence with no possibility of parole for 25 years (hard 25) on the second murder conviction, and a concurrent 8-month prison sentence for the firearm conviction.

In this direct appeal, Molina seeks reversal of his convictions, arguing the district court clearly erred in failing to give an unrequested limiting instruction for other crimes evidence and an unrequested instruction on voluntary manslaughter as a lesser included offense of first-degree murder. We reject both claims and affirm Molina’s convictions.

Molina also asserts several sentencing claims, including that his hard 50 sentence is unconstitutional in light of Alleyne v. United States, 570 U.S. _, 133 S. Ct. 2151, 186 L. Ed. 2d 314 (2013); tire district court violated his right to be free from double jeopardy by relying on the same aggravating factor to impose a hard 50 sentence and consecutive life sentences; and the district court erred in imposing lifetime postrelease supervision for his off-grid convictions.

Consistent with our recent decision in State v. Soto, 299 Kan. 102, 322 P.3d 334 (2014), we conclude the district court’s imposition of a hard 50 sentence violated Molina’s right to a jury trial under the Sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution. Consequently, we vacate his hard 50 sentence, including the unauthorized period of lifetime postrelease supervision, and remand for resentencing. To provide guidance on remand, we address and reject Molina’s double jeopardy claim. Finally, while we affirm Molina’s remaining sentences, we vacate the unauthorized lifetime postrelease supervision portion of Molina’s hard 25 sentence.

[653]*653Factual and Procedural History

On November 13, 2009, as Kansas City, Kansas, police officers Jason Pittman and Darrell Forrest conducted surveillance at a potential drug house, Pittman saw a car arrive at the house, remain a few minutes, and leave. Pittman and Forrest followed the car and pulled behind it at a stoplight at the intersection of 18th and Central. As Pittman waited at tire traffic light, he looked to the west and saw a silver Honda pull up alongside a black sedan. Pittman thought this was odd because the Honda appeared to be in the wrong lane. Then Pittman and Forrest both heard several gunshots, and Pittman saw a muzzle flash coming from the Honda’s front passenger seat.

Pittman activated the patrol car’s sirens and emergency lights and drove around the car he had been following. Pittman and Forrest watched as the Honda passed through the intersection traveling eastbound on Central Avenue. As it did so, both officers saw the driver look toward the patrol car, and Pittman got a good look at tire driver’s face. Pittman testified he knew the driver saw him because he could read the driver’s lips as the driver said, “ ‘Oh, shit.’ ” The Honda drove through a store parking lot and then south on 18th Street as Pittman, Forrest, and eventually other officers pursued it.

Ultimately, the Honda drove through an open field near the Kansas National Guard Armory and came to a rest at a dead end street. Several officers saw two individuals get out of the Honda and run into a nearby wooded area. Officers immediately arrested a third individual who got out of the backseat, 12-year-old Max Palomino.

As officers searched the wooded area for the two other suspects, they called in a K-9 unit to assist in the search. The tracking dog picked up a scent and led officers through the wooded area to a house where they found Molina hiding underneath a deck. The second individual was not found.

Other officers investigated the crime scene at 18th and Central and found two nonresponsive male victims in the front seat of the black sedan. Emergency technicians transported the victims, [654]*654brothers Gerson Diaz-Turcios and Jos Diaz-Turcios, to separate medical facilities, where both men died from gunshot wounds to the head.

After his arrest, Palomino identified the two men who ran from the Honda as Molina and Juan Lopez. Officer Pittman reviewed photographs of known gang members and identified Lopez as tire driver of the Honda.

The State jointly charged Molina and Lopez with two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. The State also charged Molina with one count of criminal possession of a firearm and Lopez with one count of fleeing or eluding a police officer. At the close of their joint trial, the jury found both Molina and Lopez guilty as charged. See State v. Lopez, 299 Kan. 324, 323 P.3d 1260 (2014) (considering direct appeal of Molina’s codefendant, Juan Lopez).

The State sought a hard 50 sentence against Molina based on his knowing or purposeful killing of more than one person during the shooting. See K.S.A. 21-4636(b) (listing an aggravating circumstance supporting imposition of hard 50 sentence as “the defendant knowingly or purposely killed . .. more than one person"). Following an evidentiary hearing, the district court concluded the jury’s findings of guilt on two first-degree premeditated murder charges clearly proved the aggravating circumstance and concluded the mitigating circumstances urged by Molina, including his relatively young age and that the shooting arose out of gang mentality, did not outweigh the aggravating circumstance. See K.S.A. 21-4635(d) (stating findings necessary to impose hard 50 sentence). Based on these findings, the district court sentenced Molina to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 50 years on the first murder conviction, a consecutive sentence of life with no possibility of parole for 25 years on the second murder conviction, and a concurrent 8-month prison sentence for the firearm conviction.

Our jurisdiction over Molina’s direct appeal arises under K.S.A. 22-3601(b)(l) (maximum life sentence).

Discussion

The district court did not clearly err in failing to give an unrequested limiting instruction for other crimes evidence.

[655]*655Molina seeks reversal of his convictions and remand for a new trial, arguing the district court erroneously failed to give the jury an unrequested limiting instruction for other crimes evidence. Further, Molina reasons a properly instructed jury would have returned a different verdict.

Standard of Review/Analytical Framework

We review the failure to give an unrequested jury instruction for clear error. K.S.A. 22-3414(3); State v. Williams, 295 Kan. 506, 515-16, 286 P.3d 195 (2012). Applying a clear error analysis, we first consider whether the district court erred in omitting the instruction.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
325 P.3d 1142, 299 Kan. 651, 2014 WL 2440708, 2014 Kan. LEXIS 259, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-molina-kan-2014.