State v. Munoz

CourtCourt of Appeals of Kansas
DecidedJanuary 14, 2022
Docket121770
StatusUnpublished

This text of State v. Munoz (State v. Munoz) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals 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. Munoz, (kanctapp 2022).

Opinion

NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION

No. 121,770

IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS

STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee,

v.

DANIEL ROMAN MUNOZ, Appellant.

MEMORANDUM OPINION

Appeal from Shawnee District Court; C. WILLIAM OSSMANN, judge. Opinion filed January 14, 2022. Affirmed in part, reversed in part, sentences vacated, and case remanded with directions.

Carol Longenecker Schmidt, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, for appellant.

Michael J. Duenes, assistant solicitor general, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, for appellee.

Before BUSER, P.J., POWELL and HURST, JJ.

BUSER, J.: Daniel Roman Munoz appeals his convictions and sentences for second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, criminal possession of a firearm, and theft. He raises several claims of error. Munoz contends his convictions should be reversed because the district court (1) improperly admitted hearsay statements made by the murder victim; (2) improperly admitted jail recordings of conversations Munoz had with his mother; (3) did not give a limiting instruction regarding K.S.A. 60- 455 evidence; (4) did not obtain a jury trial waiver from Munoz regarding his stipulation to the charge of criminal possession of a firearm; and (5) made cumulative errors warranting a new trial.

1 Regarding sentencing, Munoz asserts the district court erred by (1) considering his prior conviction for criminal threat at sentencing; (2) failing to consider his financial resources when imposing Board of Indigents' Defense Services (BIDS) attorney fees; and (3) violating his constitutional rights by considering his prior convictions at sentencing without first presenting them to a jury.

After a thorough review of the issues presented, we affirm the convictions for second-degree murder, attempted second-degree murder, and theft; reverse and remand the conviction for criminal possession of a firearm; vacate the sentences imposed, and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

On June 9, 2018, at about 8 a.m., Topeka Police Department officers responded to a 911 call regarding a shooting at a residence in Topeka. Upon arrival, officers found Pierce Ragsdale lying in a nearby alley with gunshot wounds. After calling an ambulance, the officers spoke with Armando Munoz, who lived at the address with his wife, Marita Veasey, and son, Daniel Munoz. Armando told the officers he was asleep in his house when he was awakened by the sound of gunshots. Armando said he went to the window and saw his son, Munoz, firing a gun at two people he did not know, then chasing them down the alley while firing the gun. Sergeant Vidal Campos transported Armando to the police station, where the officer recorded Armando's statement in writing at Armando's request. When the office read the statement back to Armando, Armando stated, "Yes," that the statements he provided were true, and then he signed the written statement.

About the time of the shooting, Nikki England was driving home in the 400 block of SE Lafayette, when she observed an individual—later identified as Ramon Mathews— running out of the alley in a panic towards her car. England could see blood on Mathews'

2 shirt and she thought he was injured by the way he was running. England and her passenger tried to get Mathews into the back seat of her car, but he ran past her.

As England reversed her car to catch up with Mathews, she observed a man run out of the alley and get inside a neutral-colored sedan. She recognized this individual as Munoz, a man she had known for several years.

England convinced Mathews to get into her car so she could take him to the hospital. On the way there, England asked Mathews several times, "Who did this to you?" At first Mathews responded that it was "my Homeboy," but later, as he was losing consciousness, he said that it was "Lonely." According to England, Lonely was the street name for Munoz. England took Mathews to the hospital, where he underwent surgery for gunshot wounds to his upper body. Mathews died about six days later.

About an hour after the shootings, Munoz returned home and was arrested. During a search incident to his arrest, officers found a set of car keys in his pocket. That afternoon a neighbor, Amber Correa, called the police to report an unfamiliar Toyota Camry parked in her neighbor's driveway with a handgun visible in the center console. According to Correa, she noticed the Camry in the driveway about 9:30 a.m. and had seen Munoz driving the Camry the day prior to the shootings before parking it in the driveway at midnight. Officers learned the vehicle had been reported stolen on the day before the shootings. The car keys seized from Munoz during his arrest unlocked the doors to the Camry.

The firearm found inside the Camry, a Smith and Wesson 9mm handgun, was seized. Forensic firearm testing by James Stevens, an examiner for the Kansas Bureau of Investigation (KBI) identified the weapon as the handgun which fired a bullet collected at the crime scene, and shell casings which were fired from the handgun which were also found in the alley where the shootings occurred.

3 The State originally charged Munoz with two counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of criminal possession of a firearm. After Mathews died, the State amended the complaint to upgrade one of the attempted murder charges to first-degree murder and added a charge for the theft of the Camry. The State later obtained a grand jury indictment and substituted the indictment for the complaint.

The jury trial began on December 10, 2018. Armando testified in the State's case- in-chief at trial. According to Armando, he was in bed asleep on the morning of June 9, 2018, when he heard gunshots outside. Armando looked outside but could not see anything, so he went out to the alley where he saw "two guys laying there." Armando said he did not know what he told the police when they arrived after the incident because he was drunk and "on [his] way to a hangover." When asked if he told the officers he was drunk, Armando said, "They could see me. They know what they doing. They know their job. They can tell if a man is drunk or not."

The prosecutor presented Armando with a written statement containing his signature and the document was admitted in evidence. Armando denied telling the police he saw Munoz shooting a handgun but acknowledged signing the statement. He testified, "I must have signed it and I didn't know I signed it until now." Armando could not recall if he went to the police station or where he had signed the statement. When asked if anyone had told him to change what he saw the day the of shooting, Armando responded, "Why would they do that?" and "That's a stupid question." He denied having been asked to change his statement, and again denied having told the officers he saw his son shooting a handgun.

Sergeant Campos testified that he was the supervising officer who responded to the 911 call. According to the Sergeant, he spoke with Armando who informed him that he saw his son, Munoz, shooting at two individuals. At that time, standing a short distance away from Armando, Sergeant Campos did not smell any alcohol, nor did

4 Armando tell him he was drunk. Armando agreed to come down to the police station to complete a written statement. At the station, Sergeant Campos videotaped the interview with Armando. This videotape was admitted in evidence. Sergeant Campos wrote out Armando's statement because Armando "just didn't want to write it. He said he couldn't write." Sergeant Campos then read the statement aloud and had Armando sign it. The statement read:

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State v. Munoz, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-munoz-kanctapp-2022.