Opinion ID: 2588523
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: vacating sentence of lesser included offense

Text: The jury convicted Winters of both the severity level 7 and severity level 4 aggravated batteries. The trial court sentenced Winters for the more severe offense but not the lesser. The Court of Appeals ruled that this was error and determined Winters had to be sentenced for the lesser crime. 31 Kan. App. 2d at 42. The prohibition against multiplicitous charges arises from constitutional double jeopardy provisions and K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 21-3107(2). That statute provides: Upon prosecution for a crime, the defendant may be convicted of either the crime charged or a lesser included crime, but not both. This court recently summarized the law regarding multiplicity as follows: [U]nder Kansas law, crimes are multiplicitous where: (1) the crimes merge, that is, they constitute a single wrongful act, and the same evidence is required to prove both crimes; but if each offense requires proof of a fact not required in proving the other, the offenses do not merge; and (2) one offense is an included offense of the other as provided under K.S.A. 21-3107(2). As a result, the defendant's convictions must be analyzed not only under the traditional elements test as set forth in [ State v. Garnes, 229 Kan. 368, 372-73, 624 P.2d 448 (1981),] but also under the legislative test for determining whether one offense is an included offense of the other. State v. Garcia, 272 Kan. 140, 145, 32 P.3d 188 (2001). The trial court was correct in ruling that the two convictions were multiplicitous. First, the severity level 7 aggravated battery was an included offense of the severity level 4 aggravated battery. Second, the crimes merged because the same evidence was required to sustain each charge and the elements of proof necessary to prove the severity level 4 aggravated battery necessarily proved the severity level 7 aggravated battery. See State v. Vontress, 266 Kan. 248, 255-57, 970 P.2d 42 (1998). In prior cases, this court has determined that where convictions are multiplicitous the defendant should be sentenced only on the more severe offense. In State v. Turbeville, 235 Kan. 993, 995, 686 P.2d 138 (1984), the court set aside the defendant's conviction and sentence for aggravated battery because the conviction was multiplicitous with an attempted murder conviction. See State v. Garnes, 229 Kan. 368, 372-74, 624 P.2d 448 (1981). Although these cases are distinguishable, we find no basis under the facts of this case to reach a different result. The jury found Winters guilty of both the severity level 4 and the lesser included severity level 7 aggravated battery and, thus, made a factual finding that Winters committed the severity level 4 aggravated battery. We hold the trial court reached the correct result by setting aside the severity level 7 aggravated battery conviction and sentencing Winters for the severity level 4 aggravated battery. We reverse the Court of Appeals and affirm the trial court. ABBOTT and GERNON, JJ., not participating. LARSON, S.J., and BRAZIL, S.J., assigned. [1] Judge Larson recused after oral argument.