Opinion ID: 2630320
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: sufficiency of the evidence

Text: First, Cook challenges the sufficiency of the State's proof of premeditation, the defining element of premeditated first-degree murder in K.S.A. 21-3401(a). Our standard of review is well established. When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged in a criminal case, the standard of review is whether, after review of all the evidence, viewed in light most favorable to the prosecution, the appellate court is convinced that a rational factfinder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. [Citation omitted.] State v. Pham, 281 Kan. 1227, 1252, 136 P.3d 919 (2006). Here, consistent with our prior cases, such as State v. Morton, 283 Kan. 464, 474, 153 P.3d 532 (2007), the district court provided the jury with the following instruction: Premeditation means to have thought the matter over beforehand, in other words, to have formed the design or intent to kill before the act. Although there is no specific time period required for premeditation, the concept of premeditation requires more than an instantaneous, intentional act of taking another's life. Both Cook and the State point to the factors which our prior decisions have listed as giving rise to an inference of premeditation: (1) the nature of the weapon used, (2) the lack of provocation, (3) the defendant's conduct before and after the killing, (4) threats and declarations of the defendant before and during the occurrence, and (5) the dealing of lethal blows after the deceased was felled and rendered helpless. State v. Scott, 271 Kan. 103, 109, 21 P.3d 516, cert. denied 534 U.S. 1047[, 122 S.Ct. 630, 151 L.Ed.2d 550] (2001). Morton, 283 Kan. at 475, 153 P.3d 532. See State v. Meeks, 277 Kan. 609, 622, 88 P.3d 789 (2004), overruled on other grounds State v. Davis, 283 Kan. 569, 158 P.3d 317 (2007). However, we will refrain from falling into the common trap of toting up the number of factors present to declare a winner. That should not be the calculus. In some cases, one factor, standing alone, may be compelling evidence of premeditation. Further, we will resist the temptation to weigh the evidence or assess its credibility. See State v. Henderson, 284 Kan. 267, 297-98, 160 P.3d 776 (2007). Obviously, Cook thought about shooting Endsley the night before the killing because he told Ford that he was afraid he was going to have to do so. Cook discounts this evidence based on Ford's trial testimony that he thought Cook was joking. However, the question was not Ford's subjective belief as to the seriousness of Cook's statement, but rather what that statement said about Cook's state of mind. After having made that statement, Cook put a gun in the pickup glove box for the trip to Salina and then retrieved the gun to put in his coat pocket before entering Endsley's house. An objective jury could assess that evidence as establishing a prior intent to shoot the debtor, either as a necessary means of collecting the debt and/or robbing the victim or as retribution for having cheated Salts. Cook attempts to discount the fact that he brought a handgun to Endsley's house by pointing to the manner in which aggravated burglary was charged. The State alleged that Cook committed that offense when he unlawfully remained in the residence with the intent to commit an aggravated assault, i.e., with the intent to scare Endsley with the weapon. Cook argues that there was insufficient time between Endsley's demand for Cook to leave the house, i.e., when Cook's presence became unlawful, and the shooting so as to allow for a premeditated transformation of Cook's intent from an intent to scare to an intent to kill. Therefore, based on the State's theory with regard to the aggravated burglary count, Cook contends that the killing was instantaneous, rather than premeditated. Cook suggests the State should have alleged premeditated murder as the underlying felony for the aggravated burglary charge. To keep our eye on the ball, the issue before us is the sufficiency of the evidence to support the premeditation element of first-degree murder. We are not concerned with the State's arguments on the aggravated burglary count or with what a conviction on that charge might tell us about the jury's thinking. See State v. Beach, 275 Kan. 603, Syl. ¶ 4, 67 P.3d 121 (2003) (convictions will not be reversed on grounds of inconsistency). The jury was to consider each charged crime as a separate and distinct offense without being influenced by any other charge. See PIK Crim.3d 68.07. Moreover, the prosecutor's arguments are not evidence and do not determine the issue before us. That issue is whether the testimony of the witnesses and the physical evidence contained in the record would support the elements of the premeditated first-degree murder as set forth in the district court's instructions to the jury. Nevertheless, the convictions for aggravated burglary based upon an aggravated assault and premeditated first-degree murder are not necessarily inconsistent under the facts of this case. The jury might well have determined that Cook's plan was to get whatever money was available in Endsley's residence, one way or another, that is, to use the weapon to scare Endsley into handing over money or, if that failed, then to shoot Endsley and take the money. In that scenario, the transformation from the intent to scare to the intent to kill was a matter thought over beforehand, so as to avoid the instantaneous killing label. Nevertheless, the most compelling evidence of premeditation was Bell's testimony that she heard a man say, This is from Tami in Wichita, before the shots were fired. Such a statement obviously manifests a premeditated intent to kill. Granted, not all of the witnesses testified to having heard that statement being made, and Bell did not relate that statement when she was first interviewed by police. However, without weighing the evidence or assessing witness credibility and viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the State, that evidence alone would support a jury finding of premeditation.