Opinion ID: 1320521
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: unlawful possession of a firearm

Text: Defendant contends the trial court erred in overruling his motion to discharge on Count 3 and his motion to quash Count 3. K.S.A. 21-4204 provides: (1) Unlawful possession of a firearm is: .... ( b ) Possession of a firearm with a barrel less than twelve (12) inches long by a person who, within five (5) years preceding such violation has been convicted of a felony under the laws of Kansas or any other jurisdiction or has been released from imprisonment for a felony. Count 3 of the information is: Count 3: UNLAWFUL POSSESSION OF A FIREARM K.S.A. 21-4204(1)( b ) On or about the 24th day of October, 1978, in the County of Shawnee and State of Kansas, George Andrew Washington, Jr., did then and there unlawfully, feloniously and willfully, possess a firearm with a barrel less than twelve (12) inches long, within five years after his release from the Kansas State Penitentiary, Lansing, Kansas, on September 15, 1975, contrary to the form of the statutes in such case made and provided and against the peace and dignity of the State of Kansas. Defendant contends the information as to Count 3 is fatally defective as it does not state an offense by virtue of the failure to allege the release was from imprisonment for a felony. If the facts alleged in an information do not constitute an offense within the terms and meaning of the statute upon which it is based, the information is fatally defective. State v. Howell & Taylor, 226 Kan. 511, 601 P.2d 1141 (1979). In determining the sufficiency of an information the exact words of the statute are not required. The sufficiency of indictments and informations is now governed by the guidelines of K.S.A. 22-3201(2). This court has repeatedly held that an information which charges an offense in the language of the statute or its equivalent is sufficient. [Citations omitted.] The exact statutory words need not be used in the information if the meaning is clear. State v. Lucas, 221 Kan. 88, 89, 557 P.2d 1296 (1976). The trial court noted that defendant wouldn't have been in the penitentiary if he hadn't been convicted of a felony and overruled the motions. Incarceration in the Kansas State Penitentiary, of necessity, requires conviction of a felony. The court permitted the State to reopen its case to prove the felony and defendant objected thereto. Defendant ultimately stipulated that he was released from the Kansas State Penitentiary on September 5th, 1975, where he was imprisoned for a felony. No error is shown.