Opinion ID: 1187781
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 15

Heading: imposing 40-year mandatory prison sentence

Text: Where a defendant is convicted of murder in the first degree based upon the finding of premeditated murder, the court shall determine whether the defendant shall be required to serve a mandatory term of imprisonment of 40 years or be sentenced as otherwise provided by law. K.S.A. 21-4635(a). In order to make the determination, the court may consider evidence concerning any matter that the court deems relevant. The court shall include a consideration of the aggravating circumstances enumerated in K.S.A. 21-4636 and any mitigating circumstances. K.S.A. 21-4635(b). In this case, the trial court reviewed the aggravating factors found at K.S.A. 21-4636 and found that Valdez committed the murder of Juan Ayon in an especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel manner. The court then found that the aggravating factor was not outweighed by the mitigating factors of age and lack of criminal history. Valdez contends that there was no clear testimony that Ayon was run over by the car more than once, or if Ayon had been run over several times, that he was alive after the initial impact. Valdez further argues that Ayon may not have perceived his impending death due to his extremely intoxicated state. Where the sufficiency of the evidence for establishing an aggravating circumstance under K.S.A. 21-4636 is challenged, the standard of review is whether, after a review of all the evidence, viewed in the light most favorable to the State, a rational factfinder could have found by a preponderance of the evidence the existence of the aggravating circumstance. State v. Spain, 263 Kan. 708, Syl. ¶ 6, 953 P.2d 1004 (1998) (changing the standard of review as expressed in State v. Brady, 261 Kan. 109, Syl. ¶ 4, 929 P.2d 132 [1996]). It was clear from the medical testimony at trial that Juan Ayon was alive when he was dragged out of his car into a field. Ayon was then run over between 3 and 7 times and dragged under the car for some distance. Dr. Melin concluded that based on the injuries, Ayon's death occurred within a few minutes after he suffered the impact injuries. Under the facts, there was sufficient evidence for the court to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the manner in which Valdez killed Ayon was especially heinous, atrocious, or cruel. Affirmed.