State v. Adams, 48844
| Decision Date | 10 December 1977 |
| Docket Number | No. 48844,48844 |
| Citation | 573 P.2d 604,223 Kan. 254 |
| Parties | The STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Gary ADAMS, Appellant. |
| Court | Kansas Supreme Court |
Syllabus by the Court
A hearsay statement made by a declarant who is unavailable as a witness may be admitted if the trial judge makes the findings required by K.S.A. 60-460(d )(3), even if such statement was not made contemporaneously with the event or condition it narrates, describes, or explains.
Ted M. Templar, Arkansas City, argued the cause, and was on the brief for appellant.
William C. Ellis, County Atty., argued the cause, and Curt T. Schneider, Atty. Gen., was with him on the brief for appellee.
This is a direct appeal from convictions of second-degree murder (K.S.A. 21-3402) and unlawful possession of a firearm (K.S.A. 21-4204). The facts in the case are not really in dispute and are as follows: The defendant Gary Adams and Becky Morris were married on October 18, 1974, and divorced in February of 1975. Following the divorce, Becky started dating Tommy Topper. They were planning to be married. It appears from the evidence that Becky also continued to see Gary Adams from time to time and that Adams deeply resented Becky's association with Tommy Topper. On the afternoon of December 15, 1975, the defendant Adams, in the presence of three witnesses, made threats that he intended to kill or seriously injury Tommy Topper. Later that afternoon between 5:30 p. m. and 6:00 p. m., Becky Morris and Tommy Topper proceeded in the Morris automobile to the Morris farm located northwest of Arkansas City for the purpose of feeding Becky's dogs. By chance, Adams had learned of the couple's intended trip to the Morris farm.
As Becky Morris and Tommy Topper proceeded to the Morris farm, they were followed by a vehicle which belonged to either Gary Adams or his friend, Bobby High, who was also in the vehicle. At the farm Adams forced the Morris vehicle to stop at gunpoint. Becky Morris described the weapon held by Adams as a .22-caliber pistol. High forced Becky Morris out of the car by grabbing her hair. Adams proceeded to knock Topper to the ground, repeatedly kicked him, and pointed the pistol at his head. Then Adams grabbed Becky by her hair and forced her into his automobile, leaving Topper alone with Bobby High. The evidence established that High stabbed Topper in the chest with a knife. Adams and High, with Becky Morris as a passenger, left the area and proceeded to New Mexico where Adams and High were later arrested.
Following the departure of Adams and High, Tommy Topper made his way across the road to the home of Agnes Hower and told her that he had been stabbed. His chest was covered with blood. An ambulance was called. Topper told the ambulance attendant that he had been stabbed by Bobby High and that Gary Adams had fired several shots at him. At the hospital, shortly after 7:00 p. m., Topper told a deputy sheriff that Adams had kicked him and held a gun to his head, and that Bobby High had stabbed him. Topper died on December 24, 1975, from a penetrating knife wound of the chest.
The defendant raises three points on the appeal. He first contends that the court erred in admitting into evidence the statements of Tommy Topper made to the third parties mentioned above on the grounds that such statements were inadmissible as hearsay. Such statements were admissible under the exception to the hearsay rule contained in K.S.A. 60-460(d )(3) which provides as follows:
Here the declarant, Tommy Topper, was dead and hence unavailable at the time of the trial. The statements made in the ambulance and later at the...
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State v. White
...admissible under K.S.A.1982 Supp. 60-460(d)(3). See State v. Churchill, 231 Kan. 408, 417-18, 646 P.2d 1049 (1982); State v. Adams, 223 Kan. 254, 255, 573 P.2d 604 (1977). The judgment of the trial court, if correct, is to be upheld, even though the court may have relied upon a wrong ground......
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...Kan. 452, 249 P.2d 633 (1952); State v. Metz, 107 Kan. 593, 193 Pac. 177 (1920). This definition was also approved in State v. Adams, 223 Kan. 254, 256, 573 P.2d 604 (1977). Because Graham's possession of the illegal substance itself may be susceptible to two interpretations, one innocent a......
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...long. K.S.A.1986 Supp. 21-4201(1)(g). The elements instruction the court gave follows PIK Crim.2d 64.01. Finally, in State v. Adams, 223 Kan. 254, 256, 573 P.2d 604 (1977), the court held that the definition of "possession" contained in PIK Crim.2d 53.00 was a proper instruction in a prosec......
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...from murder, not a lesser included offense. See, e.g., State v. Tyler, 251 Kan. 616, 637-638, 840 P.2d 413 (1992); State v. Adams, 223 Kan. 254, 256, 573 P.2d 604 (1997). A defendant may not be convicted of a crime with which he was not charged. See, e.g., State v. Schad, 247 Kan. 242, 246,......