State v. Hargrove

• Decision Date: 19 April 2002
• Docket Number: No. 86,161.,86,161.
• Citation: 45 P.3d 376,273 Kan. 314
• Parties: STATE OF KANSAS, Appellant, v. DEMETRIUS HARGROVE, Appellee.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

273 Kan. 314

45 P.3d 376

STATE OF KANSAS, Appellant, v. DEMETRIUS HARGROVE, Appellee.

No. 86,161.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

Opinion filed April 19, 2002.

Michael A. Russell, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Nick A. Tomasic, district attorney, and Carla J. Stovall, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellant.

Kirk C. Redmond, of the Death Penalty Defense Unit, of Topeka, argued the cause, and Ronald F. Evans, of the same unit, was with him on the brief for appellee.

The opinion of the court was delivered by

LARSON, J.:

The State of Kansas appeals from the trial court's dismissal of capital-murder charges against Demetrius Hargrove on the grounds that his speedy trial rights under the Agreement on Detainers Act (Agreement), K.S.A. 22-4401 et seq., had been violated. The State's appeal contends the trial court erred: (1) when it applied the Agreement to the present case, and (2) by abusing its discretion in finding that more than 120 days were chargeable to the State, pursuant to the speedy trial provision in Article IV of the Agreement. We answer the first issue and do not reach the second.

Factual background and proceedings

The ultimate questions in this appeal relate to the proceedings after charges were filed but, based on evidence presented at the preliminary hearing, we first set forth the facts which were developed to substantiate the charges in this case.

In early 1998, Hargrove and Christopher Trotter were selling drugs. One of their regular customers, who also sold drugs on their behalf, was Elmer Berg. Over time, Berg accumulated a debt to Hargrove in the amount of $1,500. Hargrove told Trotter at one point that he would no longer sell cocaine to Berg.

On February 19, 1998, Hargrove advised Trotter he was coming over to get some cocaine to sell. Hargrove arrived at Trotter's residence, and Berg stopped behind him in a separate car. With Berg was his sister, Misty Castor. Because Trotter did not have scales at his house, Trotter and Hargrove went to go to Hargrove's house to divide and weigh the cocaine.

When Trotter entered Hargrove's car, he asked Hargrove why Berg was following them. Hargrove stated he was going to sell cocaine to Berg. Trotter reminded Hargrove of his prior statements that he was no longer going to sell cocaine to Berg due to Berg's failure to pay the owing drug debt. Hargrove looked at Trotter, then stated that he was going to "knock" Berg, which means to kill him.

Hargrove drove to Coronado Park and then stopped. Berg stopped behind him. Hargrove then reached under the seat of his car and pulled out a .38 caliber revolver. He walked to Berg's car. Trotter heard four gun shots and a female say, "No." Hargrove returned to his car. En route to Trotter's home, Hargrove threw the gun down a sewer drain.

The police later discovered the dead bodies of Berg and Castor in the vehicle, Berg having been shot twice in the chest and head, and Castor having been shot twice in the neck and back. The police investigation which ensued ultimately resulted in the filing of charges.

On February 11, 1999, Hargrove was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of criminal possession of a firearm. On February 12, 1999, the Wyandotte County Sheriffs office sent a request for detainer to the Correction Corporation of America in Leavenworth, Kansas, a federal holding facility where Hargrove was awaiting trial on federal kidnapping charges. The document stated, in pertinent part:

"Enclosed is our warrant for [Demetrius Hargrove] who is presently in your custody. Please lodge a detainer on subject in our favor and notify this office when he is available for pick-up.

"We will extradite. Should subject refuse to waive extradition, contact this office by phone."

It is undisputed that the State's prosecutors did not know of the filing of this document. On August 17, 1999, Hargrove was sentenced on a federal kidnapping conviction to 35 years' imprisonment. Eight days later, the State petitioned the Wyandotte County District Court for a writ of habeas corpus ad prosequendum, and on the same day the writ was granted. In granting the writ, the court ordered:

"It is therefore considered and ordered that a Writ of Habeas Corpus Ad Prosequendum issue out of and under the Seal of [this court] ... directed to said U.S. Marshall to release the body of said Demetrius Hargrove, to the Wyandotte County Sheriff's Department commanding him to produce the body of [Hargrove]... at the criminal docket ... on the 14th day of September, 1999."

On September 10, 1999, Hargrove made his first appearance in Wyandotte County. On November 22, 1999, the State amended the charges, dropping the first-degree murder charges and adding one count of capital murder in violation of K.S.A. 21-3439. At this point, Hargrove's counsel was permitted to withdraw and the Kansas Death Penalty Defense Unit was appointed. Numerous motions usual in a death penalty cases were filed and continuances granted at the request of both parties. Hargrove was bound over following a preliminary hearing on March 20, 2000. On May 25, 2000, the trial court found the speedy trial provisions of K.S.A. 22-3402 did not apply in this case because Hargrove was not being held in custody "solely" on the charges herein as the result of his kidnapping sentence in the United States District Court, District of Kansas.

On October 13, 2000, a copy of the detainer was faxed from the United State Marshals Service to defense counsel. On October 18, 2000, Hargrove moved to dismiss the charges against him for the State's failure to comply with the Agreement, K.S.A. 22-4401. The motion was heard on October 24, 2000.

Hargrove argued that his right to a speedy trial under the Agreement was violated in that he had spent approximately 405 days in the custody of the State of Kansas, which was well beyond the 120-day limit. The State responded that it was not its intent to use a detainer or the Agreement to gain custody of Hargrove, that K.S.A. 22-4401 did not apply because Hargrove was not serving a sentence at the time the detainer was lodged, and that even if the 120-day limit did apply major portions of the delay time was chargeable to Hargrove.

Hargrove contended that he should not be penalized for making motions, and that the court often left his motions pending for an excessive amount of time. He argued in the alternative that even if a certain amount of time was charged to him, the State had still exceeded its 120-time limit. He also contended that the statute does not require an individual to be serving a sentence at the time a detainer is lodged, but rather at the time the individual is transferred.

The trial court found in Hargrove's favor and dismissed the charges with prejudice. The court noted that up until its discovery, "everyone involved in the case ... was under the assumption that there was no detainer filed." The court also noted that, although there was no bad faith involved, the defense counsel had been told at "every stage of the way ... no detainer existed." The court found that Hargrove had consistently been concerned about his right to a speedy trial, and the court found "no fault with the efforts of the defendant in this case to protect his right to a speedy trial." In dismissing the charges, the court concluded:

"It gives me no pleasure or joy to reach the conclusions that I have and every tortured scenario that I have been able to—to predicate has fallen simply because there's no basis in law for it.... There's never been any juncture where the defendant has not been concerned about his right to a speedy trial too. He never waived or gave up those rights. You can't waive or give up a right that you didn't even know you had."

The State appeals the court's dismissal, raising the two issues previously set forth.

Analysis

The State first argues that the trial court erred by applying the Agreement to the present case. The State contends the provisions of the Agreement do not and never were intended to apply to persons being detained for trial who are not serving prison sentences. Whether the Agreement applies under these facts is a question of law subject to our unlimited review. State v. Lewis, 263 Kan. 843, 847, 953 P.2d 1016 (1998).

We have numerous discussions in Kansas cases relating to the Agreement, see, for example, State v. Robbins, 272 Kan. 158, 163-65, 32 P.3d 171 (2001); State v. Rodriquez, 254 Kan. 768, 771-75, 869 P.2d 631 (1994); State v. White, 234 Kan. 340, 343-44, 673 P.2d 1106 (1983); State v. Clark, 222 Kan. 65, Syl. ¶¶ 1, 2, 3, and 4, 563 P.2d 1028 (1977), but we have not previously considered whether the Agreement applies to an individual who is merely a pretrial detainee in another jurisdiction and has not been convicted of any crime nor serving a term of imprisonment.

Highly summarized, if the Agreement applies, Article III requires a prisoner to be brought to trial within 180 days where the prisoner has requested final disposition of a complaint, and Article IV requires a trial to be commenced within 120 days if the prisoner is returned pursuant to a request for temporary custody where the charges are pending. Robbins, 272 Kan. at 164.

The specific portion of the Agreement on which this case turns is K.S.A. 22-4401, Art. IV(a), which states:

"The appropriate officer of the jurisdiction in which an untried indictment, information or complaint is pending shall be entitled to have a prisoner against whom he has lodged a detainer and who is serving a term of imprisonment in any party state made available in accordance with article V(a) hereof upon presentation of a written request for temporary custody or availability to the appropriate authorities of the state in which the prisoner is incarcerated: Provided, That the court having jurisdiction of such indictment, information or complaint shall have duly approved, recorded and transmitted the request." (Emphasis added.)

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