State v. Kirtdoll
| Decision Date | 09 June 2006 |
| Docket Number | No. 94,128.,94,128. |
| Parties | STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Bryon J. KIRTDOLL, Appellant. |
| Court | Kansas Supreme Court |
Patrick H. Dunn, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellant.
Amy M. Memmer, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Robert D. Hecht, district attorney, and Phill Kline, attorney general, were with her on the brief for appellee.
A jury convicted Bryon J. Kirtdoll of premeditated first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery for his involvement in a nightclub shooting. The district court sentenced him to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years (the hard 50) for the first-degree murder conviction and two 41-month sentences for the aggravated battery convictions. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively. Kirtdoll appeals his convictions and sentences directly to this court pursuant to K.S.A. 22-3601(b)(1) ().
The issues on appeal, and our accompanying holdings, are as follows:
1. Did the district court err in determining that Kirtdoll's statement to Detective Volle was freely and voluntarily given? No.
2. Did the district court err in allowing Demetria Rucker to testify? No.
3. Did the district court err in instructing the jury on eyewitness identification testimony? No.
4. Is the Kansas hard 50 sentencing scheme unconstitutional? No.
5. Did the district court violate double jeopardy in applying the K.S.A.2005 Supp. 21-4636(b) aggravating factor to impose Kirtdoll's hard 50 sentence? No.
Accordingly, we affirm the district court.
On February 2, 2003, at approximately 11:45 p.m., Christine Willmore went to RP's nightclub in Topeka with her friend Antoinette Claiborne. RP's was filled to its capacity of 299 people. While waiting to get in, Willmore and Claiborne met Claiborne's sister, Angela O'Neal.
Willmore danced throughout the evening and consumed two drinks. She danced in a circle with a group of women including Claiborne and O'Neal. Although the club was dark, Willmore could "see people's face[s]."
After the song "In the Club" began playing, Willmore "heard five bangs and then everybody yelled to get down." During this time, "[e]verybody was pushing and moving and yelling and screaming." Willmore fell down; when she tried to stand, she realized she had been shot in the leg.
Willmore noticed a man lying on the floor on his back near her. She held the man's feet, because she was afraid that he was going to kick her. She later learned that the man was Michael Yates, the victim killed in the shooting.
Willmore's friend Claiborne also heard the gunshots at approximately 1:30 a.m. while she was dancing with Willmore, O'Neal, Yates, and a group of females approximately 10 feet from the back door of the club. Claiborne believed the shots came from her left. After she attempted to move Willmore off of the floor, Claiborne pushed her sister, Angela O'Neal, out of the club. At that time, Claiborne realized she had been shot in the thigh. Although she did not see who was shooting, she believed the shooter was wearing dark clothes and a hood.
Lakisha Brooks went to RP's between 11:30 p.m. and 12:15 a.m. with her cousin, Demetria Rucker. At some point, Brooks' cousin, Michael Yates, entered the club and approached her. Yates talked with Brooks for a couple of minutes prior to heading to the bar to get a drink.
Brooks then went onto the dance floor with Yates and others. While Brooks was dancing, she saw Bryon Kirtdoll attired in dark, puffy clothes. She saw him do Brooks immediately fell to the floor and heard five to seven shots total.
After the shooting stopped, Brooks found Yates lying on the floor. According to Brooks, Yates told her She spoke to Yates for 4 or 5 minutes until the police arrived.
Brooks had known Kirtdoll for 6 or 7 years and usually called him "Blu" instead of Bryon. She also referred to Kirtdoll as her cousin, although they were not related. Brooks' relationship with Kirtdoll "was cool until the last year or year and a half." According to her, Kirtdoll and Yates were acquainted, and were "all right until a year and a half ago."
Brooks' cousin, Demetria Rucker, had been a childhood friend of Kirtdoll and knew him as "Blue" or "Tru." Rucker stated that her relationship with Kirtdoll was "cool" and that she did not have any problems with him. She also had known Yates since middle school; he was her children's cousin.
According to Rucker, when the song "In the Club" began, she stood by the VIP section near the back door. She heard a loud banging at the back door; she then observed Kirtdoll enter the club after Robert Rose, also known as "Bear," opened the back door. Kirtdoll, who was wearing a black hood, pulled a gun from his right pocket and started shooting. Rucker heard six shots. After the shooting ended, she did not see Kirtdoll in the club.
Robert Rose was standing near the back door and opened it after he heard a knock; Kirtdoll entered. According to Rose, Kirtdoll was wearing a black nylon coat with a hood. After Kirtdoll came inside the club, Rose walked away from the back door because the "vibe" did not feel right to him. After he took a couple of steps, he heard four or five gunshots. Rose fell to the ground before he fled out the front door. He did not see Kirtdoll again.
Krystal Barber saw Yates at the club, but they did not speak to each other. She knew Yates because they had been in a romantic relationship and had a daughter together. Barber also knew Kirtdoll, whom she called "Blu" or "Tru," from a previous romantic relationship.
According to Barber, she was standing near the back door when she saw Kirtdoll enter. He was 5 to 6 feet away wearing a black "hoody" with the hood up as well as a team jacket. She thought Kirtdoll looked "suspicious" and he "had his hands in his pockets." When he walked onto the dance floor, Barber turned away. When she heard gunshots, she turned around and saw Kirtdoll standing over Yates while shooting. She then saw Kirtdoll run out the back door.
Jesse Klinefelter was the club DJ that night. When the shots were fired, he was inside the DJ booth. According to Klinefelter, he did not see the shooter but saw "[b]right flashes of light" and heard "five to seven shots" coming from the back door area. He then took cover and called 911 on his cell phone. After Klinefelter left the booth, he saw Yates lying on the floor. Because he saw that Yates had bullet holes in his back, he applied pressure to try to stop the bleeding. According to Klinefelter, Yates told him: "Tru fucking shot me."
Loretta Atwood was also present. When she heard the shots, she crawled under a pool table. Approximately 5 minutes later, she looked up and saw two men with green bandanas on their faces running out the back door. Atwood did not see who had fired the gun.
Christopher Butts was working as the club bouncer. According to him, he was in the VIP room when he heard four or five shots fired from near the back door. After the shots, he saw a black individual wearing dark clothing run out the back door. Butts gave chase for four to five car lengths, but stopped running when he saw a police car behind the club.
Prior to the shooting, Topeka Police Officer Chris Bowers responded to a group of women fighting in front of the club. After that episode, he drove to a parking area near RP's to write an incident report and to investigate a specific car. While Bowers was looking at the car, he noticed a group of males standing outside of the club's back door. He directed his spotlight at the males and they dispersed. Dispatch then relayed that a shooting had occurred inside of the club. Once Bowers entered the club, he found Yates lying on the dance floor approximately 5 feet from the back door. Although he performed CPR, Yates did not regain consciousness. Bowers also saw a white female victim lying next to Yates.
On March 7, 2003, Kirtdoll was charged with one count of murder in the first degree for Yates' death and two counts of aggravated battery for the gunshots to Willmore and Clairborne. After he was arrested in Nevada, he was extradited back to Kansas.
The case proceeded to jury trial in January 2004. Christine Willmore, Robert Rose, Lakisha Brooks, Krystal Barber, Demetria Rucker, Angela O'Neal, Jesse Klinefelter, Christopher Butts, Antoinette Claiborne, and Officer Chris Bowers were among those testifying on behalf of the State. Loretta Atwood testified on behalf of the defense. The jury found Kirtdoll guilty of all charges. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 50 years (the hard 50) for the first-degree murder conviction and two 41-month sentences for the aggravated battery convictions. The sentences were ordered to run consecutively.
The State filed a motion for a hearing under Jackson v. Denno, 378 U.S. 368, 84 S.Ct. 1774, 12 L.Ed.2d 908 (1964), to determine the voluntariness and admissibility of a statement given by Kirtdoll to Detective Volle of the Topeka Police Department. Citing Miranda v. Arizona, 384 U.S. 436, 86 S.Ct. 1602, 16 L.Ed.2d 694 (1966), Kirtdoll argues that he did not waive his Miranda rights and the district court consequently erred in concluding his statement was voluntary. The State responds that his statement was voluntary because it occurred after his acknowledgment of his Miranda rights, and a voluntary waiver of those rights can be inferred from the surrounding circumstances, citing North Carolina v. Butler, 441 U.S. 369...
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