State v. Littlejohn

• Decision Date: 14 January 2014
• Docket Number: No. 105,872.,105,872.
• Parties: STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Kedrin LITTLEJOHN, Appellant.
• Court: Kansas Supreme Court

298 Kan. 632

316 P.3d 136

STATE of Kansas, Appellee,

v.Kedrin LITTLEJOHN, Appellant.

No. 105,872.

Supreme Court of Kansas.

Jan. 14, 2014.

Syllabus by the Court

1. K.S.A. 22–3414(3) creates a procedural hurdle when a party fails to object because the statute establishes a preservation rule for jury instruction claims on appeal. It provides, in part, that no party may assign as error a district court's giving or failure to give a particular jury instruction, including a lesser included offense instruction, unless the giving or failure to give the instruction is clearly erroneous. If it is clearly erroneous, appellate review is not predicated upon an objection in the district court.

2. To establish that the giving or failure to give a jury instruction was clearly erroneous, the reviewing court must determine whether there was any error at all. This requires demonstrating that giving the proposed instruction would have been both legally and factually appropriate, employing an unlimited review of the entire record. And if error is found on that basis, then the court moves to a reversibility inquiry in which it assesses whether it is firmly convinced the jury would have reached a different verdict had the instruction been given. The defendant maintains the burden to establish the degree of prejudice necessary for reversal.

3. When reviewing a district court ruling on a motion to suppress a confession, an appellate court reviews the factual underpinnings of the decision under a substantial competent evidence standard. The ultimate legal conclusion drawn from those facts is reviewed de novo. The appellate court does not reweigh the evidence, assess the credibility of the witnesses, or resolve conflicting evidence.

4. A defendant challenging the sufficiency of the charging document for the first time on appeal must show the alleged defect (1) prejudiced the defendant's preparation of a defense; (2) impaired the defendant's ability to plead the conviction in any subsequent prosecution; or (3) limited the defendant's substantial rights to a fair trial.

5. Failure to support a point with pertinent authority or show why it is sound despite a lack of supporting authority or in the face of contrary authority is akin to failing to brief the issue. An issue not briefed by the appellant is deemed waived and abandoned.

6. It has long been the law of Kansas that an accusatory pleading in a criminal action may, in order to meet the exigencies of proof, charge the commission of the same offense in different ways. Furthermore, in an alternative means case, the State is not required to elect one means or another when presenting its case to the jury or when requesting jury instructions.

7. When the sufficiency of the evidence is challenged in a criminal case, this court reviews such claims by looking at all the evidence in a light most favorable to the prosecution and determining whether a rational factfinder could have found the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. In determining whether there is sufficient evidence to support a conviction, the appellate court generally will not reweigh the evidence or evaluate the credibility of witnesses.

8. A letter of additional authority pursuant to Supreme Court Rule 6.09(b) (2013 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 50) is reserved for citing significant relevant authorities not previously cited in the party's brief which come to the party's attention after briefing. Appellate courts will not consider new issues raised for the first time in a party's Rule 6.09(b) letter.

9. Cumulative trial errors, when considered collectively, may require reversal of the defendant's convictions when the totality of circumstances substantially prejudiced the defendant and denied the defendant a fair trial. If the evidence is overwhelming against the defendant, however, no prejudicial error may be found based upon this cumulative error rule. Furthermore, a single error cannot constitute cumulative error.

Catherine A. Zigtema, of Maughan & Maughan LC, of Wichita, argued the cause, and Carl F.A. Maughan, of the same firm, was with her on the brief for appellant.

Matt J. Maloney, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Nola Tedesco Foulston, district attorney, and Derek Schmidt, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellee.

The opinion of the court was delivered by ROSEN, J.:

A jury found Kedrin Littlejohn guilty of felony murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated assault. The district court sentenced Littlejohn to a hard 20 life sentence plus a consecutive sentence of 277 months' imprisonment.

On appeal, Littlejohn raises several issues regarding the jury instructions given in this case. Additionally, he argues that (1) the district court erred in denying his motion to suppress the statements he made to detectives after being Mirandized; (2) the complaint filed against him was defective because each crime charged contained alternative means for committing the crime alleged; (3) the State presented insufficient evidence to convict him of any crime; and (4) cumulative error denied him his right to a fair trial.

We find that none of the issues raised by Littlejohn have merit; accordingly, we affirm his convictions.

Facts

On the morning of May 12, 2008, Littlejohn and Shannon Bogguess went to Jim Collins' used vehicle dealership in Wichita with a handgun, intending to take money from Collins by force. Bogguess and Littlejohn confronted Collins inside the dealership. When Collins resisted, Bogguess shot him in the leg. Bogguess and Littlejohn then put Collins in a Hummer motor vehicle that was at the business in an attempt to take Collins to an ATM, where they intended to force him to withdraw cash for them. As they were driving the Hummer down St. Francis Street in Wichita, Collins jumped from the moving vehicle into the street.

At approximately 8 a.m., several witnesses at the scene saw Bogguess and Littlejohn attempt to pick Collins up and get him back into the Hummer. When onlookers started to yell at Bogguess and Littlejohn, Littlejohn ran back to the Hummer and got into the front passenger seat. Bogguess stood by Collins for a few moments before running to the Hummer. Bogguess then walked back to where Collins was sitting in the street and shot him in the neck/shoulder area. Bogguess ran back to the Hummer, got into the driver's seat, and drove the vehicle south down the street.

After the Hummer drove off, Jeremy Linot, a witness at the scene, ran out to the middle of the street to help Collins. Linot saw that Collins was trying to roll to his left in an attempt to stand up. As Linot was aiding Collins, someone yelled out to him to look out. Linot looked up and saw that the Hummer had turned around and was heading back towards them. Linot reacted by trying to drag Collins off the street, but he had to give up his efforts in order to dodge the Hummer. The Hummer sped by, running over Collins.

The Hummer proceeded north on St. Francis Street and eventually turned west onto Lewis Street. Shortly thereafter, police and medical personnel arrived, and Collins was pronounced dead at the scene at 8:20 a.m. A crime scene investigator collected a cell phone and a 9 mm cartridge casing at the scene. It was later determined that the cell phone belonged to Bogguess.

David Dresher was walking east on Lewis Street a little after 8 a.m. when he saw the Hummer traveling very fast in the opposite direction. Dresher saw the Hummer drive through a stop sign and eventually come to a stop in the middle of the street where it remained for a few moments before backing up and driving into an alleyway on the south side of Lewis Street between Broadway and Topeka Streets. Dresher kept walking and eventually saw a police car come speeding from the west. Dresher realized that the police were probably looking for the Hummer, so he flagged the officer down and directed him to the alleyway where he had last seen the Hummer.

A second officer, John Duff, was driving his police car east on Lewis when he saw a man, later identified as Littlejohn, standing on the northwest corner of Lewis and Broadway Streets. Duff made eye contact with Littlejohn but continued east on Lewis in search of the Hummer. Duff saw that a police car was pulled over on Lewis and that an officer was speaking to Dresher, who was pointing back towards the west. Duff continued driving east on Lewis but soon turned around when he saw that the officer had driven his car further to the west, parked, and gotten out of his car with his gun drawn. Duff joined the officer at that position where they eventually located the Hummer parked in the alleyway. After determining that no one was inside the Hummer or in the alley, the officers secured the area and reported the Hummer's license plate and vehicle identification numbers to dispatch.

After performing these duties, Duff was standing in the parking lot of a nearby Chinese restaurant when Littlejohn approached him. Littlejohn was breathing hard, sweating, and spitting—behavior Duff believed indicated that Littlejohn had been running. Duff recognized Littlejohn as the man he had previously seen standing on the corner of Lewis and Broadway, but at that time, Duff did not notice Littlejohn breathing hard, sweating, or spitting.

Littlejohn told Duff that he had been robbed, a story which amazed Duff considering the number of police cars traveling through the area that morning. Duff asked Littlejohn what had been taken from him, and Littlejohn said his cell phone. Duff asked Littlejohn where the robbery had occurred, and Littlejohn pointed at the Hummer and said that “they” had done it. Duff asked Littlejohn for his name, and Littlejohn told him that his name was Deidra Howard.

Littlejohn told Duff that the people in the Hummer had robbed him of his cell phone at gunpoint and made him get into the Hummer in the area of Douglas and Hillside Streets, an area quite a distance away...