State v. Ransom
| Decision Date | 24 July 2009 |
| Docket Number | No. 99,794.,99,794. |
| Citation | 212 P.3d 203 |
| Parties | STATE of Kansas, Appellee, v. Karlan D. RANSOM, Appellant. |
| Court | Kansas Supreme Court |
Nancy Ogle, of Ogle Law Office, L.L.C., of Wichita, argued the cause and was on the brief for appellant.
Matt J. Maloney, assistant district attorney, argued the cause, and Nola Tedesco Foulston, district attorney, and Steve Six, attorney general, were with him on the brief for appellee.
A jury convicted Karlan D. Ransom of two counts of felony murder and two counts of attempted aggravated robbery. On this direct appeal Ransom argues that evidence seized from his house should have been suppressed because his girlfriend either did not consent or consented involuntarily, or because law enforcement did not seek his consent; that evidence regarding items found in the house was irrelevant and unduly prejudicial; and that he should have been permitted to strike a prospective juror for cause.
On the evening of March 20, 2006, Ransom; Christopher Gant; Jeremy Miles; and Ransom's cousin, Kendrall, attempted an aggravated robbery, which led to the death of Donta McDonald. Later that evening, Ransom and two of the others attempted a second aggravated robbery of a drug house, which led to the death of Christopher Spain Bey. We previously discussed events leading up to and immediately following the two attempted aggravated robberies and felony murders in State v. Gant, 288 Kan. 76, 201 P.3d 673 (2009), and State v. Ransom, 288 Kan. 697, 207 P.3d 208 (2009). Another complete recitation of these events is not necessary here.
Two days after the crimes, Detective Jason Pfeiffer of the Wichita Police Department (WPD) received an anonymous tip, leading officers to a house rented by Ransom's girlfriend, Sharondi Washington. There, officers conducted a warrantless search, finding several weapons. The State charged Ransom with two counts of felony first-degree murder under K.S.A. 21-3401(b) and two counts of attempted aggravated robbery under K.S.A. 21-3301 and K.S.A. 21-3427.
Ransom filed a motion to suppress the evidence seized from the house, arguing that the officers lacked Washington's consent. At the motion hearing, Washington testified that, on the evening of the search, 9 or 10 officers surrounded her house, pounded on her door and windows, and yelled that they wanted to talk about a homicide. Washington testified that she called her grandmother and informed the officers that she would not step outside until her grandmother arrived. According to Washington, the officers nevertheless continued to pound on the windows of the house, yelling that they would get a search warrant.
Washington testified that she finally saw her grandmother arrive, stepped out of the house, and had a friend lock the door behind her. An officer immediately approached and asked if she would talk to him in a patrol car. She agreed, sitting in the passenger seat. One officer sat in the driver seat and another in the back seat.
Washington insisted throughout her testimony that, despite the officers' persistence, she never consented to a search of her house. She acknowledged that she admitted there was marijuana in the house and that she provided false names of the people inside. Washington also testified that she informed the officers twice that she needed to use the bathroom. Eventually, she said, one of the officers left the car and another came back. That officer told her that she could use the bathroom in the house as long as an officer accompanied her. Washington testified that she agreed to this arrangement because she "really had to go"; Washington then returned to the house and asked her friend to open the door. As the door opened, she said, officers pushed her to one side and ran in. Washington said that she was then escorted back to the car.
Several officers also testified at the motion to suppress hearing, disputing certain elements of Washington's evidence.
WPD Detective Patrick Leon testified that six to eight detectives and officers surrounded Washington's house and knocked on the door. Washington walked outside and agreed to talk with Leon and Detective Brad Elmore in an unmarked car. Washington admitted there was marijuana in the house. Soon thereafter, Elmore left the car, and Leon asked Washington for her consent to search the house; Washington consented. Officers then accompanied Washington to the house so she could inform the individuals inside to open the door. Leon explained that Washington did not go into the house at that time, but he believed that she was permitted to use the bathroom after officers completed their search.
Elmore also testified, saying detectives asked Washington to talk in the car only because it was snowing at the time. Elmore also stated that he left the car because he wanted to inform his supervising lieutenant, Jeff Easter, that Washington had admitted there was marijuana in the house. Elmore testified that he and Easter agreed they should seek a search warrant for the house. Elmore then returned to the car, where he learned that in his absence Washington had consented to a search of the house. Elmore said he then confirmed Washington's consent;
Pfeiffer also testified, describing the entry into the house and the search. Once Pfeiffer came through the door, he said, he immediately discovered Ransom and Miles walking down stairs to the main level. Both men were patted down and seated on a couch. Pfeiffer then went into the kitchen and walked down stairs leading to the basement. There, he lifted a mattress and discovered two handguns and a sawed off shotgun. Pfeiffer said Ransom and Miles were then handcuffed and taken to be interviewed. On cross-examination, Pfeiffer admitted that officers and detectives knocked on Washington's doors and windows for 10 minutes before she came outside.
Easter testified that Elmore had approached him about applying for a search warrant because of Washington's admission about the marijuana in the house. Easter disputed Washington's story that she waited to step outside until her grandmother arrived, testifying that Washington's grandmother did not come to the scene until officers were entering the house.
Washington's grandmother testified that she drove to Washington's house to drop off Washington's sister, Sasha Beard. The grandmother said that Washington had not called her, and she was unaware officers were at Washington's house until she arrived.
Beard testified that Washington had called her and said that several officers were surrounding the house. Once Beard arrived at the house, she said, she called Washington and told her to come outside. An officer then approached the car in which the grandmother and Beard were sitting and asked Beard if she lived in the house. Beard said yes, and the officer asked her to sit in a police car. Beard testified that she and Washington were eventually placed in the same car. While together, she heard officers ask Washington for consent to search the house. Washington said no. Beard also testified that at some point Washington asked to use the bathroom; the officers agreed; they took Washington to the door and then rushed into the house.
Ransom testified that he stayed six out of seven nights at Washington's house and kept clothes, shoes, a toothbrush, and hygiene products there. He said his mail was delivered to another address. Ransom also testified that he helped Washington pay rent and for food and medicine. He also claimed that he was not aware officers were beginning to search the house while he sat on the couch.
The district judge determined that Ransom had standing to pursue the motion to suppress but rejected the motion on its merits. The judge ruled:
The case proceeded to trial where, during voir dire, a prospective juror, employed as a home health nurse, admitted that she might have trouble presuming Ransom's innocence:
. . . .
. . . .
Ransom later requested that this prospective juror be removed for cause. When the district judge refused to remove the...
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