Kansas Supreme Court reverses Wyandotte County murder conviction over flawed prosecution
The Kansas Supreme Court on Friday overturned the felony murder conviction and vacated the life prison sentence of a man accused of killing an 18-year-old during a botched marijuana sale in Kansas City, Kansas.
Tirrell L. Stuart, 27, was found guilty by a Wyandotte County jury of first-degree felony murder for fatally shooting Emilio Lopez nearly five years ago. But a majority of justices on the state’s highest court found that county prosecutors failed to prove an underlying condition of drug distribution that Stuart’s conviction relied upon.
Felony murder is defined under Kansas law as killing a person while committing or attempting another inherently dangerous felony. In order to secure a conviction on such a charge, prosecutors must establish elements of the underlying crime.
The justices also noted state and federal legal precedents that prohibit a second trial when a conviction is reversed on insufficient evidence.
A spokesman for District Attorney Mark Dupree’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday.
Neither did an attorney with the Kansas Appellate Defender Office who handled Stuart’s appeal.
Lopez was killed Jan. 24, 2020. Prosecutors alleged Stuart, accompanied by 19-year-old Hanna Lindsay and her younger sister, a minor, went to the 8000 block of Greeley Avenue in the Victory Hills neighborhood to buy $200 worth of marijuana from Lopez.
A larger group of friends had purchased a smaller amount for $50 earlier on, prosecutors said, and wanted to buy more. During the second deal, the trio parked outside of a residence as Lopez walked out and approached the front passenger window.
After handing over the marijuana, Lopez noticed something off with the money, according to prosecutors, believing the bills were fake. He snatched the drugs back, turned toward the residence and Stuart fired a single shot from the rear passenger seat, according to prosecutors.
Lopez died in the front yard.
During arguments on appeal, Stuart’s defense cast little doubt on the state’s assertion that Stuart actually shot and killed Lopez. Rather, the arguments presented before the Kansas Supreme Court rested on whether Stuart ever possessed the marijuana and if his future intentions met a legal definition of drug distribution.
Assistant District Attorney Claire Kebodeaux argued the state met required elements under the law, saying a person could reasonably infer Stuart intended to share the purchased drugs with others.
“I respectfully disagree that sharing marijuana among friends is not distribution,” Kebodeaux said during oral arguments last November, as justices quizzed her on those points. “But I think in this case it is specific that Stuart was buying it to go share it with the friends both in the car and back at the apartment.”
In siding with Stuart, five justices joined in the written opinion released Friday that overturned his conviction. The justices identified prosecutorial errors during the trial, including a closing argument that “glaringly misstated the law on distribution.”
“And nowhere in the State’s closing did it mention it had to prove — or did prove — Stuart intended to transfer the marijuana to someone else after buying it,” Justice Dan Biles wrote in the majority opinion. “The State even conceded at oral argument to this court that its prosecution theory did not concern itself with Stuart’s intentions for the drug once he acquired it.”
Justices Caleb Stegall and Marla Luckert dissented. In an opposing opinion, Stegall wrote the testimony heard at trial presented enough evidence for “a reasonable juror to conclude that Stuart intended to distribute marijuana.”
Stegall pointed to testimony from witnesses supporting the theory that Stuart intended to share the marijuana with friends.
Both witnesses in the car testified against Stuart. Lindsay, the driver, was initially charged with felony murder and later pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of drug distribution. She was sentenced to 16 months in the Kansas Department of Corrections.
As of Friday, online state corrections records showed Stuart as a prisoner at the facility in Hutchinson.
