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Topeka, Kansas felony murder criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant.



Larry D. Huggins III appeals from his convictions of felony murder, attempted aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary, and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. Finding no errors in his trial, we affirm the convictions, but we vacate the imposition of fees and remand the case for reconsideration of the fees.

FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A series of unfortunate events beginning on November 11, 2019, resulted in the deaths of two young men the following day. At that time, 15-year-old O.H. lived in a house on Southeast Maryland Avenue in Topeka. O.H. sometimes sold marijuana, and his friend Z.M. occasionally helped him with that enterprise. O.H. generally carried a 9-millimeter semiautomatic gun in a holster on his waist.

Fourteen-year-old J.B. was an acquaintance of O.H. Beginning on November 11, J.B. initiated a series of electronic messages with Larry Huggins, responding to a video J.B. saw posted on Huggins' Facebook account. In the course of these messages, J.B. suggested that O.H. would be a good target for a robbery. These messages initially took place through Facebook, and then the two began texting each other.

J.B. told Huggins that O.H. had firearms, marijuana, and money. J.B. also sent a picture of Z.M. holding a handgun and an assault rifle. The two agreed that J.B. could pretend to buy marijuana and Huggins would then steal any drugs, money, or guns he could find. J.B. would pretend to be a victim as well and later meet up with Huggins to divide up the stolen property. They contemplated committing the robbery that evening, but the plan did not materialize because they could not procure a car.

The two resumed their electronic dialogue the next morning. When J.B. told Huggins to let him know what was going on, Huggins replied: "Let's do that." They continued discussing their strategy for carrying out the robbery. J.B. was to meet Huggins outside when Huggins showed up with a car.

Early that afternoon, Reginald McKinney drove to pick up a longtime friend at the bus station. When McKinney arrived, two other youths were in the car with him: D.P. and Huggins. The friend noticed that Huggins was holding a semiautomatic handgun on his lap. McKinney dropped the friend off, and McKinney, D.P., and Huggins proceeded to pick up J.B. The four then drove to O.H.'s house.

That afternoon, O.H. picked Z.M. up from school, and the two eventually arrived at O.H.'s house, where they played video games in his bedroom. A while later, J.B. showed up and asked for a ride home. O.H. repeatedly told J.B. no. J.B. remained in O.H.'s house, and he told O.H. there were people in the front yard. J.B. said he knew the
people and would go out to talk with them. As he started to leave the house, he was holding O.H.'s handgun, but O.H. told him to give it back before he went outside.

After talking with the people outside, J.B. returned to the house and said they wanted to use a phone. Both O.H. and Z.M. said no, and J.B. went back outside and spoke briefly again with the people gathered there.

Shortly after J.B. came back in the house, the three people came up to the door and knocked. O.H. opened the door slightly, and the people pushed in the door and rushed in the house. At least one of the intruders was holding a firearm.

J.B. and D.P. went into O.H.'s bedroom, where Z.M. was standing. D.P. asked Z.M. where "the big gun" was, and Z.M. told him it was behind the door. As D.P. went to take the gun, Z.M. heard O.H. yelling, "No, please, please." Then O.H., who was in the living room, began to fire shots.

Huggins turned and ran from the house, sustaining a bullet wound to his leg as he ran. McKinney also ran from the house, but he fell down outside the door. As he lay on the porch, he fired up towards O.H., who was shooting down at him. A mortally wounded McKinney made his way across the yard before collapsing on the ground.

When the shooting began, D.P. and J.B. hid in a closet in the bedroom. After the shooting stopped, D.P. ran out of the house, and J.B. walked out behind him, taking one of the guns with him. He walked over to where McKinney was lying in the yard and stayed with him until the police arrived and determined McKinney was deceased.

When the shooting stopped, Z.M. came out of the bedroom. O.H. walked toward him, leaned against a wall, and asked if he was okay. O.H. then slid down to the floor and did not move again. He died from two gunshot wounds, one to the chest and one to the groin area. Z.M. called the police.

Meanwhile, Huggins sent a text to a woman with whom he was involved, telling her he was "hit." He later asked her to pick him up. She drove him to the home of his stepmother, who gave him some pain medication she had on hand from a recent surgery, and the three then drove to a hospital. Police officers arrived at the hospital, and the woman consented to a search of her car. Police found and confiscated Huggins' cell phone.

When Huggins was released from the hospital that evening in a wheelchair, the police took him into custody. After about a four-hour wait at the police headquarters, they interviewed him. He denied any involvement in the shooting at O.H.'s house, claiming that he had received his bullet wound in a driveby shooting somewhere else in town. The police released him, but they conducted a second interview with him two days later, and he continued to contend he had nothing to do with events leading to McKinney's and O.H.'s deaths.

Police later obtained a search warrant for Huggins' Facebook account, and Facebook supplied information that included messages sent and received on that account. Police also obtained text messages recovered from Huggins' phone.

At trial, Huggins testified on his own behalf. He told the jury much the same sequence of events that other witnesses recounted, but, in his version, by the time the youths picked up J.B. on the day of the shootings, Huggins had decided not to rob O.H. and instead intended to simply buy some marijuana from him.

Huggins dissociated himself from any criminal intent at the time of the shootings. He said he did not tell D.P. or McKinney about the robbery plan he had formulated with J.B. He testified he never went into O.H.'s house because he got shot when he reached the threshold. He did not remember going to the hospital, and he told the jury he made up a story at his interview because an inmate had once told him he should always provide an alibi defense. He denied owning a gun, but he admitted on cross-examination that he tried to sell a gun for $260 on Facebook after the shootings.

Outcome:
The jury found Huggins guilty on all four counts: first-degree felony murder; attempted aggravated robbery; aggravated burglary; and conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery. He was sentenced to a hard 25 life sentence for the murder conviction. He received a consecutive sentence of 32 months for attempted aggravated robbery, another consecutive sentence of 71 months for aggravated burglary, and a concurrent sentence of 32 months for conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery, for a controlling term of a minimum 25 years plus 103 months. He was also ordered to pay $2500 as BIDS attorney fees.

Affirmed

State v. Huggins, 125,573 (Kan. Aug 30, 2024)

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