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State v. Deffebaugh5/14/2004
Charles R. Deffebaugh, Jr., appeals his conviction for one count of selling cocaine. Deffebaugh's conviction resulted from a controlled purchase of two rocks of cocaine by a police informant who was cooperating with the Coffeyville police to avoid prosecution for a DUI.
Before sending the informant to purchase the cocaine, the Coffeyville police searched the informant to verify that she had no drugs on her person or in her car. An officer attached a listening device under the informant's clothing so officers could monitor the controlled purchase. After recording the serial number for each bill, an officer gave the informant $30 for purchasing cocaine.
The informant drove to a house that Coffeyville police had been observing for drug activity and parked her car along the curb. Officers followed the informant to the location of the purchase and observed the transaction from a distance to avoid being detected. Four black males approached the informant's car. The officers were too far away to visually identify the men, but Detective Robson recognized two voices over the audio transmitter, one being that of Calvin Shobe.
The informant, who was not familiar with any of the men at her car, provided the officers with a description of the man named "Jimmie" who had taken her money and given her two rocks of cocaine. Based on the informant's description, Detective Robson prepared two photo lineups and showed them to the informant within 24 hours of the controlled purchase. The informant did not select any of the pictures in the first photo array but selected Deffebaugh's photo from the second photo array without hesitation.
Within 24 hours of the controlled purchase, Detective Robson obtained a search warrant for the house associated with the controlled purchase. When the warrant was executed, the police found Deffebaugh and 10 other black males in the house, along with cash, cocaine, and guns. Deffebaugh claimed ownership of some of the money found on the floor, including one of the marked bills from the controlled purchase.
At trial, Deffebaugh called Shobe to testify that Shobe was present at the controlled purchase but Deffebaugh was not there. The State objected to Shobe's testimony, claiming that Deffebaugh failed to give notice of an alibi defense. The trial court prohibited Shobe from testifying that Shobe was present at the controlled purchase but that Deffebaugh was not there.
A jury convicted Deffebaugh of one count of selling cocaine. Concluding that the trial court erroneously excluded Shobe's testimony, the Court of Appeals reversed Deffebaugh's conviction and ordered a new trial. State v. Deffebaugh, 31 Kan. App. 2d 1030, 77 P.3d 1277 (2003). We granted the State's petition for review.
The State argues that the trial court correctly prohibited Shobe from testifying regarding Deffebaugh's presence at the drug sale. The State contends that Shobe's testimony falls squarely under K.S.A. 22-3218, which requires a defendant to provide notice before offering evidence of an alibi. To resolve this issue, we must interpret K.S.A. 22-3218. The interpretation of a statute is a question of law over which this court has unlimited review. State v. Maass, 275 Kan. 328, 330, 64 P.3d 382 (2003).
As a fundamental rule of statutory interpretation, the court must look for the legislature's intent. The court presumes that the legislature expressed its intent through the language of the statutory scheme. If the language is plain and unambiguous, the court must give effect to the language as written without determining what the law should or should not be. State v. Gordon, 275 Kan. 393, 397, 66 P.3d 903 (2003).
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