The Kansas Supreme Court recently clarified the timeframe for premeditation in a murder case while reviewing the appeal of Francisco “Frankie” Alejandro Mendez, who was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a Washburn University football player and the wounding of another player. Mendez was involved in a three-day crime spree in 2019 that led to the shooting of the players after a party celebrating one player’s NFL draft selection.
The court overturned three of Mendez’s convictions for aggravated robbery due to lack of evidence but upheld all other convictions. They found that while a prosecutor’s claim that premeditation could occur in a single second was erroneous, stating it could happen in five seconds was not inaccurate.
The court’s opinion highlighted the events leading up to the shootings, where Mendez and others approached the players in a car, asked if they had marijuana, and then began shooting when the players said they didn’t have any drugs. The court determined that sufficient evidence of premeditation existed based on the sequence of events.
In addition to the murder and shootings, Mendez was also involved in another incident where he and accomplices robbed individuals in a park in Topeka.
The Supreme Court’s decision, which included a concurring opinion from Justice Evelyn Wilson, clarified the legal standards for premeditation and the criteria for aggravated robbery convictions in Mendez’s case.
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Photo credit kansasreflector.com
