State v. Phillips, 287 P.3d 245

Phillips was convicted of first-degree felony murder, two counts of aggravated robbery, and firearm possession after a shooting at a Wichita home where Moya died.
Phillips claimed the court failed to instruct on lesser included offenses (second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter) and self-defense.
Phillips argued the State failed to prove Moya’s murder occurred during the underlying felonies.
The State argued the record did not require or preserve those lesser instructions and that any misstatements were harmless.
The court vacated the lifetime postrelease supervision portion of Phillips’ sentence, affirming the convictions.
Key factual context includes: Phillips planned to rob a house, obtained money during the incident, then shot Moya after a confrontation; two other victims were robbed at gunpoint in the same house; Phillips fled, used an alias, and lied to police.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument	Defendant's Argument	Held
Lesser included offenses and self-defense were required	Phillips: should have been instructed on second-degree murder and voluntary manslaughter and on self-defense	State: no obligation to give those instructions after premeditated murder charge was dismissed	No error in failing to give those instructions; waiver and preservation rules apply
Moya’s murder occurred during the underlying felonies	Phillips: insufficient evidence to link murder to ongoing felonies	State: evidence shows res gestae and causal connection between felonies and death	Sufficient evidence established the murder occurred during the res gestae of aggravated robberies
Prosecutorial misconduct in closing arguments	Misstated law by saying robberies were not completed until leaving the house	State: statements were justified as discussing res gestae; no ill will shown	Misstatement found but harmless; proper felony-murder instruction supplied; no reversal required
Admissibility of flight and alias evidence	Flight and alias evidence prejudicial or irrelevant	Evidence admissible to show consciousness of guilt and identity	Admission was within discretion; probative value outweighed prejudice; not reversible error
Lifetime postrelease supervision on off-grid life sentence	Sentence illegitimate; postrelease supervision cannot accompany off-grid indeterminate life	Court may impose postrelease supervision	Vacate lifetime postrelease supervision portion; affirm convictions

State v. Berry, 292 Kan. 493 (Kan. 2011) (felony murder proof and res gestae discussed; lesser included offenses context)
State v. Williams, 295 Kan. 506 (Kan. 2012) (clear error standard for instruction issues; preservation rules)
State v. Kaesontae, 260 Kan. 386 (Kan. 1996) (chain of events continuing after attempted robbery; res gestae)
State v. Branch and Bussey, 223 Kan. 381 (Kan. 1979) (early precedent on res gestae and causation in homicide felonies)
State v. Jackson, 280 Kan. 541 (Kan. 2005) (instructional and evidentiary standards in criminal trials)