State v. Kihega

Summary

The Supreme Court of South Dakota affirmed Roger Lee Kihega’s convictions for first-degree robbery and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. The court held that accomplice testimony was sufficiently corroborated by physical evidence, testimony, Kihega’s association with the other robbers, and his own statements. The court also upheld the admission of challenged evidence and rejected Kihega’s confrontation-clause claim.

Holdings

1. The State presented sufficient corroborating evidence tending to connect Kihega with the robbery, and the circuit court properly denied his motion for judgment of acquittal.
2. The circuit court did not abuse its discretion by admitting the recordings of Kihega's jailhouse conversations with his wife because the statements were relevant circumstantial evidence of consciousness of guilt and were not unfairly prejudicial or protected by spousal privilege.
3. The circuit court properly admitted the exchange because the wife's question was not an assertion offered for its truth and Kihega's answer was relevant circumstantial evidence rebutting his alibi.
4. Any error in admitting Neal's testimony that he had learned from others that Kihega moved from place to place was harmless.
5. Neal's limited testimony that he had corroborated some of Washington's account through an interview with Two Hearts did not violate the Sixth Amendment because it did not repeat Two Hearts's statements or offer them for their truth, and Neal was available for cross-examination.
6. Kihega's fifty-year sentence, with twelve years suspended and parole eligibility, was not grossly disproportionate to his first-degree robbery offense and did not violate the Eighth Amendment.

Questions Presented

1. Whether Washington's accomplice testimony was sufficiently corroborated under SDCL 23A-22-8.
2. Whether the circuit court abused its discretion by admitting jailhouse telephone recordings, rebuttal testimony about an April 16 telephone call, and testimony concerning Kihega's living arrangements.
3. Whether Detective Neal's limited testimony that he had corroborated Washington's account through an interview with unavailable accomplice Gregory Two Hearts violated Kihega's Sixth Amendment right of confrontation.
4. Whether Kihega's sentence violated the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment or constituted an abuse of sentencing discretion.

Disposition

affirmed