Supreme Court rules on Wyandotte County stalking case

The Kansas Supreme Court today affirmed Samuel Chavez’ stalking and criminal threat convictions from Wyandotte County District Court.

The court also rejected Chavez’ challenge to the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the stalking conviction.

The court also held Chavez was not entitled to a jury instruction on the victim’s implied waiver of a protection from abuse order because a protected person cannot unilaterally modify or extinguish a court order.

Chavez was convicted of aggravated burglary, stalking and criminal threat stemming from events that took place between him and his estranged spouse in 2014.

The Court of Appeals earlier reversed the aggravated burglary conviction, and today the Supreme Court upheld the Court of Appeals’ action reversing it, while also upholding the stalking and criminal threat convictions.

The decision is online at http://www.kscourts.org/Cases-and-Opinions/opinions/SupCt/2019/20190823/115602.pdf.