Kansas Supreme Court upheld conviction in April 2020 homicide case in Topeka

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) – The Kansas Supreme Court upheld a conviction in an April 2020 homicide case involving three defendants in Topeka, Kan.

The three defendants, Diquan Clayton, James Boatwright and Davontra Alston, had been charged in the shooting death of D’Angelo Payne.

Kansas Supreme Court officials announced on Friday, July 5 that they affirmed Alston’s convictions in the Shawnee County District Court for first-degree murder and conspiracy in the case State of Kansas v. Davontra Leonard Alston.

Officials said the court rejected the Alston’s argument that a conviction under a theory for conspiracy punished the same behavior twice, which was an unconstitutional violation of the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Section 10 of the Kansas Constitution Bill of Rights.

Officials indicated the court reaffirmed the longstanding precedent that a conviction for conspiracy is a separate crime than a conviction for murder because conspiracy punishes the agreement to commit murder, while a murder conviction punishes the killing itself.

The court said they rejected Alston’s claims that he was entitled to a new trial based on various arguments of error at the trial court, holding that the district court did not abuse its discretion in denying a new trial.

On April 4, 2020, Shawnee Co. District Attorney Mike Kagay said law enforcement officials were called just before 11:30 p.m. to the area of 5th and Western with reports of a shooting.

Upon arrival, Kagay said officers found a 2001 Ford Taurus had left the road and crashed into the front yard of 512 SW Western. Payne was identified as the driver and only occupant of the vehicle. He had been suffering from a single gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Shawnee County District Attorney Mike Kagay said the investigation led to the arrest and charging of three co-defendants.

In January 2021, Kagay said the Court held a 3-day preliminary hearing for the three, which found probable cause and set them each for their own separate trials.

Kagay said in the case, the State of Kansas v. Davontra Alston, 20-CR-1714, a jury trial was held in May 2021, which found Alston guilty of the following and sentenced to 618 months, or 51.5 years, in prison:

• Murder in the First Degree, Premeditated
• Alternatively, Murder in the First Degree, Committed during an Inherently Dangerous Felony
• Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the First Degree, Premeditated
• Criminal Discharge of a Firearm into an Occupied Vehicle

In the case, the State of Kansas v. James Boatwright, 20-CR-637, a jury trial found Boatwright guilty of the following and sentencing had been scheduled for Dec. 17:

• Murder in the First Degree, Premeditated
• Alternatively, Murder in the First Degree, Committed during an Inherently Dangerous Felony
• Conspiracy to Commit Murder in the First Degree, Premeditated
• Criminal Discharge of a Firearm into an Occupied Vehicle

Kagay also said in the case of the State of Kansas v. Diquan Clayton, 20-CR-774, a jury trial had been set to start next week. However, on Friday, Clayton entered a plea of Guilty to First Degree Murder, Committed during an Inherently Dangerous Felony. He was sentenced following Boatwright at 3 p.m. on Dec. 17.

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