State v. McDowell

── State v. McDowell ── Court: Court of Appeals of Kansas Date: June 05, 2026 Category: General MODIFIED OPINION1 NOT DESIGNATED FOR PUBLICATION No. 127,068 IN THE COURT OF APPEALS OF THE STATE OF KANSAS STATE OF KANSAS, Appellee, v. DRAVEN LYNN MCDOWELL, Appellant. MEMORANDUM OPINION Appeal from Miami District Court; AMY L. HARTH, judge. Submitted without oral argument. Original opinion filed May 8, 2026. Modified opinion filed June 5, 2026. Affirmed. Jennifer C. Roth, of Kansas Appellate Defender Office, for appellant. Steven J. Obermeier, assistant solicitor general, and Kris W. Kobach, attorney general, for appellee. Before GARDNER, P.J., ARNOLD-BURGER and SCHROEDER, JJ. PER CURIAM: A jury convicted Draven Lynn McDowell of aggravated battery and criminal restraint following a joint trial with his father, Casey Stephen McDowell. Draven appeals, arguing that the district court violated his right to present a complete defense by refusing to instruct the jury on self-defense. He also claims the district court 1 REPORTER’S NOTE: Opinion No. 127,068 was modified by the Court of Appeals on June 5, 2026, in response to the Appellant’s motion for rehearing/modification filed May 20, 2026. The modified language was added to slip op. at 11-14. 1 improperly ordered him to register as a violent offender under the Kansas Offender Registration Act (KORA). Finding no error, we affirm. FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND Another panel of our court recently decided Casey's appeal from his convictions, in State v. McDowell, No. 127,361, 2026 WL 252907 (Kan. App. 2026) (unpublished opinion). For consistency, and because the same facts are shown in our record, we adopt that panel's recitation of the facts: "The McDowells and Ballard, a trash collector, had a hostile relationship that led to the McDowells attacking Ballard on his route. "On October 8, 2020, Casey and Draven McDowell (McDowells), father and son, lived in a neighborhood in Miami County where Terry Ballard worked for L&K Waste Management as a trash collector and drove a trash truck. For reasons that are not important to this appeal, Casey and Ballard had a history of disagreement and tense confrontations. "The altercation at the heart of this case began when Draven drove a dirt bike directly in front of Ballard's truck, stopped, and acted like the bike had run out of fuel. The McDowells and Ballard then had a series of interactions involving Casey's four- wheeler, Draven's dirt bike, and Ballard's truck that culminated with Draven and Casey trying to open the door to Ballard's truck. "Draven then tried to climb into the cab of the truck, so Ballard kicked Draven trying to knock him out of the cab. Casey grabbed both of Ballard's legs, pulled him sideways in his seat, and tried to pull him out of the cab. "After Casey held Ballard's legs, Draven climbed into the truck and repeatedly punched Ballard's face and head for several minutes. At the same time, Ballard reached down and punched the gas pedal, hoping Draven would leave in response. The truck started moving but Draven continued hitting Ballard. Ballard eventually grabbed Draven by his throat. The truck moved around 50 yards throughout the fight and ultimately stopped in a ditch. Draven then got out of the truck. According to Ballard, Draven's dirt bike was '[w]added up in a ball underneath the truck' by the time the truck stopped.