State v. Martinez

The opinion of the court was delivered by

Six, J.:

This case requires a focus on venue in the consideration of probable cause during a preliminary hearing.

Beatrice Martinez was charged with theft of a vehicle under K.S.A. 21-3701. A car stolen from a Wichita (Sedgwick County) parking lot was discovered on fire the next day in Harvey County. Martinez had been in the stolen car with another individual who confessed to having set it on fire. The district court dismissed the complaint against Martinez based on the absence of probable cause.

The State appeals the dismissal of the complaint. Our…