People v. Abrego

864 N.E.2d 858, 371 Ill. App. 3d 987, 309 Ill. Dec. 617, 2007 Ill. App. LEXIS 192
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided March 7, 2007·No. 1-04-3259·Published·Cited by 4 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE KARNEZIS

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, defendant Eruby Abrego was found guilty of first degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm and was sentenced to consecutive prison terms of 60 and 30 years, respectively. On appeal, defendant contends: (1) the trial court abused its discretion by excluding certain hearsay testimony that an individual other than defendant had confessed to the shooting; (2) the trial court erred by improperly responding to a note the jury sent to the court during deliberations; (3) the trial court abused its discretion by admitting “gruesome” photographs of the victim; (4) his sentence was excessive; and (5) the compulsory extraction and perpetual storing of his DNA is unconstitutional.

BACKGROUND

Defendant’s conviction was the result of an ongoing conflict between the Insane Orchestra Albany and the Latin Kings street gangs. The jury found defendant guilty of shooting Jose Garcia and Julio Lugo. Garcia died as a result of his injuries. On March 22, 1999, at about 5:30 or 5:45 p.m., defendant was riding in a car with several individuals who belonged to the Insane Orchestra Albany gang. They drove to the area of Belmont Avenue and Monticello Avenue where they saw another car with members of the Latin Kings gang. They flashed gang signs at the Latin Kings, “threw down” the Latin Kings sign and threw a bottle at their car. The car with the Latin Kings drove around the corner, and Julio Lugo and his 11-year-old cousin, Isidro Quinones, exited the car. Lugo and Quinones were walking toward a grocery store when they stopped to talk to Ramon Torres and Jose Garcia, who were sitting in a nearby car. As they were talking, defendant approached the group on foot and began shooting, hitting Garcia and Lugo. Defendant then fled.

Subsequently, defendant was arrested and identified in a lineup by Torres and Quinones as the shooter. Defendant also signed a court-reported statement admitting he was the shooter, which was introduced into evidence at trial. The gun used in the shooting was recovered from a fellow gang member’s home.

ANALYSIS

Defendant first contends that the trial court abused its discretion by excluding certain hearsay testimony that an individual other than defendant had confessed to the shooting. Prior to trial, defendant filed a motion pursuant to Chambers v. Mississippi, 410 U.S. 284, 35 L. Ed. 2d 297, 93 S. Ct. 1038 (1973), to admit statements made by Jason Rodriguez to his girlfriend, Elizabeth Montalvo, that Rodriguez was involved in the shooting. The court held a hearing on the matter.

At the hearing, Montalvo testified that on March 22, 1999, she had been living with Rodriguez for about six months. They also have a child together. On that night, Rodriguez told Montalvo that he had to take care of something or had to prove something and asked her to get his black “hoody.” Rodriguez left and returned about four hours later. Montalvo stated that when Rodriguez returned, he appeared very nervous and closed the window blinds. She asked him what was wrong, but he did not answer. A couple of days later, Rodriguez’s friend came to the house and told Rodriguez that he needed to hide. Montalvo stated that she would not let Rodriguez leave until he told her what was “going on.” Rodriguez told her that the reason he had to hide was because he shot a Latin King. He said that he was on Belmont Avenue, by himself, when he got out of his car and approached some individuals. He heard one of them say in Spanish “watch that black guy.” He approached the group, looked one of them in the eye and shot at them. He said that he shot two people. Montalvo stated that she was not sure where on Belmont Avenue the shooting occurred but guessed it was around Belmont Avenue and Central Park. Montalvo stated that after a few days, Rodriguez returned and told her that everything was all right because someone else had been charged with the shooting. Montalvo further stated that after she and Rodriguez broke up, he stalked her and beat her and told her not to tell anyone what he had told her. Montalvo described Rodriguez as about 5 feet 11 inches to 6 feet tall and dark complected with a heavy build. On cross-examination, Montalvo stated that Rodriguez left the house on the night of the shooting at about 6:30 or 7:30 p.m. When Rodriguez returned, he was wearing a T-shirt, blue jeans and white gym shoes.

Nicasio Santiago testified that on March 22, 1999, in the afternoon or early evening, he was riding in a car with Jason Rodriguez in the Logan Square neighborhood. According to Santiago, defendant was not with them. Santiago and Rodriguez exited the car and saw a group of Latin Kings around Belmont Avenue and Monticello Avenue. They exchanged gang signs with the Latin Kings and threw bottles at their car. He and Rodriguez walked around the corner and saw the Latin Kings’ car. Rodriguez approached the car and the individuals standing near the car and started shooting at them. He and Rodriguez then fled. Santiago described Rodriguez as about 5 feet 9 inches tall. On cross-examination, Santiago acknowledged that he had signed a statement written by an assistant State’s Attorney, but stated that the statement was untrue and the result of police brutality. According to the statement, he did not implicate Rodriguez in the shooting.

Julio Lugo testified that the shooter was dark complected, was shorter than 5 feet 8 inches or 5 feet 9 inches and was wearing a dark-colored jogging suit. He also described the shooter as “caramel complected.”

Detective Guevara testified that he and his partner interviewed Lugo after the shooting and Lugo described the shooter as a Hispanic male in his twenties, 5 feet 8 inches to 5 feet 10 inches tall, weighing about 200 pounds, and wearing a dark-colored jogging suit.

Officer Thesedosia Jaks testified that she wrote a police report from an interview with Ramon Torres and Julio Lugo. The report indicated that the shooter had been described as a dark Hispanic male, 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 200 pounds, and wearing a brown sweatsuit with a hoody.

Officer Eduardo Rios testified that he obtained a description of the shooter as a Hispanic male with a black jacket and black hoody.

Detective Raymond Schalk testified that he interviewed Isidro Quinones, who described the shooter as a Hispanic male, 18 to 22 years old, 5 feet 9 inches tall, black hair, dark complected, and wearing a black hoody and black jacket.

The parties stipulated that if Detective Robert Smith would testify, he would state that he interviewed Ramon Torres, who described the shooter as a dark Hispanic male, 19 to 20 years old, about 6 feet tall, 180 pounds, with black hair and wearing a black, zipped jacket with a hoody, and dark jeans and white tennis shoes.

The parties further stipulated that a photograph of Jason Rodriguez from the Chicago police department dated September 16, 1999, indicated that Rodriguez was a black Hispanic male, 5 feet 7 inches tall, weighing 150 pounds, with brown eyes, black hair and a dark complexion.

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People v. Abrego, 864 N.E.2d 858, 371 Ill. App. 3d 987, 309 Ill. Dec. 617, 2007 Ill. App. LEXIS 192 (Ill. Ct. App. 2007).

864 N.E.2d 858 (People v. Abrego) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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