People v. Alcantara

2024 IL App (5th) 240195-U
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided April 23, 2024·No. 5-24-0195·Unpublished·Cited by 5 cases

Opinion

2024 IL App (5th) 240195-U NOTICE

NOTICE

Decision filed 04/23/24. The This order was filed under text of this decision may be NOS. 5-24-0195, 5-24-0294 cons.

Supreme Court Rule 23 and is changed or corrected prior to the filing of a Petition for not precedent except in the

Rehearing or the disposition of IN THE limited circumstances allowed the same. under Rule 23(e)(1).

APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

FIFTH DISTRICT

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of

Plaintiff-Appellee, ) Douglas County.

)

v. ) No. 24-CF-20 )

MANUEL ALCANTARA, ) Honorable Katherine D. Watson and ) Honorable Chad S. Beckett, Defendant-Appellant. ) Judges, presiding.

PRESIDING JUSTICE VAUGHAN delivered the judgment of the court.

Justices Barberis and Boie concurred in the judgment.

ORDER

¶1 Held: The trial court’s orders granting the State’s petition to deny pretrial release and continuing denial of pretrial release are affirmed where the trial court’s findings were not against the manifest weight of the evidence and the orders denying pretrial release were not an abuse of discretion.

¶2 Defendant timely appeals the trial court’s order denying his pretrial release and subsequent order continuing the denial of his pretrial release pursuant to Public Act 101-652, § 10-255 (eff. Jan. 1, 2023), commonly known as the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today (SAFE- T) Act (Act). See Pub. Act 102-1104, § 70 (eff. Jan. 1, 2023); Rowe v. Raoul, 2023 IL 129248,

¶ 52 (lifting stay and setting effective date as September 18, 2023). For the following reasons, we affirm both of the trial court’s orders.

¶3 I. BACKGROUND

¶4 On February 5, 2024, defendant was charged, by information, with attempted second degree murder in violation of sections 9-2(a)(1) and 8-4(a) of the Criminal Code of 2012 (720 ILCS 5/9-2(a)(1), 8-4(a) (West 2022)), a Class 2 felony, and aggravated domestic battery in violation of section 12-3.3(a) (id. § 12-3.3(a)), a Class 2 felony. The public defender was appointed to represent defendant.

¶5 Also on February 5, 2024, a pretrial investigation report was filed that revealed defendant was 58 years old and single. He had four adult children who resided in Mexico. He had other family members who resided in Chicago. He had been living with his paramour for one month in Arcola. Defendant was employed full-time with Libman. He had no criminal history. Defendant reported no substance abuse history or mental health issues. He had high blood pressure for which he took medication daily. Defendant reported having a driver’s license and a working vehicle to transport himself to future court dates. The pretrial services officer who conducted the investigation was unable to reach defendant’s sister to verify the information supplied by defendant. The Virginia Pretrial Risk Assessment Instrument-Revised (VPRAI-R) scored defendant at a 0 out of 14 and classified him as a level 1 out of 6 with a 6.1% likelihood of recidivism while on pretrial release.

¶6 On February 5, 2024, the State filed a verified petition to deny defendant pretrial release. The petition alleged that defendant was charged with a qualifying offense and posed a real and present threat to the safety of any person, persons, or the community.

¶7 The trial court, Judge Watson, conducted the hearing on the State’s petition to deny pretrial release on February 6, 2024. The State first asked the court to take judicial notice of the probable cause affidavit that was filed in the case and supported the court’s finding of probable cause. The

State proffered that defendant was arrested for attempted second degree murder and aggravated domestic battery after police were called to his residence that he shared with the victim. It further proffered that defendant stabbed the victim three times—once in the rib cage, once in the left-side abdomen, and once in the left leg. The victim was able to lock herself in the bathroom until police arrived. She was in fear for her life and thought defendant was going to kill her. Defendant also made several statements to the victim and the police that he wanted to kill himself.

¶8 The State argued the incident was “severely dangerous.” It averred it was not a simple battery, but one that resulted in stab wounds with the victim being transported to the hospital and defendant being transported to the hospital due to his suicidal threats. The State also asked the court to take into account defendant’s psychological state. It informed the court that defendant was on suicide watch at the jail. The State argued that given the violent circumstances of the incident, the victim’s wounds, and the specific danger defendant posed to the victim and to himself, there were no appropriate less restrictive options than the denial of pretrial release.

¶9 Defense counsel proffered that the victim was discharged from the hospital and did not have an extended stay. He further proffered that defendant was almost 60 years old, had no criminal history, and the pretrial services report indicated he scored very low for recidivism. Defendant admittedly had a problem with alcohol but was willing to abide by conditions of release that would include abstaining from alcohol and controlled substances, obtaining a substance use evaluation, and entering treatment. Defendant would also agree to abide by any no-contact order, submit to electronic monitoring, and report to pretrial services.

¶ 10 Defense counsel argued that there was no evidence submitted suggesting that defendant could not abide by conditions of release. He averred the court should consider defendant’s history

of nearly “six decades of no criminal charges or activities or allegations of domestic violence or allegations of any violence whatsoever.”

¶ 11 The court stated that it considered the pretrial investigation report, the probable cause affidavit, and the statements made by the attorneys. It stated that although defendant had no prior record, domestic violence crimes were not always reported and the level of violence in the current incident was concerning. The court noted that the victim felt she would be killed. It further noted that defendant “presents as mentally unstable at this time and at the time of the offense.” The court opined that the presentence investigation report indicated that defendant did not have a stable residence other than the one he shared with the victim. The court then found that the proof was evident and the presumption was great that defendant committed a detainable offense and that he posed a real and present danger to himself, specific persons, or the community and that there were no conditions of release that could mitigate the real and present threat defendant posed to himself, others, or the community. The court added, “These things can be reviewed as he comes back before the Court, his mental stability and whether he has a stable residence that is separate and apart from the victim and the Court may consider GPS home monitoring at that time. The Court finds that those are not viable options for the reasons previously stated.”

¶ 12 A written order of detention was filed on February 6, 2024. The order found the proof was evident or the presumption great that defendant committed a detainable offense. The order further found that defendant posed a real a present threat to the safety of any person(s) or the community and no condition, or combination of conditions, could mitigate the real and present threat to the safety of any person or persons. The order found that less restrictive conditions would not assure the safety of any persons, or the community based on (1) defendant’s having caused bodily harm to a family member by stabbing her with a knife, (2) defendant’s threatening to kill himself,

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People v. Alcantara, 2024 IL App (5th) 240195-U (Ill. Ct. App. 2024).

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