People v. Bell

577 N.E.2d 1228, 217 Ill. App. 3d 985, 160 Ill. Dec. 657, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 1110
Appellate Court of Illinois·Decided June 28, 1991·No. 1-88-0166·Published·Cited by 18 cases

Opinion

JUSTICE GORDON

delivered the opinion of the court:

Defendant, Larry D. Bell, was charged by indictment with six counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1985, ch. 38, pars. 12 — 14(a)(2), (b)(1)), and one count each of unlawful restraint (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 10 — 3(a), aggravated kidnapping (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 10 — 2(a)(2)), kidnapping (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 10 — 1(a)(2)), aggravated battery (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 12 — 4(a)) and aggravated battery to a child (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1983, ch. 38, par. 12 — 4.3(a)). Defendant filed two pretrial motions, one to suppress statements and the other to bar the use of his prior convictions for impeachment purposes. Both motions were denied. Defendant waived trial by jury, and at the end of the State’s case in chief, defendant was granted a directed verdict on two of the six aggravated criminal sexual assault charges. At the close of the trial, defendant was found guilty of five counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault, and also guilty of the charges of unlawful restraint, aggravated kidnapping, kidnapping and aggravated battery. He was sentenced to concurrent 60-year terms on the five aggravated criminal sexual assault counts, and 30 years on the aggravated kidnapping charge, to run consecutive to the 60-year terms. He was also sentenced for five years on the aggravated battery charge and three years for unlawful restraint, both to run concurrently with the other terms. No sentence was imposed on the kidnapping charge as it merged with the aggravated kidnapping. Although the court stated that the State had proved every charge aside from the one dismissed, no verdict was entered or sentence imposed on the charge of aggravated battery to a child.

Defendant now appeals, alleging that the trial court erred in denying his pretrial motions to suppress statements and to bar the use of his prior convictions for impeachment. He also alleges that the trial court made several erroneous evidentiary rulings during the trial, that he was not proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and finally that his sentence was excessive. For the reasons stated below, we affirm as to the pretrial motions and rulings at trial, and as to the sentencing, affirm in part, vacate in part and remand in part.

Facts

I. MOTION TO SUPPRESS

On June 16, 1987, a hearing was held on defendant’s motion to suppress statements he made at the Forest Park police station on May 29, 1986. Although the substance of those statements was not revealed at the hearing, testimony at trial later revealed that the defendant had made several incriminating admissions that day. Three witnesses testified. The first was Assistant State’s Attorney Carol Kelly. She testified that on the evening of May 29, 1986, she met with the defendant at the Forest Park police station. Also present was Inspector (now Sergeant) William Pates of the Forest Park police department. Kelly read the defendant his Miranda rights, which defendant said he understood. She also gave him a printed copy of the Miranda rights, which he read and signed. At that point, Kelly asked the defendant if he wished to talk with them. Defendant said he did not want to talk but wanted to know what the charges were. Kelly informed him that the charges were two counts of aggravated criminal sexual assault. Pates then told the defendant about the allegations against him, which Kelly estimated took one or two minutes. Kelly testified that the defendant then said that he wanted to tell his side of the story. She then asked the defendant if he did in fact want to talk, to which he answered that he did. Kelly asked the defendant if he had been well treated and fed, which he said he had. He requested a cigarette, which Pates went out of the room to get. While Pates was absent, Kelly again informed the defendant that he did not have to talk with them, that he could stop talking at any time and demand a lawyer. Upon Pates’ return, the defendant, Kelly and Pates had a conversation about the events of the previous evening.

On cross-examination, Kelly said that she and Pates did not leave the room when the defendant initially said he did not want to talk with them. She also said that defendant’s statement that he did not want to talk and his question as to the charges were said in one sentence.

The second witness at the suppression hearing was Sergeant William Pates of the Forest Park police department. He also testified that Kelly had read the defendant his Miranda rights and given him a printed form of the rights to sign. Pates said that in response to the defendant’s question as to what he was being charged with, he told him that a 10-year-old girl had made some allegations that he kept her against her will in an apartment overnight and had sex with her on two occasions. He also said that after telling this to the defendant, the defendant said he wanted to tell his side of the story. Pates again asked him if he wanted to talk with them, to which he responded that he did. At that point, Kelly left for a previous appointment, and Pates and defendant were left alone for about one-half hour.

On cross-examination, Pates said that when he told the defendant about the allegations made by the girl, he was simply explaining in another fashion what Kelly had previously told to the defendant. After the defendant told his version of the events of the previous evening, Pates told him that the story was not true, and that Pates had a statement from defendant’s brother which contradicted the defendant’s story. According to Pates, the defendant then changed his story.

The final witness at the hearing was Officer Steve Knack of the Forest Park police department. He testified that Pates had called him to the office where Pates and the defendant were, and that the defendant orally repeated his story and then wrote out his statement while Knack was present. He also testified that no threats or promises were made to the defendant.

The defendant called no witnesses at the hearing. The court found that the statements were voluntary and denied the motion to suppress.

II. TRIAL

The trial began on November 5, 1987. The first witness for the State was the victim, M.M., who was 12 years old at the time of trial. The court declared her qualified to testify after both the prosecutor and defense counsel questioned her as to her ability to recollect and to tell a lie from the truth.

She testified that on May 28, 1986, she went home after school to play with her cousin. They had an argument, and M.M. was sent to her room by her aunt. M.M. got mad, wrote a note, and left the house to go to her father’s house in Maywood. M.M. lived in Chicago, with her mother, her grandmother and her aunt. She walked from Chicago into Oak Park, and then into Forest Park, where a man approached her from behind and took her by the hand. In court she identified the defendant as the man who grabbed her hand. Although she could not remember the street where she encountered the defendant, she did remember that there were many restaurants and stores, and a liquor store where the defendant stopped.

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People v. Bell, 577 N.E.2d 1228, 217 Ill. App. 3d 985, 160 Ill. Dec. 657, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 1110 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

577 N.E.2d 1228 (People v. Bell) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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