People v. Beyah

391 N.E.2d 96, 72 Ill. App. 3d 690, 28 Ill. Dec. 897, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2678
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 25, 1979
Docket78-411
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 391 N.E.2d 96 (People v. Beyah) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Appellate Court of Illinois primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
People v. Beyah, 391 N.E.2d 96, 72 Ill. App. 3d 690, 28 Ill. Dec. 897, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2678 (Ill. Ct. App. 1979).

Opinion

Mr. JUSTICE LORENZ

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, defendant was convicted of burglary (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1975, ch. 38, par. 19 — 1) and sentenced to a term of 5 to 15 years in the penitentiary. On appeal, he contends that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress identification testimony, and (2) that the matter should be remanded for resentencing because in determining sentence the trial court considered a prior conviction which was subsequently reversed.

Prior to trial defendant moved to suppress identification testimony on the ground that the identifications of defendant resulted from a photographic display which was conducive to irreparable misidentification.

The following pertinent facts were adduced at the hearing on the motion to suppress.

For the Defendant

John Brines, Evergreen Park Police Officer

On January 26,1976, he began investigation of an alleged robbery at Holy Redeemer Church in Evergreen Park. Julia Wegner, a church employee, had reported seeing a very light complected black male in the church on January 24, 1976. She described this man as being approximately 6 feet 2 inches tall, weighing over 200 lbs, and wearing a short “afro.” He was dressed in a brown jacket and checked pants. Sister Marietta, a resident of the convent, also reported seeing a black male with a close cropped “afro,” beige or brown jacket and checked pants. The man she saw was carrying a valise or suitcase.

On January 26, 1976, another police officer accompanied Tom Donahue, who had also reported seeing the man in the church, Sister Marietta and Julia Wegner to the graphic arts section of the Chicago Police Department for the purpose of having a composite sketch of the suspect drawn. Between January 28, 1976, and March 5,1976, Donahue, Wegner and Sister Marietta each viewed several hundred photographs or “mug shots” but were unable to identify a suspect.

On March 5, 1976, Secret Service Agent Axel Franzon informed him that defendant was in Federal custody. He and Officer Jerozal went to the Dirksen Federal Building in Chicago and obtained a photograph of defendant. He placed this photograph in a book with 11 photographs of different individuals. He could not recall which other photographs were placed in the book with defendant’s, nor could he recall which of the other photographs were full-length, half-length or facial only. He could not recall whether the other photographs were front or side views nor whether they had identifying placards. The photograph of defendant, however, was unlike the ordinary “mug shot” in that it was a frontal view only and did not contain a placard.

On the evening of March 5,1976, he and Jerozal brought the book to Sister Marietta and asked her to view the photographs. He did not intentionally make her aware that the photograph of a suspect was in the book. After a few minutes, Sister Marietta identified defendant as the man she had seen near the church on January 24, 1976. She stated she was positive.

The officers also took the book of photographs to Julia Wegner’s home and to the firehouse where Tom Donahue was employed. Wegner was not able to make an identification. They told Donahue that a suspect was in custody and asked him to view the photographs. When Donahue identified defendant’s photograph, Brines told him he had picked the suspect. Prior to March 15, 1976, he had not shown defendant’s photograph to Wegner, Donahue or Sister Marietta.

On cross-examination, he stated that he chose photographs which “fit the suspect’s physical properties as close as possible” to place in the book with defendant’s photograph. The other photographs could have been viewed by the witnesses prior to March 5, 1976.

Sister Marietta

At approximately 9:45 a.m. on January 24,1976, she was looking out the second floor window of the Holy Redeemer Convent which is next to the church. She observed a black male walking toward her on the sidewalk between the convent and church school. It was unusual to see a black person in the predominantly white neighborhood. The man was walking with his head erect and she was able to view his face for about 30 seconds. Shortly thereafter she was told by Sister Elam to be careful because a suspicious black man had just been seen inside the rectory without permission. She did not learn, however, that a burglary had been committed until two days later.

Upon learning of the burglary, she gave Officers Jerozal and Brines a description of the man she had seen. He was “black but light complected” with short, neat hair and a good build. He was wearing a tan jacket and checked pants. On January 28,1976, she gave a description of the man to a police artist.

At approximately 9 p.m. on March 5, 1976, Brines and Jerozal came to the convent and showed her a “photo display.” She did not recall whether the officers said they had a suspect. When she observed defendant’s photograph she told the officers, “This was the man that I saw walking down our sidewalk.” On March 12,1976, she viewed a lineup at the Evergreen Park police station. A police officer and a public defender were with her. She identified defendant in the lineup as the man she had seen from her convent window. She also identified defendant in court as the man she saw on January 24, 1976.

On cross-examination she stated that the police officers did not direct her attention to defendant’s photograph. She recognized defendant’s photograph because she had seen him from the window. She recognized defendant immediately and was positive about the identification. The fact that the photograph did not have a placard and was only a front view did not attract her attention.

Torn Donahue

He is a Chicago fireman and is employed on his days off as a maintenance man at Holy Redeemer Church. At approximately 10 a.m. on January 24,1976, he observed a suspicious man inside the church. The church was well lit and mass was to begin in about ten minutes. The man was walking on the other side of the church, approximately 30 or 35 feet from him. He observed the man’s face for 10 to 12 seconds and later gave a description to the police. The man was approximately 6 feet or 6 feet 1 inch tall, weighed about 200 lbs. and had a medium “afro.” He wore a brown coat and checked pants and was carrying a briefcase. After this man left the church Julia Wegner told him that a black man had been in the church office. He thought it a little strange to see a black person in the church, but was not alarmed.

On March 5, 1976, the police brought a book of photographs to the fire station. They told him that a suspect was in custody and asked him to view some photographs. He could not recall how many photographs were in the book, but there could have been as many as 50. Some photos were in color while others were in black and white. He identified defendant’s photograph. Defendant’s photograph did not have a placard but this did not cause it to stand out. He could not recall whether the other photographs had placards. He identified defendant in court as the man he had seen in church on January 24, 1976.

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Bluebook (online)
391 N.E.2d 96, 72 Ill. App. 3d 690, 28 Ill. Dec. 897, 1979 Ill. App. LEXIS 2678, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-beyah-illappct-1979.