People v. Burgos

614 N.E.2d 59, 243 Ill. App. 3d 993, 184 Ill. Dec. 858, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 231
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedFebruary 26, 1993
Docket1-91-2154
StatusPublished
Cited by11 cases

This text of 614 N.E.2d 59 (People v. Burgos) 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. Burgos, 614 N.E.2d 59, 243 Ill. App. 3d 993, 184 Ill. Dec. 858, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 231 (Ill. Ct. App. 1993).

Opinion

PRESIDING JUSTICE McNAMARA

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a jury trial, defendant, Ramon Burgos, was convicted of murder, attempted murder, armed violence and aggravated battery, and was sentenced to 30 years’ imprisonment. On appeal, defendant raises as issues whether: (1) the State proved him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt; (2) the trial court erred in denying an evidentiary hearing on defendant’s post-trial motion for a new trial; (3) evidence of gang membership was improperly admitted; (4) the State failed to comply with discovery rules; (5) the trial court erred in refusing to give a certain instruction to the jury; and (6) defendant’s due process rights were violated when the State made improper implications about fingerprint testimony unsupported by evidence.

Following an evidentiary hearing, defendant’s motions to suppress identification testimony, to quash arrest and suppress evidence were denied. Defendant and codefendant Juan Rivera were tried simultaneously. Defendant chose a jury trial, and Rivera received a bench trial.

Joseph Siudut, age 24, and the deceased, Shawn Mooney, age 19, had known each other for four years. Around 8 p.m. on August 24, 1989, Siudut drove to a friend’s house located at the intersection of Barry and Pulaski in Chicago, where he met the deceased. They then drove to the intersection of North and Sawyer to buy some marijuana. Siudut noticed two individuals flashing gang signals with their hands. Siudut informed them that they were not involved in any gangs, but wished to buy some marijuana. The two men, whom Siudut identified as defendant and Rivera, approached the driver’s side of the car and directed the deceased to pull over to the curb. The men walked over to the passenger side of the car and asked Siudut for money for the drugs. Defendant walked away for a brief moment and returned to the passenger side of the car with a gun. Defendant held a gun to Siudut’s head and threatened to kill him. Siudut moved the gun away from his head and told the deceased to drive away. The deceased did not immediately obey Siudut’s instruction, so Siudut reached over, accelerated the gas pedal, and started driving. As they drove away, Siudut heard approximately six gunshots, and felt a bullet graze his back.

Siudut realized that the deceased had sustained a serious gunshot wound. En route to the hospital, Siudut was stopped by the police, who asked him what had occurred. He informed them that the deceased had been shot, and they called an ambulance. After the ambulance arrived, the police drove Siudut to the location of the shooting. Siudut was then taken to the hospital. After Siudut received treatment for his wound, he was taken to the police station where he viewed a lineup. He identified defendant and Rivera as the perpetrators of the offense "and identified defendant as the actual shooter. Siudut stated that he had drunk one beer prior to the time of the shooting, but denied using any drugs.

Officer Arthell Goodwin of the Chicago police department testified for the State that he was on duty on the night of the offense. Together with his partner, Clyde Hynes, Goodwin was on routine patrol in a marked squad car. Around 9:40 p.m., Goodwin was in the vicinity of Pulaski and Fullerton when he observed a dark-colored vehicle without lights proceed through the intersection at a high rate of speed. After the car proceeded through a red light, Goodwin activated the emergency equipment and pursued the vehicle for approximately seven blocks. Goodwin approached the driver’s side and observed a person slumped over the wheel. The deceased appeared to be unconscious, and he noticed blood on the back of his neck. Hynes approached the passenger side where Siudut was sitting. The rear window of the vehicle was broken out, and there were dents and holes around the right rear side.

Goodwin described Siudut’s demeanor as nervous, shaky and upset. Siudut explained that he was trying to drive the deceased to Belmont Hospital. Upon discovering that Siudut and the deceased were victims of gunshot wounds, Goodwin notified Area 5 violent crimes. He received a flash message from another police unit that they had apprehended two individuals as possible suspects in the shooting incident.

Officer Curt Hagemann of the Chicago police department testified that at around 9:30 p.m., he was on patrol with his partner, Officer Bill Whalen, when they observed two male Hispanics run across the intersection of Avers and Palmer. Hagemann made an in-court identification of defendant and Rivera as the men they saw, and further testified that defendant was holding a gun. Hagemann proceeded northbound on Avers in his squad car, and then exited his vehicle and pursued the two men on foot into a gangway adjacent to a brick two-flat building. Hagemann saw defendant throw an object onto a garage roof in the next yard. He ordered the men to halt. The officer handcuffed the men and arrested them. Defendant was apprised of his Miranda rights. A .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol was later recovered from the garage roof.

At that point, Hagemann was unaware that a shooting had just occurred; however, shortly thereafter he monitored a message on the radio that a man had been shot at the intersection of Barry and Pulaski. A second message stated that shots had been fired at Hamlin and Palmer. Hagemann radioed to the squad operator and told him that he had two subjects in custody and that a gun had been recovered.

Defendant and Rivera were then taken to the police station. Hagemann asked defendant whether he was a member of a gang, and defendant admitted that he was a member of the Latin Disciples. Hagemann also asked defendant whether he had any tattoos. On the arrest report, Hagemann wrote: “Self-admitted Latin Disciple tattoted [sic].” Hagemann recorded defendant’s height as 5 feet 11 inches, and that he weighed 195 pounds.

Officer Whalen testified to substantially the same evidence rendered by Hagemann. Whalen made an in-court identification of defendant and Rivera, and stated that defendant held the handgun. When the crime lab personnel arrived at the scene of the arrest, Whalen pointed to the location on the garage roof where defendant threw the gun.

Doctor Eupil Choi of the Cook County medical examiner’s office performed the autopsy of the deceased. He determined that the cause of death was a single gunshot wound to the upper back. Doctor Choi opined that it was a distant wound and that it had been fired from a range of at least 20 inches. Based upon his examination, Doctor Choi concluded that the wound was consistent with a bullet fired through a window or some type of intermediary object. Doctor Choi found that the deceased had cocaine metabolite and blood cocaine in his system, and that the drugs could have been ingested four to six hours prior to his death. Further, the deceased had a blood-alcohol content of .06%.

Officer Thomas Bachelder of the Chicago police department crime lab photographed the scene and recovered the handgun. Bachelder also photographed the vehicle, with its broken rear window and bullet holes in the side and trunk of the vehicle. Officer Stanley Mocaldo of the crime lab latent fingerprint unit examined the latent prints that had been taken from the pistol and ammunition clip found on the roof of the garage.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
614 N.E.2d 59, 243 Ill. App. 3d 993, 184 Ill. Dec. 858, 1993 Ill. App. LEXIS 231, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-burgos-illappct-1993.