People v. Clay

463 N.E.2d 929, 124 Ill. App. 3d 140, 79 Ill. Dec. 375, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 1815
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedMay 4, 1984
Docket82-578
StatusPublished
Cited by54 cases

This text of 463 N.E.2d 929 (People v. Clay) 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. Clay, 463 N.E.2d 929, 124 Ill. App. 3d 140, 79 Ill. Dec. 375, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 1815 (Ill. Ct. App. 1984).

Opinion

JUSTICE SULLIVAN

delivered the opinion of the court:

Following a simultaneous trial, defendants Heard and Clay were convicted by separate juries of murder, attempted armed robbery, and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. After a finding by the trial court that the convictions for attempted armed robbery merged with the convictions for murder, Heard was sentenced to concurrent terms of 40 years for murder and 15 years for conspiracy; and Clay was sentenced to concurrent terms of 80 years for murder and 30 years for conspiracy. On appeal, Heard contends that (1) the trial court erred in denying his motion for substitution of judge without a hearing; (2) his inculpatory statement should have been suppressed because it was given during an involuntary detainment, in violation of Dunaway v. New York (1979), 442 U.S. 200, 60 L. Ed. 2d 824, 99 S. Ct. 2248; (3) he was denied a fair trial by improper prosecutorial remarks during closing argument; and (4) his sentences are excessive. Defendant Clay’s sole contention on appeal is that his sentences are excessive.

The charges arose from the fatal shooting of 10-year-old Laura Bruce on December 3, 1980, and as there is no contention that guilt was not established, we will set forth only the testimony relevant to the issues presented.

Prior to trial, counsel for defendant Heard made an oral motion for a substitution of judge, which was denied. He also made a pretrial motion to suppress all statements on the basis that they were coerced. At the hearing thereon, Heard testified that he was asleep at about 6 or 7 a.m. on December 7, 1980, when three police officers came to his home, knocked on his door, and after being allowed inside by his mother, told him to get dressed and come with them to the police station. They did not tell him that he was under arrest, nor did he believe that he was. He did not accompany them voluntarily, but only because he “didn’t want to make any trouble.” Once at the police station, he was placed in a small room and handcuffed; he was given coffee, but nothing to eat. Several officers whose names he did not know talked to him, but he told them that he had no information about the shooting of Laura Bruce and that he wanted to see an attorney; however, they continued to question him and accused him of lying. At about 6 p.m. that evening, he told Officer Keane that he knew nothing about the crime, but he agreed to go with Keane to help him locate certain people. After about an hour they returned, and he was put back into the same room — which was then locked — and he remained there for the balance of the night. He was never told that he was under arrest nor was he ever advised of his constitutional rights. Neither was he told that he was free to leave, and he did not do so because he was handcuffed. On at least two occasions, the police threatened him by telling him that he “better tell the truth.” He stated that he gave a statement to an assistant State’s Attorney only because he was told he “had to talk” and, although he signed the statement and initialed each page, he was never given the opportunity to read it. In the statement, he admitted that he had not been threatened; that he had been advised of his constitutional rights; and that he was given food, coffee, and cigarettes.

Officer Stachula testified that about noon on December 7, shortly after Heard was brought to the station, he spoke to him in the interview room. He advised him of his Miranda rights and questioned him about the homicide, but Heard denied being involved therein. He then informed Heard that the investigation and accounts of other witnesses contradicted his denial. He never specifically told Heard that he was free to leave, but neither was Heard handcuffed or placed under arrest.

Detective Keane testified that when he first saw Heard, at about 4:30 p.m. on December 7, he was neither handcuffed nor otherwise restrained. He advised Heard of his rights, told him that he was investigating the December 3 homicide of Laura Bruce, and questioned him about his involvement therein. When Heard said he needed time to think about it, Keane advised him to knock on the door if he needed anything and left, locking the door behind him. At 6 p.m., after receiving the Miranda warnings, Heard made a statement concerning his participation in the crime and agreed to go with Keane to locate the other offenders. When they returned to the station about three hours later, Heard, who was then under arrest, was put back into the interview room for the remainder of the night.

Assistant State’s Attorney Dorfman testified that he spoke to Heard at 11:20 a.m. and again at 8:20 p.m. on December 8 and advised him of his rights prior to each conversation. Shortly after 9 p.m., Heard gave a court reporter statement in which he gave essentially the same information as he had in the two earlier interviews that day. Prior to making the court reporter statement, Heard told Dorfman that he had not been mistreated by the police. The motion to suppress was denied.

After the juries were selected, Heard made a separate motion to quash his arrest and suppress evidence. At the hearing thereon, Heard testified that when the police came to his home, they told him to get up and come with them. He objected, but one of the officers followed him into the bathroom while he dressed. Once at the police station, he asked several times why he was being held, but he was “just told to sit there.” He was never informed that he was free to leave, and although the police had told him he was not under arrest, he thought he was. On cross-examination, he admitted testifying at the prior hearing that he did not think he was under arrest when he left the apartment with the police, and that the police said he was not under arrest.

Eunice Heard, defendant’s mother, testified that when the police knocked on her door at about 6 or 7 a.m., she opened it slightly and three officers pushed their way in. At their request, she awakened her son and, as one accompanied him to the bathroom, the other searched her washing machine. The police never produced a search warrant nor did they tell defendant he was not required to go with them.

Sergeant O’Connor testified that on the basis of information that a witness had seen a car similar to defendant’s at the scene of the crime and that defendant was known to frequent that area, he and two other officers went to Heard’s apartment at about 10 a.m. on December 7. They knocked on the door, and when Heard’s mother opened it they stated who they were and asked her to awaken him. When she did, they identified themselves and told him that a vehicle similar to the one he owned, which was parked in front of Heard’s building, had been seen leaving the location of a murder on December 3. He then asked Heard if he would come to the police station to answer some questions. Heard got up, went to another room to dress, and then voluntarily accompanied them to Area 6 headquarters, where he was taken to an interview room which was left unlocked. He was not handcuffed nor placed under arrest at that time. The motion to quash the arrest and suppress evidence was denied.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
463 N.E.2d 929, 124 Ill. App. 3d 140, 79 Ill. Dec. 375, 1984 Ill. App. LEXIS 1815, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-clay-illappct-1984.