People v. Dawson

572 N.E.2d 972, 213 Ill. App. 3d 335, 157 Ill. Dec. 508, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 619
CourtAppellate Court of Illinois
DecidedApril 18, 1991
Docket1-88-1865
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 572 N.E.2d 972 (People v. Dawson) 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. Dawson, 572 N.E.2d 972, 213 Ill. App. 3d 335, 157 Ill. Dec. 508, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 619 (Ill. Ct. App. 1991).

Opinion

JUSTICE JOHNSON

delivered the opinion of the court:

After a bench trial, defendant, Henry Dawson, was found guilty of two counts of unlawful use of a firearm by a felon. (Ill. Rev. Stat. 1987, ch. 38, par. 24—1.1.) Defendant was sentenced to two concurrent three-year terms of imprisonment.

On appeal, defendant raises the following issues: (1) whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to quash arrest and suppress certain inculpatory evidence that was obtained after a warrantless entry into his apartment; (2) whether the trial court erred in failing to suppress evidence that was obtained as a result of searching a cloth bag located on his windowsill; (3) whether the trial court erred in failing to suppress evidence that was obtained as a result of a “pat down” search of his jacket; and (4) whether the trial court erred in denying his motion to suppress evidence where, he claims, the State failed to show attenuation between his statements and his arrest and search of his residence.

Defendant seeks reversal of the denial of his motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence; an order suppressing the evidence seized at his apartment; an order suppressing oral statements he made at the police station following his arrest; and vacation of his conviction and remand for further proceedings.

We affirm.

Defendant’s motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence was heard simultaneously with his bench trial. The evidence at trial established that on June 18, 1987, Chicago police officer Walter Tinner and his partner, Robert McClain, were assigned to investigate an aggravated criminal sexual assault case. Officers Tinner and McClain were members of the Area 4 incident team. Four other officers were also assigned to this case. The members of the Area 4 team were responsible for processing reports in the “follow-up” investigation of potential offenders.

At the time of their assignment, the officers were given the address, physical description, and nickname of the alleged offender in the aggravated criminal sexual assault case they were investigating. The officers then proceeded to 258 North Hamlin Avenue in Chicago to question the suspect, who went by the name of “Bru.” According to Officer Tinner, the officers arrived at the third-floor apartment on Hamlin at approximately 7:30 p.m.

Defendant’s niece, Tracey Mitchell, answered the door. The officers announced the purpose of their presence and inquired whether someone named “Bru” lived at that particular apartment. Tracey acknowledged that “Bru” did, in fact, live at the apartment and allowed the officers to enter the apartment. The officers were without a warrant when they entered the apartment.

Upon entering the apartment, Officer Tinner testified that he observed a man fitting the physical description of the suspected offender nicknamed “Bru.” According to Officer Tinner, “Bru” was standing in the bedroom doorway, approximately 8 to 10 feet away from him. “Bru” was later identified as the defendant. Officer Tinner noticed that defendant held a small blue cloth drawstring bag in his hands. When defendant saw the officers, he made an “abrupt” move toward a windowsill in his bedroom. Defendant then placed the bag on the windowsill. Officer McClain retrieved the bag from the windowsill. A loaded revolver and residue from cocaine were discovered in the bag.

Defendant was then placed under arrest for investigation into the charge of aggravated criminal sexual assault and an additional charge of unlawful use of a weapon. Defendant was told that he would be transported to the 11th district police station for processing. Prior to leaving the apartment, defendant asked the officers whether he could get his jacket from the hall closet. Officer Tinner accompanied defendant to the closet. As defendant reached for his jacket, another officer conducted a “pat down” search of the jacket. A fully loaded .38 caliber Smith & Wesson gun was discovered in the jacket pocket.

At the police station, defendant admitted that the guns belonged to him. He stated that he was in possession of the guns because he had been a victim of a robbery and felt that he needed the guns for his own protection.

At trial, it was stipulated that defendant had a prior armed robbery conviction and that the two weapons retrieved at the apartment belonged to defendant. After Officer Tinner testified, the State rested its case. Defendant’s subsequent motion for a directed verdict was denied.

Defendant then called Tracey Mitchell to the stand. Tracey testified that she lived at the apartment on Hamlin with defendant and her cousin. At approximately 5 p.m. on the evening of June 18, 1987, Tracey heard a knock at her door. When she opened the door she observed six detectives. Tracey did not, however, open the burglar gate. According to Tracey, one of the officers told her they had a warrant. Tracey testified that her uncle was standing directly behind her when she opened the door. After the officers announced the purpose of their presence, Tracey unlocked the burglar gate and allowed the officers to enter the apartment.

According to Tracey, defendant was arrested after his identity was established. The officers then began to search the apartment. Tracey admitted that her uncle had a gun which was kept in a bag in the closet, but denied that he had a bag in his hands when the officers entered the apartment. Tracey also denied that her uncle requested a jacket from the hall closet prior to leaving the apartment. Tracey testified that at the time the officers arrived at the apartment, she was in the process of cleaning the apartment and putting away some clothes that had been washed earlier that day.

Defendant’s daughter, Carol Dawson, was the next witness defendant called to testify. Carol was called as a corroborative witness. She testified that on June 18, 1987, she arrived at her father’s house, after his arrest, at approximately 7 p.m. She observed Tracey hanging up some clothes that were on the floor of the front closet. Carol also noticed a plastic bag filled with what appeared to be wet clothes on her father’s bed, along with some other clothes lying on the bed.

Defendant then testified in his own behalf. According to defendant, at approximately 5:30 p.m., he heard a knock at his front door. By the the time he arrived at the door, his niece had opened the door and was talking to several police officers. Defendant further testified that after the officers entered his apartment they began to question him. When defendant asked whether the officers had a search warrant, defendant stated that “[t]hey just evaded the issue.”

Defendant was subsequently handcuffed. Two handguns were later retrieved from defendant’s closet. Defendant testified that the recovered guns belonged to his father and had been in his possession for more than one year.

After hearing all of the evidence, defendant’s motion to quash arrest and suppress evidence was denied. Defendant was found guilty of two counts of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. Subsequently, defendant’s motion for a new trial was denied and he was sentenced to a term of three years for each count. It is from this decision that defendant now appeals.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
572 N.E.2d 972, 213 Ill. App. 3d 335, 157 Ill. Dec. 508, 1991 Ill. App. LEXIS 619, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/people-v-dawson-illappct-1991.